Health costs are among the hardest parts of retirement to plan for, and the national averages you read about may not look much like your life. Your Checkup uses your ages, your coverage, your ZIP code and what matters to you in your care.
What your Checkup looks at
Your Medicare timeline
We put each of your key dates on one timeline, from Social Security at 62 to Medicare at 65 and beyond, and point out the enrollment deadlines whose penalties can last a lifetime.
Your Medicare choice
We compare Original Medicare with a supplement against Medicare Advantage in light of what you told us matters, such as keeping your current doctors or traveling often.
Hospitals near you
We list the hospitals closest to your home, with their federal quality ratings, and how your state compares on hospital quality, doctors and beds.
What care costs where you live
We show the local cost of help at home for a few hours, part of the week or full time, plus assisted living and nursing care, and compare them with your budget.
How you might pay
If you're interested in long-term-care insurance, we list the questions to ask. If Medicaid could matter someday, we explain what it would mean for your home.
What you’d see · Sample
Your Medicare timeline
Linda, 62, and Ray, 64, in Ohio. Ray turns 65 in March 2027 and has health insurance through his job.
Ray's first chance to sign up for Medicare runs from December 2026 through June 2027. Because he plans to retire in 2027, he should sign up for Part B during that window rather than wait: COBRA from his employer would not protect him from Medicare's late-enrollment penalty, which lasts for life.
Linda will need her own coverage for the two years between Ray's retirement and her 65th birthday. A Marketplace plan is the likely route, and at the income you expect to draw in those years, you would probably qualify for help with the premium.
You told us keeping your current doctors matters most. That points toward Original Medicare with a supplement, bought during Ray's six-month window after Part B begins, when insurers can't turn him down or charge more for his health.
From a sample Checkup for a fictional household. Your Checkup is written from your own answers.
How it ties into the rest of your plan
- If the care you'd prefer would cost more than your budget, it's flagged on the first page.
- Your housing choice and your care preferences are weighed together, not separately.
- For couples, the timeline shows when each of you needs coverage, which matters most when your ages differ.
Background reading
- Medicare at 65: the deadlines that matterWhen to sign up, why COBRA doesn't count, the penalties that last for life, and the one-time window for buying a supplement without health questions.
- Health insurance if you retire before 65A spouse's plan, COBRA, the Marketplace and retiree coverage: how each works, and why the income you choose to draw can change what you pay.