Your retirement health MOT: seven checks to make before you retire

If you’ve got private health insurance through work, your first step is to find out what will happen to your cover when you retire.

In most cases, employer-funded health insurance ends when you leave work, although some employers may choose to continue paying for cover for a limited period.  Call your insurer or check your documentation to find out where you stand.

Even if your policy doesn’t continue into retirement, your insurer will, in many cases, be glad to keep you as a customer. Many insurers offer a continuation option that allows you to move onto an individual policy. 

Just note that it will be a new policy, with different terms. This means it’s important to confirm whether any pre-existing medical conditions will still be covered.

You should also find out how long you have to take up any new offer – some insurance companies will give you a few months after your employer-paid cover ends to make up your mind.

Read our guide to continuing health insurance after leaving a job to learn more.

If you want to keep your cover going, either through a continuation option or taking out a brand new private medical insurance policy elsewhere, the next step is to think about how much it will cost and whether you can afford it.

Unfortunately, it is likely to be more expensive. That’s because you’re moving from corporate cover – where the risk is spread across lots of people – to an individual plan, with no financial support from your employer.

Your increasing age is likely to push prices up too.

As a guide, myTribe’s research on the cost of private health insurance shows that the typical 60-year-old can expect to pay £132.53 a month for comprehensive medical insurance, rising to £207.27 for a 70-year-old.

However, if that’s too much, there are ways to cut costs, without giving up on insurance altogether – for example stripping out optional benefits or scaling back outpatient cover.

How to cut the cost of health insurance when you're retired

• Remove outpatient cover or reduce cover limits
• Remove any optional extras like complementary therapies or dental cover
• Choose a guided policy which gives you access to a narrower range of consultants or hospitals
• Increase your policy excess – if you agree to pay more when you claim, your monthly premiums will be lower
• Haggle with your provider – they may be prepared to negotiate
• Consult a broker – they'll be able to help you arrange cover that suits you at a price you can afford

If you don’t want health insurance, or think it’s too expensive, you may still be able to access private treatment as and when you need it.

The advantage of ‘self-paying’ for private healthcare is that you don’t need to pay for insurance every month. You’ll also have the flexibility to decide when to use the NHS and when to go private.

But if you do want to have the option to get an expedited diagnosis or treatment in a private hospital, you’ll need the funds to pay for it.

To ensure you’re prepared it’s worth building an emergency fund that you keep separate from other savings, that’s ring-fenced for medical costs only.

It makes sense to keep your money in an easy access savings account, so you can get it whenever you need it – just be sure to shop around, so you get the best interest rate possible. 

If you keep it in a cash ISA, there will also be no tax to pay on your savings interest.

You may be able to take funds out of your pension to pay for medical treatment, but taking lump sums out of your pension can land you with a hefty tax bill (unless you can use your tax-free lump sum). Our guide to using your pension to pay for private healthcare explains what you need to consider.

How much you need to set aside in your self-pay pot will depend on your budget, your health and how willing you are to wait and use the NHS.

As a guide, this is roughly what you can expect to pay for various private medical procedures:

• Gastroscopy: £1,942
• Colonoscopy: £2,421
• Cataract surgery: £2,953
• Varicose vein stripping (one leg): £3,489
• Gallbladder removal: £6,696
• Lumbar decompression: £9,769
• Hip replacement: £14,412
• Knee replacement: £15,138

You will also need to factor in the cost of seeing a private consultant too. Here, you can expect to pay between £170 and £250 for an initial consultation, depending on where you live and the specialty you require. Follow up appointments are usually a little cheaper.

In addition to thinking about how long you would be prepared to wait for NHS treatment and when and why you might want to go private, also make sure you’re up to speed with what help you’ll get with everyday healthcare costs as you get older.

Some things you previously needed to pay for, may be free once you reach a certain age.

Prescriptions, for example, are free in England, once you turn 60, saving you £9.90 each time.

Eye tests are also provided free of charge every two years, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, from the age of 60.

Just note though that getting older isn’t enough to get you free dentistry when you retire. Unless you’re on a low income, your NHS dental costs will remain the same.

You can learn about the free health benefits you are entitled to when you retire in our guide.

While you’ll get some free NHS health benefits when you retire, you’ll probably find the overall cost of taking care of yourself increases as you get older – especially if you need to manage nagging aches and pains.

Complementary therapies like physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic can help ease the pain of anything from tennis elbow to frozen shoulder, back or neck ache. 

