Retirement checklist for your body: 8 screenings to book in the first year
Bone density, hearing, colon, eyes, skin, blood pressure, vaccines, strength. Eight appointments, one year, with what each one catches.
How this calculator works
Enter your age and sex and the tool checks them against two public lists: the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) A and B recommendations for screening, and the CDC adult immunization schedule set by its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Anything whose age window you are already inside lands under now. Anything that opens within the next five years lands under coming up. Items that hinge on a risk factor the calculator cannot see, such as smoking history or a parent with a hip fracture, or that carry a weaker grade, land under ask about.
There is no formula, only a lookup; the judgment sits in the grades. The USPSTF reviews the trials behind each test and assigns a letter: A means high certainty of a substantial net benefit, B means moderate to high certainty of a moderate or substantial benefit. A C means offer it selectively, a D means the harms outweigh the benefits, and an I statement means the evidence is too thin to call either way. Grades exist because a test that finds something is not the same as a test that helps you. Every screen also produces false alarms and follow-up procedures.
The letters carry a price tag. The Affordable Care Act requires most private plans to cover A and B services with no copay, and Medicare Part B covers most of the same list at $0 when your provider accepts assignment. That is why the "now" list sticks to A and B and treats everything else as a conversation.
How to read your result
The table is the full grid the calculator draws from: recommended health screenings by age for average-risk adults, with the interval. Where Medicare's coverage window differs, the notes say so.
| Screening or vaccine | Who and when | How often | Grade / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure | All adults 18+ | Yearly from 40 or if elevated; every 3 to 5 years at 18 to 39 with normal readings | USPSTF A |
| Cholesterol and statin discussion | Adults 40 to 75 with at least one risk factor | Lipid panel every 4 to 6 years from 20 (AHA/ACC); the 10-year risk score drives the statin talk | USPSTF B |
| Blood sugar (fasting glucose or A1c) | Adults 35 to 70 with overweight or obesity | Every 3 years if normal | USPSTF B |
| Colorectal cancer | Adults 45 to 75 | Colonoscopy every 10 years, FIT yearly, stool DNA-FIT every 1 to 3 years, or CT colonography every 5 years; 76 to 85 case by case | USPSTF B (45 to 49), A (50 to 75) |
| Breast cancer (mammogram) | Women 40 to 74 | Every 2 years (2024 update; Medicare pays for yearly) | USPSTF B |
| Cervical cancer | Women 21 to 65 | Pap every 3 years at 21 to 29; at 30 to 65 Pap every 3 years, HPV test every 5, or both every 5 | USPSTF A |
| Lung cancer (low-dose CT) | Adults 50 to 80 with a 20 pack-year history who smoke or quit within 15 years | Yearly (Medicare covers 50 to 77) | USPSTF B |
| Osteoporosis (DXA scan) | Women 65+; younger postmenopausal women at increased risk; men with risk factors | Once, then as advised (Medicare: every 24 months) | USPSTF B for women; I for men |
| Abdominal aortic aneurysm (ultrasound) | Men 65 to 75 who have ever smoked | Once | USPSTF B |
| Hepatitis C | Adults 18 to 79 | Once (repeat only with ongoing risk) | USPSTF B |
| HIV | Everyone 15 to 65 | Once (yearly with ongoing risk) | USPSTF A |
| Depression and anxiety | All adults (anxiety up to 64) | At routine visits; Medicare covers a depression screen yearly | USPSTF B |
| Tobacco and alcohol use | All adults | Every visit; Medicare covers counseling for both | USPSTF A (tobacco), B (alcohol) |
| Prostate (PSA) | Men 55 to 69, individual decision; not recommended at 70+ | Every 1 to 2 years if you choose it | USPSTF C / D |
| Skin cancer exam | Any age | No schedule; know your own moles, see a dermatologist for anything that changes | USPSTF I |
| Hearing, vision, dental | Practical checks from 65 (hearing, vision); dental at any age | Yearly is common practice; Original Medicare does not cover routine exams | USPSTF I (hearing, vision); no grade (dental) |
| Flu vaccine | Everyone 6 months+; high-dose or adjuvanted formula at 65+ | Every fall | ACIP |
| COVID-19 vaccine | Current-season formula; strongest case at 65+ and with risk conditions | Per season, decided with your clinician | ACIP |
| Tdap / Td | All adults | One Tdap, then a booster every 10 years | ACIP |
| Shingles (Shingrix) | Adults 50+ | 2 doses, 2 to 6 months apart, once | ACIP |
| Pneumococcal | Adults 50+ (lowered from 65 in October 2024) | Single dose of PCV20 or PCV21, or PCV15 followed by PPSV23 | ACIP 2024 |
| RSV | Adults 75+; 60 to 74 with risk conditions (extended to 50 to 59 with risk in 2025) | One dose, not yearly | ACIP |
What screenings do I need at 50, 60 and 65?
At 50 the list jumps: colorectal screening should already be underway, the shingles and pneumococcal vaccines open, and lung CT becomes relevant if you smoked. At 60 nothing new opens for most people; it is the decade to stay on schedule and to have the RSV conversation if you live with heart, lung or kidney disease or diabetes. At 65 women add the DXA scan, men who ever smoked add the one-time aortic ultrasound, the flu shot switches to the senior formula, and cervical screening usually ends. It is also the year of the Welcome to Medicare visit.
