AARP continues to challenge the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recent ruling permitting employers to eliminate or reduce health benefits for Medicare-eligible retirees, while retaining benefits for retirees under age 65. AARP is petitioning the Supreme Court to review whether EEOC had the authority to issue the ruling. Supporters of the ruling argue it will give employers needed flexibility to offer Medicare-eligible employees plans that are tailored to their needs. But the bigger picture is this: retirees–and those approaching retirement age–should be concerned about how they will fund their future healthcare needs. Future funding for Medicare is “a much bigger problem than the issues we face with Social Security,” says Richard Johnson, principal researcher at the Urban Institute. “And employers are becoming much more reluctant to fund benefits, because they don’t know what the costs will look like 30 years from now.”

I’m working on a column to run the week of January 14th on how you should approach planning for health care expenses in retirement.

Tags | health insurance, Medicare