But while some of these therapies may be available on the NHS, provision varies across the UK and you may face lengthy waits. For that reason many retirees choose to pay for treatments themselves. 

However, with treatments often costing upwards of £50 a time, the cost can quickly rack up, especially if you need a few appointments to fix the problem.

If you’ve got a comprehensive health insurance policy, you may find that this type of treatment is included, either as a core or additional benefit. Normally you’ll get a set amount you can spend each year on mainstream complementary therapies, or a fixed number of sessions. 

But you may also be able to get help with everyday health costs like these with a health cash plan. With this type of policy you get cash back, every time you use a certain health-related service. This could be anything from an osteopath or physiotherapy appointment to a visit to the dentist or optician.

You just book your appointment and pay for it, then you submit a claim (along with receipts) to your cash plan provider.

It may not fully cover your costs, but it can ease the financial pain and potentially encourage you to arrange treatment, without the worry of fees putting you off.

The cost of cash plans varies substantially but range from around £7 to £30 a month. Typically plans that charge the most, offer the biggest cash benefits. They can offer great value for money, but it’s important you remember to claim within the required time period.‍

Read more: How to stay pain free in retirement

What do health cash plans cover?

Health cash plans aren't a cheaper alternative to health insurance – although they may pay a benefit if you see a private consultant or have an overnight stay in hospital, they won't cover the cost of treatment.

Instead cash plans are an affordable way to get help with everyday healthcare costs including:

• Opticians (including eye tests, glasses and contact lenses)
• Dental costs
• Physiotherapy
• Chiropractic
• Osteopathy
• Acupuncture
• Homeopathy
• Chiropody
• Surgical appliances (including hearing aids and worn supports)
• Health screenings/checks
• Consultations with private doctors
• Overnight hospital stays

It’s really important to stay fit and active when you retire, to help you make the most of life.

An important part of this is taking advantage of any opportunity to catch any serious health threats sooner rather than later.  If you’ve turned 50, you’ll likely be familiar with bowel and breast cancer screening already.

Bowel cancer screening is offered every two years for everyone aged between 50 and 75, while mammograms are offered to women every three years between the ages of 50 and 71. But in both cases you can request checks after that age too.

Men will be offered a one-off abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening after the age of 64. This involves a 10 to 15-minute ultra-sound scan of the stomach to check for swellings in the aorta which could be dangerous if they rupture.

You can also request a free health check at your GP surgery, if you’re aged between 40 and 74. This focuses on your cardiovascular health and can help flag risks of health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and stroke. Over 65s will also be told about the symptoms of dementia.

Some private health insurance policies offer access to a free or discounted annual health check as well that are tailored to your age. For example, The Exeter includes an annual health assessment as part of its HealthWise app, while the AXA Health Plan provides a complimentary diabetes and cholesterol blood assessment. Vitality, meanwhile, offers a Bluecrest Health Assessment at half price, with health insurance members aged 40 and over eligible to receive it free of charge if they have a Vitality Age Gap of five years or more 

Or, even if you don’t have insurance, you may still be able to book and pay for a health check with a private health care provider.

Checks for over 65s are likely to include:

• Height, weight and waist measurements
• Mobility and posture assessments
• Heart and lung checks
• Urine and stool tests
• Comprehensive blood tests
• Mental health checks

While regular health checks can provide reassurance throughout your retirement, they can be particularly helpful before you retire. That’s because the results could have an impact on your decisions around how you plan your retirement income and the approach you use.

Health problems, including raised blood pressure or high cholesterol, for example, could mean you get enhanced payments with an annuity.

On the other hand, if a health check suggests that you’re in rude health, it may focus your mind on planning for a lengthy retirement and ensuring your income is sustainable.

Your health will have a big impact on the length and quality of your retirement. So, if you want to be able to access private healthcare in retirement – either by self-paying or with an insurance policy – you’ll need to factor the cost into your wider financial plan.

But, even if you decide to rely on the NHS, you should still think about what everyday health costs you’ll face.

Whichever camp you’re in, it’s also helpful to give your pensions, savings and investments a health check with a financial planner.

They’ll be able to analyse your overall financial position and put in place a retirement income plan that takes account of your current health as well as your preferences for future treatment.

This could also include finding space in your budget for monthly health insurance premiums or building a ‘self-pay’ pot that will be there when you need it.

If you would like one of our partner brokers to discuss your health insurance options with you please complete our form.