If you and your loved one are looking down the road toward living out your golden years together, be prepared to have a pile of cash stashed away to cover your medical bills.

Fidelity Investments has released its annual projection on health care costs for retirees and calculated that a couple retiring now will need $240,000 to get through their remaining decades. That’s an increase from last year’s projection of $230,000.

The bank had cut the number for the 2011 report, citing portions of the Affordable Care Act that should reduce seniors’ out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs. But Fidelity says medical costs are still going up, thus the rebound from last year’s unprecedented dip.

“As long as health care cost trends exceed personal income growth and economic growth, health care will still be a growing burden for the country as a whole and for individuals,” says Sunit Patel, a senior vice president for benefits consulting at Fidelity.

A bit of a silver lining: The 4% year-over-year increase is less than the average 6% yearly increase the Fidelity reports have shown since 2002.

Retired couples may need $240,000 for health care [AJC.com]

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