Unless you belong to the ultra-rich category, having health insurance is a must here in India. And more so if you are nearing retirement. The reason is that the chances of developing medical issues increase with age, and hence, you need insurance to ensure that your savings are not exhausted due to unexpectedly large hospitalisation bills. Sadly, most Indian families are one uninsured hospitalisation away from financial ruin.
But, is having health insurance enough as you approach retirement? With age, and generally beyond one’s 50s, the once-in-a-few years visit to the doctor and health expenses start becoming a regular and, sadly, recurring part of expenses. And even though most such visits/expenses would not require
hospitalisation (and trigger health insurance claims), they still start costing a lot.
My views on – Why a Medical Contingency Fund/Corpus for retirement medical needs is Important, were published in a column in Economic Times Wealth (Edition 9-15 February 2026). You can read the same via this link or in the image below:
