15 Under-the-Radar Expenses Retirees Cannot Overlook

Everyone knows they'll have to buy groceries in retirement -- and pay for housing, if they don't own their home outright. But this is far from the whole picture of retirement expenses. Even if you plan to spend your whole retirement reading books or watching TV, you're still going to run into some extra costs.

That's not a problem if you've been preparing for them. But it's easy to let some of them slip through the cracks. Here are 15 common expenses that you don't want to forget about when planning for retirement.

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All right, so inflation isn't something you can order online or pick up in store (why would you want to, anyway?) but it affects everything you're ever going to buy, so it still deserves a spot on the list.

The actual inflation rate varies from one year to the next, but the general rule of thumb when planning for retirement is to assume a 3% annual inflation rate. This means the cost of your living expenses will go up by 3% per year. Or, put another way, your dollars will be worth 3% less every year. Most retirement calculators account for inflation already, but if you forgot to include this, now's a good time to revisit that retirement plan.

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Medicare pays for some of your healthcare costs in retirement, but it has costs of its own. Just like the health insurance you have today, you'll be dealing with deductibles, copays, and premiums. They may be more affordable than your current health insurance plan, but you also may be using your insurance more as people often experience more health problems as they age.

You can keep money for Medicare costs in a retirement account or you could use a health savings account (HSA) if you have a high-deductible health insurance plan now. Money you put here reduces your taxable income this year, and if you use it for medical expenses at any age, you won't owe taxes on it at all.

Medicare doesn't cover dental or vision care, nor does it pay for any sort of hearing aid. Unless you have a supplemental health insurance policy, you're on your own when it comes to paying for these things.

There are a few different ways to get coverage for this. You could get a Medicare supplement policy. This is a separate health insurance policy with its own premiums, deductibles, and copays. Or you could get a Medicare Advantage plan. This replaces your original Medicare plan and covers all the same things, plus some extras. If you don't want to do that, you can look into dental and vision discount plans. These aren't insurance, but they may be able to reduce your out-of-pocket costs.

Those who become unable to care for themselves due to a severe illness or injury may need long-term care if they don't have a friend or family member who can take care of them. Long-term care can easily cost six figures or more -- enough to wipe out your retirement savings in a hurry.

Doing your best to remain healthy as you age can reduce your risk of needing long-term care when you're older. If you're worried, you can always add a long-term care insurance policy to your retirement plan. These are expensive, but they give you a predictable monthly payment and help you cover your long-term care costs, should you need it.

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With people living longer, it's possible your parents could still be alive by the time you retire. If they've used up all their savings, they could look to you for support. You could also be facing requests for financial help from your adult children or other family members. It's natural to want to help, but it could cause you to burn through your retirement savings faster than expected.

If you believe caregiving is a possibility for you, you should try to save as much as you can before you retire to cover this. If you have siblings, enlist their help when it comes to providing for your parents. And set clear limits with adult children about what you will and won't cover long before retirement and then follow through.

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You may think you don't have to worry about end-of-life expenses, but this isn't always true. For most married couples, one spouse will probably die before the other, leaving the surviving spouse to pay for the funeral and associated expenses. Some seniors also worry about burdening their children with their end-of-life expenses after they're gone.

You could budget for these expenses in your retirement account, but purchasing final expense insurance is another option. This is a type of life insurance that's specifically designed to pay for end-of-life costs, like funerals, headstones, cremation, and more.

A fender bender or a broken sump pump could lead to unanticipated costs you need to pay right away. Emergencies like these are one of the most difficult things to plan for in retirement because you don't know when they'll occur or how expensive they'll be.

The typical rule of thumb for working adults is to save at least three to six months of living expenses in an emergency fund. Some people who believe they'd have difficulty finding a new job if they lost theirs save a year of living expenses or more. It's not a bad idea to carry a large emergency fund into retirement if you can to help you cover these unexpected costs.

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Some home projects can be anticipated. For example, if your roof is nearing the end of its life expectancy, it's safe to assume you'll need to replace that in retirement. The same goes for your furnace, water heater, and other major home appliances.

Try to anticipate what will need routine maintenance or replacing in retirement and estimate how much these things might cost. It's not a bad idea to build in a little cushion in case things end up being more expensive than you planned.

Even if you don't need to make any changes to your home or vehicle, you might want to. If you've thought about renovating your kitchen or getting a new car in retirement, make sure you're budgeting for these expenses.

Don't forget about associated costs, too. For example, if your upgrades significantly increase the value of your home, you may need more home insurance coverage to be fully protected, which could raise your monthly insurance costs.

When you work a nine-to-five job, you're away from home for 40 hours per week, or even more than that once you factor in your commute. But once you retire, you'll be home a lot more often, and that means you'll be using more electricity. You may also be using your air-conditioning more in the summer and your heat in the winter.

These costs may not be that significant compared with some of the other expenses on this list, but they're still worth bearing in mind. Don't forget to account for slightly higher bills when planning for these costs in retirement.

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You'll have more free time in retirement, and most people use that time to do the things they enjoy. But some of those hobbies can get expensive quickly.

Think about how you plan to spend your retirement and anticipate how much your hobbies might cost. That includes one-time costs, like purchasing a new fishing pole or set of golf clubs, as well as ongoing costs.

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If you plan to travel in retirement, it's safe to say your transportation costs will get much higher. But this could also be the case even if you plan to remain close to home. Rather than being stuck in an office for eight hours a day, you'll be free to travel wherever you like.

In addition to gas prices and car insurance, you could also face flights and hotel costs if you plan to visit friends and relatives out of state. These costs can vary from day to day, so they're difficult to plan for, but you may be able to use current costs to get an estimate.

Those who can't imagine retirement without their furry friends will want to make sure they're budgeting for them in their retirement plan. This includes the obvious food, water, and toys. But you also have to remember vet bills and kenneling or pet sitting costs if you plan to leave your pet alone.

Pet insurance can help you cover unexpected medical costs, but just like your insurance, it has costs of its own. So you'll still have to set aside some money for this in your own retirement account.

The holiday season doesn't stop coming once you retire. Neither do birthdays, and if your kids are getting married and having kids of their own, you can expect the list of people you must buy gifts for to grow.

Think about how much you normally spend on each of your relatives and use this to estimate what you may spend on gifts throughout the year. If you also donate to charity, plan for this as well.

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Unless you have all your savings in Roth accounts, you will owe some taxes in retirement, both to the federal government and possibly your state government. How much you'll owe depends on what you spend annually and what the tax brackets are. You can use your estimates of your annual spending in retirement and the current tax brackets to estimate what you might owe.

It's possible you could owe taxes on your Social Security benefits as well. The federal government can tax up to 85% of these, depending on your income, and some state governments tax them, too.

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It's not easy to plan for what we can't be certain of, but if you've remembered to include the 15 things listed above in your retirement plan, you're off to a pretty good start.

Review your retirement plan annually and adjust it whenever your plans for your future change to help you stay on track.

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