{"id":22,"date":"2026-09-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.room-vu.com\/joeduerrinsuranceagent-com\/2026\/09\/23\/us-retirees-need-medicare-gap-plans\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:00:00","slug":"us-retirees-need-medicare-gap-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/23\/us-retirees-need-medicare-gap-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"US Retirees Need Medicare Gap Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-zmyer\">\n<div class=\"video-frame-zmyer\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/www.roomvu.com\/agent\/embed\/joe-68\/suze-orman-medicare-8ee0\"\n                frameborder=\"0\"\n                allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\"\n                allowfullscreen><br \/>\n        <\/iframe>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"video-description-zmyer\">\n<p>When it comes to retirement, many people are surprised to learn that Medicare doesn\u2019t cover all their health care needs. Recent planning estimates show that a 65-year-old retiring in 2026 can expect to spend around $185,500 on health care alone. That number really puts into perspective how important it is to prepare for expenses that go beyond basic Medicare coverage.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not uncommon to think Medicare will handle everything, but research shows more than half of pre-retirees believe this mistakenly\u2014even as premiums rise faster than retirement benefits. Original Medicare doesn\u2019t include routine dental, vision care for glasses, hearing aids, or long-term custodial care, which often leaves retirees with significant gaps in protection. Even covered services come with their own out-of-pocket costs: for example, Part B is projected to cost about $203 per month in 2026, plus a deductible, about 20% coinsurance, and possible surcharges if your income is above certain thresholds.<\/p>\n<p>As someone who helps clients navigate these decisions, I always recommend reviewing Medicare\u2019s gaps early and comparing Medigap plans during that crucial one-time enrollment window. Building up reserves with a health savings account before you\u2019re eligible can also make a real difference. My goal is to make sure you truly understand your options and feel confident you\u2019re protected\u2014not just for today, but for the years ahead.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to retirement, many people are surprised to learn that Medicare doesn\u2019t cover all their health care needs. Recent planning estimates show that a 65-year-old retiring in 2026 can expect to spend around $185,500 on health care alone. That number really puts into perspective how important it is to prepare for expenses that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":48,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduerrinsuranceagent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}