Taxes a Surprise Expense in Retirement

When asked what they expected their top expenses to be before they retired, the majority of retirees surveyed for the 2013 — Expense Challenges of Age 62-75 Retirees survey anticipated home and mortgage, health care and travel/leisure to be the most significant expenses during retirement. However, these retirees found their actual top expenses included taxes, rather than health care.

On average, when reviewing all household expenses paid on an annual basis, retirees reported spending the most on federal income tax. Additionally, 36% of retirees said taxes were a larger expense than they had anticipated, while 23% did not even consider planning for taxes as an expense prior to retirement.

Underestimating the role of taxes was not based on a lack of knowledge among those responding to Lincoln’s survey. When participants were asked if they were aware of recent tax law changes, 62% said they were, while only 16% were unaware of tax law changes. Fifty-seven percent of survey participants said their advisers regularly discussed tax changes with them and shared the impact those changes could have on retirement. However, 43% said their advisers did not take that initiative.

Other key survey findings included:

• Women had higher levels of concern, especially as it related to the health of their spouse, health care expenses and receiving full Social Security and Medicare benefits throughout retirement;
• Reinforcing the need for wealth protection, individuals in the 62 to 65 age range have more intense anxiety than other age segments about major retirement concerns, such as leaving an inheritance, generating enough income, and having assets to last throughout retirement; and
• About 43% of retirees ages 62 to 65 indicated they would like to pass on a financial legacy to children, grandchildren or a charity, yet nearly half of survey participants indicated they had not worked with a professional to establish an estate plan.

The survey is based on interviews with 750 individuals, with an annual household income of $100,000 or more. The survey included individuals who worked with a financial adviser, as well as those who did not. The survey report is available here.