Where the number misleads
This is a schedule for average-risk adults, and almost nobody is perfectly average. Family history changes the start age and the interval: a parent or sibling with colorectal cancer before 60 moves colonoscopy to 40 and every 5 years, and a strong breast or ovarian cancer history may mean MRI rather than a two-year mammogram. A previous abnormal Pap, a fracture after 50, long-term steroids, HIV or a transplant all rewrite the rows above.
The calculator cannot see your smoking history, your weight, your blood pressure readings or your last results, so it errs toward listing things under "ask about" rather than deciding for you. It also does not know what you have already had. A clean colonoscopy at 52 means nothing is due at 55.
Grades change. The breast recommendation moved from 50 to 40 in 2024, colorectal moved from 50 to 45 in 2021, the pneumococcal age dropped to 50 in 2024 and the osteoporosis recommendation was updated in January 2025. The USPSTF and CDC sites are the final word.
Finally, this list does not replace the Welcome to Medicare visit in your first 12 months of Part B, or the Annual Wellness Visit after that. Those appointments exist to build a written, personalised preventive care checklist for you, and they cost nothing.
What to do with it
- Print the "now" list and take it to your next appointment. Most clinicians will gladly order what is due; the bottleneck is usually that nobody asked. It doubles as your annual checkup checklist.
- Write down the dates of your last colonoscopy, mammogram, DXA and tetanus shot. Your patient portal or pharmacy record usually knows. Our retirement checklist for your body has a one-page template for this.
- Measure blood pressure at home the week before. Seven mornings on a validated arm cuff tell the clinician more than one reading in a cold office. If the numbers are creeping, a 10-minute walk after meals is the cheapest first move and helps the blood sugar row too.
- Stack the vaccines. Flu and COVID can go in the same visit; Shingrix needs two appointments, so start it in a quiet month. Under Medicare, flu, COVID and pneumococcal fall under Part B, while Shingrix, Tdap and RSV are Part D benefits and have been $0 since 2023.
- Do not let supplements stand in for tests. Vitamin D and calcium do not replace a DXA scan; we sorted out what does earn a place in supplements worth taking after 50.
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Frequently asked questions
What health screenings do I need at 50?
At 50 an average-risk adult should already be in a colorectal screening program (it starts at 45), have blood pressure checked yearly, and have a cholesterol and statin discussion if any risk factor is present. Women continue mammograms every two years and cervical screening. Two vaccines open at 50: shingles (Shingrix, two doses) and pneumococcal, which ACIP lowered from 65 to 50 in 2024. Lung CT applies only with a 20 pack-year smoking history.
Which preventive services does Medicare cover for free?
Medicare Part B pays 100 percent for most USPSTF-graded screenings when the provider accepts assignment: mammograms, colorectal tests, cardiovascular blood tests, diabetes screening, bone density scans, lung CT for eligible smokers, hepatitis C and HIV tests, depression and alcohol screening, plus the Welcome to Medicare and Annual Wellness visits. Flu, COVID and pneumococcal shots are Part B; shingles, Tdap and RSV are covered at no cost under Part D. Routine dental, hearing and vision exams are not covered by Original Medicare.
How often should a woman over 65 get a mammogram?
The 2024 USPSTF recommendation is a mammogram every two years from 40 through 74. From 75 on the task force says the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against, so it becomes a decision based on your health and preferences. Medicare will pay for a yearly screening mammogram at any age if you and your clinician choose to continue.
What vaccines do adults over 65 need?
A flu shot every fall, ideally the high-dose or adjuvanted version made for 65 and older; the current season's COVID-19 vaccine; a one-time pneumococcal dose if you have not had one since 50; two doses of the shingles vaccine if you have not had them; a Td or Tdap booster every 10 years; and a single RSV vaccine at 75 or older, or from 60 with heart, lung or kidney disease, diabetes or a weakened immune system.
What is the difference between a USPSTF grade A and grade B?
Both mean the task force recommends the service. Grade A means there is high certainty that the net benefit is substantial. Grade B means the net benefit is moderate, or there is moderate certainty that it is moderate to substantial. Both must be covered without cost sharing by most private insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, and Medicare covers nearly all of them at $0.
Do men need a PSA test every year?
Not automatically. The USPSTF gives PSA screening a grade C for men 55 to 69, meaning it should be an individual decision after talking through the trade-off between a small reduction in prostate cancer deaths and the risk of overdiagnosis and treatment side effects. For men 70 and older it is a grade D, not recommended. Black men and men with a father or brother who had prostate cancer should have that conversation earlier.
Sources
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. A and B Recommendations. Current list — Age windows, populations and grades for every screening in the table; definitions of grades A, B, C, D and I
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Breast Cancer: Screening. Final Recommendation Statement. 2024 — Biennial mammography for women 40 to 74 (grade B); insufficient evidence at 75 and older
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Colorectal Cancer: Screening. Final Recommendation Statement. 2021 — Grade A for 50 to 75, grade B for 45 to 49, selective screening 76 to 85; test options and intervals
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult Immunization Schedule by Age, United States. 2025 — Flu, COVID-19, Tdap/Td, shingles 50+, pneumococcal 50+, RSV 75+ and 60 to 74 with risk conditions
- Medicare.gov. Preventive & screening services — Part B coverage, intervals and $0 cost sharing for each screening; Welcome to Medicare and Annual Wellness visits
This calculator is for general information and is not medical advice. Results are estimates from population formulas and can be off for you personally. Talk to a clinician before acting on a number, especially if you take medication or have a diagnosed condition. Editorial policy · Medical disclaimer
