Are you participating in a 457 Deferred Compensation plan or RHS to save for Retirement? New studies show that Retirees need $130,000 just to cover health care. Today's 65-year-olds can expect to spend an average of $130,000 on health care during their retirement, from premiums to co-payments to eyeglasses, according to new estimates. The average single 65-year-old woman can expect to need $135,000 to spend on health care in retirement, while a man will spend $125,000, according to estimates from Fidelity Investments. (The difference is because the woman is expected to live longer—an additional 22 years, vs. 20 years more for the man.)