The spiraling cost of healthcare tops list of concerns.

Affluent household are not spared serious retirement concerns, according to “Wealth in America,” a study conducted by Northern Trust, a provider of wealth management services. Ninety percent of the people surveyed listed spiraling healthcare costs as the greatest threat to a secure retirement. Not surprisingly, 89 percent listed personal and spousal health as a great concern.

“Our research shows how critical the issue of healthcare costs is to everyone, regardless of income,” said Tom Hines, senior vice president and head of Northern Financial Consulting Group. “With life expectancies rising, and as many as 30 million individuals expected to reach retirement over the next ten years and remain in retirement far longer than previous generations...the cost of long-term care, home health care or nursing home care...can rapidly deplete hard-earned wealth and possibly jeopardize estate plans.”

Other findings in Northern Trust’s study of 1,014 high net worth households with $1 million or more in investable assets includes concerns about stock market decline (85 percent), inflation (83 percent), tax increases (81 percent) and terrorism (77 percent).

In addition to personal investments, fully 70 percent of millionaires plan to use Social Security and Medicare payment for retirement income. Sixty-four percent expressed concerns about the future of these entitlement programs. Forty-eight percent of pre-retiree affluent households anticipate working either full- or part-time when they retire, compared to 22 percent of currently retired households who are working full or part time.