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In the final days of the midterm campaign, President Donald Trump told rally crowds that Democrats would “wipe out your life savings, bankrupt your family.” He said it in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Oct. 30 (1) and again in Salina, Kansas, on Nov. 1 (2).
In Salina, he went further: “They want to steal your wealth and give it to fraudsters, thieves, and foreign criminals.” (2)
By the time you read this, the votes are in. I’m not going to referee the election. I’m a CPA, I’ve been one since 1981, and my job here is simpler: telling you what the numbers say actually drains a retiree’s savings.
Here’s what they say. Someone retiring at 65 this year can expect to spend an average of $185,500 on health care in retirement, according to Fidelity, and that doesn’t include long-term care (3).
A private room in a nursing home ran a national median of $129,575 a year in 2025, according to CareScout (4). And Americans 60 and older reported $7.7 billion in fraud losses to the FBI in 2025 (5).
Here are four things that really can wipe out your life savings, no matter who won.
1. Health care bills Medicare doesn’t cover
Fidelity’s $185,500 estimate is what a 65-year-old retiring in 2026 can expect to spend on health care and medical expenses through retirement (3). It’s 7.5% higher than last year’s estimate (3).
That money doesn’t leave all at once. It drains out a premium, a copay and a prescription at a time, which is why it can catch people off guard.
My read: the retirees who come out fine are the ones who decided ahead of time how much to set aside for health care and which accounts to pull it from.
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2. A long stay in a nursing home
Medicare doesn’t provide long-term care coverage, also called custodial care, unless medical care is needed (6). Custodial care is the help with bathing, dressing and getting through the day that so many of us eventually need.
And the odds aren’t small. Someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care, according to the federal Administration for Community Living (7).
At the median $129,575 a year for a private room, two years in a nursing home would cost about $259,150 (4). That’s the kind of bill that really can empty a retirement account.
Long-term care insurance helps fill that gap, covering services like home care, assisted living, and help with daily tasks. Rates are typically lowest if you buy in your 50s or early 60s, couples often qualify for discounts, and premiums may even be tax-deductible.
A little planning now can spare your family a difficult financial situation later. See a list of the best LTC insurance companies — takes 2 minutes.
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3. A scammer who sounds legitimate
Trump used the word “fraudsters.” Here’s the fraud against older Americans that is actually measured. Americans 60 and older reported $7.7 billion in losses to the FBI in 2025, about a 60% increase from 2024 (5).
The Federal Trade Commission counts it differently, but the message is the same: people 50 and older reported $4.3 billion lost to fraud in 2025 (5).
The simplest defense costs nothing. If a call, text or email pushes you to move money, hang up and call the number on your own statement or card.
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4. Money you think is insured, but isn’t
Here’s the reassuring part. The FDIC insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, in each account ownership category (8).
That limit is the catch. Keep more than that at one bank in one ownership category, and the excess isn’t covered if the bank fails.
Brokerage accounts have a different safety net, called SIPC. SIPC protection tops out at $500,000, and no more than $250,000 of that can be cash (9). But SIPC doesn’t protect against a drop in the value of your investments (9).
My honest take
Elections do matter for your wallet. Congress writes the tax rules and the Social Security and Medicare rules, and those can change.
But a rally line isn’t a financial plan. The things that actually empty retirement accounts are quieter: a health care bill, a long illness, a convincing stranger on the phone, a bank balance that’s grown past the insurance limit.
None of those care who won on Tuesday. All of them are things you can plan for this week.
Sources: 1. Roll Call Factba.se (Daytona Beach transcript); 2. Roll Call Factba.se (Salina transcript); 3. FOX 5 New York; 4. CareScout via Business Wire; 5. AARP; 6. Medicare.gov; 7. Administration for Community Living; 8. FDIC; 9. SIPC
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