#1 Dental Work

Let’s be honest.

Getting dental work done is going to be expensive no matter when you are going to get it done, but waiting until you are retired is not really the best choice you can make. Of course, prevention is the best way to deal with dental issues, such as by going to regular checkups and fixing things as soon as possible. Yet, when it comes to bigger work, you should keep in mind that once you retire, Medicare will not cover most of the dental work you may need. Sure, Medicare will cover retirees’ other health issues but not dental work.

This means that you will have to pay out of pocket for dental plates, tooth extractions, dentures, cleanings, fillings, and even veneers if you need them. These can get pretty expensive pretty fast, and as a retiree, you wouldn’t want to spend a good chunk of your nest egg on dental work. Make sure you keep your teeth in good condition before you retire so you have fewer problems with them and, if your employer covers dental work even partially, that you get things done before you retire.

There is a silver lining, though! If you have Medicare Part A and you have to be admitted to the hospital for complicated dental procedures or any dental emergency, this part of Medicare will cover the hospital stay entirely.

Either way, it is a good rule of thumb to try to minimize the need for dental work in retirement, and that means starting to make such purchases before you retire.