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Dimension: Retiree Healthcare Cost — Absolute

Annual premium/contribution paid specifically because of retirement, on top of general taxation already covered elsewhere in this matrix · USD equivalent

Greece
$0
no separate retiree premium
Italy
$0
no separate retiree premium
UK
$0
no separate retiree premium
Germany
≈$1,326*
8.75% of pension — exact rate, dollar figure approximate
US
$2,849+
premiums only — no cap on Parts A/B coinsurance
$0 $750 $1,500 $2,250 $3,000

Dimension: Retiree Healthcare Cost — % of Retirement Income

Same costs above, expressed against each country's average retirement income

Greece
0%
Italy
0%
UK
0%
Germany
8.75%
fixed rate, not an estimate
US
11.5%+
of avg. Social Security benefit, premiums only
0% 5% 10% 15%
all figures below sourced to a single point — no ranges on this dimension
+ bar fades to an open edge: sourced figure is a floor, not a ceiling — real exposure runs higher and is uncapped, but no further point is sourced, so no specific higher number is shown
* rate is exact and sourced; dollar translation depends on an average income figure with weaker sourcing than the rate itself
What "$0" means and doesn't mean: UK, Italy, and Greek retirees are not paying nothing for healthcare — they already paid for it through the general taxation and payroll contributions captured in this matrix's tax-wedge dimension, during their working years and (for Italy/Greece) continuing in retirement via general taxation with no separate age-triggered premium. The $0 here specifically means no new, retirement-specific charge kicks in at retirement — the funding mechanism doesn't change when you stop working. Germany's 8.75% and the US's costs are both new obligations tied specifically to retirement status (Germany: a reduced-but-real ongoing contribution on pension income; US: Medicare premiums that didn't exist as a line item during working years, replacing employer-sponsored coverage instead).

What the US "+" means: $2,849/yr and 11.5% are the guaranteed, fixed premium cost every Medicare Part B+D enrollee pays regardless of how much care they use. They exclude the Part A inpatient deductible ($1,736 per hospitalization — not annual, can recur within a year with multiple admissions), Part B's standard 20% coinsurance on outpatient care, and the fact that Original Medicare (Parts A/B) has no out-of-pocket maximum at all unless the retiree buys a supplemental Medigap policy or enrolls in Medicare Advantage — both of which carry their own premiums not counted here. The true annual cost for a retiree who uses any meaningful amount of care is higher than shown, and for a retiree with a hospitalization or ongoing treatment, could be substantially higher, with no ceiling.

Sources: US — CMS 2026 Medicare Part B premium ($202.90/mo) and average 2026 standalone Part D premium ($34.50/mo, CMS projection); SSA average retired-worker benefit, January 2026 ($2,071/mo). Germany — statutory pension insurance covers half the standard GKV contribution rate for KVdR-eligible pensioners (7.3% base + half the 2.9% average supplemental rate = 8.75% of pension income), per ottonova/German statutory health insurance guidance 2026; average western-German pension (men, 2025) per Deutsche Rentenversicherung. UK/Italy/Greece — NHS and SSN structural facts (general taxation, free at point of use, no age-triggered premium); Greek EFKA/EOPYY system does carry co-insurance on some services (not shown here — this panel is premiums/contributions only, not point-of-care cost sharing).