Health Savings Checkup

[Parizade]

I would like to hear what other Mustachians think of the Health Savings Checkup calculator:

https://healthsavingscheckup.com/HWDS/HealthExpenseCalculator/welcome.jsf

[arebelspy]

Looks like a joke to me.

Wants a lot of personal information. Then, when I put it in, it makes crazy assumptions (despite all the data).  It tells me a ridiculous number I need to retire on (I chose I'll spend about the same, but it never asked how much I spend now, just how much I make!).  It suggests I delay retirement two years to save about $1000 (not per year but overall, total, for the next 60+ years) on my healthcare costs.  Huh?

YMMV, but the results I got were nothing short of ridiculous.

[Parizade]

thanks for your honest feedback arbelspy.

[sol]

Hilariously, it suggested that not only am I on track to retire, but that I should consider increasing my lifestyle spending or retiring earlier than planned.  Okay!

It wouldn't let me plan to live longer than 95 years old.  Grandpa lived to 93 after smoking and drinking his whole life, so I'm shooting for 100.

In the results section, it gives you a breakdown of what portion of your projected living expenses might be from health care costs, but it doesn't provide much info on how it calculates future rates, or what kind of insurance you have.  I recognize that they are trying to encourage people to contribute to HSA plans, which is fine, but it's not a very useful planning tool for more sophisticated users unless they offer some more detail about how they arrive at their numbers.

It looks like it is designed to predict health care costs based on whatever ailments you expect to have.  The more problems you tell it you expect to have, the higher health care costs it predicts for you.  I think most people already know that they need good insurance if they plan to be super unhealthy.

Also, the total dollar amounts it says you will need don't seem to jive well with other web calculators or my own calculations. 

Overall, I'm not impressed.

[Parizade]

thanks sol, I appreciate your feedback too.

I'm actually a tiny cog in the huge corporate gears that created this calculator, so I wanted to hear what mustachians think of it. And don't worry, I did not have any input into the design so I don't take your comments personally. I really do appreciate the honesty.

The cost predictions are derived from millions of actual health care claims submitted to one of the largest insurance companies in the US, so it's frighteningly accurate. They only go up to age 95 because there are not enough people in the over-95 age range to generate statistically significant numbers.

I don't know that many people who retired early, but they all have told me they had no idea how expensive health care would be as they got older. It has become their biggest concern as they manage their 'stache.

Any suggestions for improving the calculator?

[arebelspy]

First thing: ask for my yearly expenses and ask if I I expect them to go up or down in retirement (or just ask what  think my expenses in retirement will be), rather than basing my retirement expenses on my income.

That doesn't work for Mustachians, or other early retirees, who save 50+% of their income.