Got an extra $100,000?

You may need it in retirement to cover health care costs.

Today, the Employee Benefit Research Institute put out some numbers on that pricetag, which many people overlook when planning their retirement.

For a man, retiring in 2009 at age 65, EBRI’s low estimate is between $68,000 and $173,000, depending upon his health needs. For a woman, same situation, the number is $98,000 to $242,000 (they live longer).

If you (or your friends or relatives) are age 55 now and will retire in ten years at 65, the estimates are higher. EBRI projects the savings a man will need will be between $114,000 to $634,000 and a woman, $164,000 to $754,000.

As any senior will tell you, Medicare (for which seniors pay premiums) takes up the bulk of the costs, but all those out-of-pocket expenses for supplemental insurance, co pays and prescriptions add up.

You might think you’ll just ignore this if you’re working and retirement is a distant goal, or even something you think you’ll never reach.

Well, this matters to working people, too. EBRI notes that the main Medicare trust fund is heading toward insolvency in 2017. To address than, one proposal is to raise the payroll taxes workers and their employers together pay to support this fund, from 2.9 percent to 6.78 percent.

And that would make it more difficult to save for your own health care trust fund for retirement.