The Medical Expense A Soon-To-Be Retiree Should Pay For Before Retirement

If you've got a sizable nest egg stashed away and retirement is just around the corner, it may seem like your days of worrying about money are long gone. And you might be right — until medical expenses start stacking up. If you don't have special insurance to cover what Medicare and Medicaid do not, your financial position in retirement could wind up being a lot more complicated than you might expect.

While its coverage is broad, there are still a number of medical costs that Medicare won't cover. Among them, one of the most financially significant is dental care. In a 2022 study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 63.7% of adults age 65 and older visited a dentist in the 12 months leading up to the survey. The American Dental Association (ADA) also says out-of-pocket spending on dental care rose 3.3% from 2023 to 2024, with out-of-pocket payments costing almost as much as private insurance.

Original Medicare generally does not cover common dental care like cleanings, fillings, extractions, dentures, or implants, and Medigap generally doesn't cover dental either. Medicare can pay for certain dental services when they're linked to covered medical treatment, but those are limited exceptions. So, if your medical coverage is slated to change once you enter retirement, dental work is one of the clearest medical expenses to think about handling beforehand if you still have better insurance or easier access to provider networks.

There are ways to mitigate dental costs in retirement, but the best strategy for you depends on the benefits you're entitled to. If your employer offers retiree insurance, it's important to understand how that coverage will interact with Medicare. Often, retiree coverage can work in tandem with Medicare, but signing up for Medicare could alter or nullify the terms of your coverage depending on your plan. Speaking with a representative for your provider or consulting any documents outlining the details of your retiree coverage could shed some important light on what gaps you'll need to fill when you retire.

If you won't have strong retiree dental benefits, the next place to look is Medicare Advantage. With Original Medicare offering little routine dental coverage, many Medicare Advantage plans offer some dental benefits instead. KFF notes that at least 97% of individual Medicare Advantage plans featured dental benefits in 2025, though many had an annual cap that could have left beneficiaries footing a big bill if they needed extensive work. It also doesn't help that some insurers already scaled back their Medicare Advantage offerings in 2026.

If you're a low-income retiree, Medicaid's another option for affordable coverage. However, Medicaid does not require states to provide adult dental coverage, so how much it could help you depends on where you live and whether you qualify. For those who aren't eligible, discount dental plans can be a cheaper alternative to private coverage. Though not technically insurance, discount dental plans can help their recipients access reduced rates on dental work from participating dentists.