Experts Urge Trump to Cut $172,500 Retirement Health Burden With 4 Policy Moves

2 articles · Updated · AOL · Aug 16

$172,500 in average lifetime healthcare costs now confronts a 65-year-old who retired last year, up 4%, prompting experts to propose four ways the Trump administration could ease retirement expenses.
Medicare expansion tops the list because long-term care is often retirees' biggest cost, yet current coverage is limited and a watchdog said Trump's OBBBA hastened trust-fund insolvency, risking about $500 billion in automatic cuts from 2026 to 2034.
3.4% July inflation also keeps pressure on seniors' budgets, with experts backing policies to lower prices on groceries, prescriptions and other basics that hit fixed-income households repeatedly.
HSAs and tax relief round out the proposals: 2026 rule changes would expand HSA eligibility, while OBBBA's new deduction for people 65 and older could lift after-tax income and make some Social Security effectively tax-free.