ARGH! New info about Co retirement pkg

[ugeauxgirl]

So today I went to a company retirement seminar- I was sure there wasn't a thing could say that would make me stay longer than the 9 months and 5 days I have left. I was wrong.

So company has a retirement pkg if you stay till your age plus years of service = 70. I'm 45 and I have 20 years of service- I needed to stay till 48, but they weren't offering much in terms of extra pay- so I was planning to quit before I qualified for pkg. What (I discovered today) they ARE offering is the opportunity to buy Co healthcare plan till I'm 65. That's huge for us. We currently have an individual plan- we are one of the few who actually got to keep our pre-ACA plan, which was cheaper than co insurance at the time. Co insurance is now cheaper, but I haven't switched because the grandfathered plan is cheaper than anything I can buy now on the open market, and I was planning on quitting in 9 months. The Individual Blue Cross plan gets a significant price hike whenever we hit significant birthdays- and company insurance doesn't.

Other assorted stuff- our investable net worth is 2 million not including college funds. We spend about 60K a year not including taxes- which will dwindle to nearly nothing if I quit- we will drop into the 15% bracket. We have been saving $100k/year the last few years, so the pot (market willing) will be 300K more + possible market appreciation. Husband would rather I wait a bit to retire. Husband does contract work and makes more than enough to support us and has no intention of quitting- but will slack off some- still probably no w/d at all from portfolio for the next 5-8 years regardless of whether I retire or not.

I'm tired to death of my job and was so excited about quitting, but if I push my retirement date back by 2 years, I will take the riskiest variable out of the plan. What do y'all think?

 

[jazz4cash]

I would stay. Our plan was age+ yrs = 85 or more so 70 is pretty good.

 

[Just_Steve]

I'm tired to death of my job and was so excited about quitting, but if I push my retirement date back by 2 years, I will take the riskiest variable out of the plan. What do y'all think?

I could have left my j@b sooner than I did but would not have qualified for no cost family health care, I stuck around for it. For me I would not be able to afford a retirement otherwise.
The peace of mind of not worrying about ACA is priceless.

 

[hesperus]

with all the uncertainty surrounding health care now, stay and lock that in.

 

[Jerry1]

I would stay, but be prepared for two possible outcomes. They change the plan before you make it, which is not a big deal given you only need a couple more years. Worse is if they change it after you leave.

My company had retiree healthcare when I turned 55. Unfortunately, that was also the year they changed the plan from buying into the company's healthcare at a substantial discount to now they are just providing a lump sum annually for me to go out and buy healthcare on the exchange. That made my decision to stay a little longer. The worse part is that with the current environment, it is so uncertain it adds another level of risk to retiring early. I'm 56 now and in OMY mode. We'll see if anything firms up in healthcare, but pretty soon, it won't matter - I'm done.

 

[brett]

Another vote for stay.

 

[iloveyoga]

The one thing that would make me stay too.

 

[MRG]

That would have made me stay two more years. Especially at age 45. Great deal.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Decide in three years--and then stay

 

[Fedup]

I would stay, it's 2 years and you're young. I was sick of my job since the first day I was at work. But I'm glad I did stay 5 years.

 

[Texas Proud]

I would stay also....

For me it went the other way.... they had a plan that if you had worked 20 years and was over 55 you could buy the plan... it also allowed you to buy if they had laid you off IIRC 15 and you were over 55....

BUT, they decided to get rid of the plan, but grandfathered it to the current participants and anybody working who was over 50... I was 49.5 when they changed...

Still mad at them as they had a pretty good plan.... now we got crappy ACA where they list MANY Drs on the plan that are NOT on the plan...

 

[Rambler]

If I had a deal like that, I'd have stayed. If I were you, i would stay.

 

[SheitlQueen]

Definitely stay.

 

[pacergal]

I vote to stay. I continued working few years for the health insurance, also, it just made better financial sense for us.

 

[2017ish]

Given that you are "tired to death" of your job, rather than "hate it" or "soul sucking" or "wake up with hives middle of the night," I agree with the consensus--if it is an attractive employer policy, which is what it sounds like.

 

[Scuba]

Whatever you do, I wouldn't give up the grandfathered pre-ACA plan. We have one of those and are very happy we do as most of our docs do not accept Covered CA.

Also think about how you will feel if you stay and your company changes the plan as others have described. I personally know several people who have experienced that. With sufficient assets and a relatively low spend rate, buying your own health insurance is very doable.

 

[athena53]

I would stay, but be prepared for two possible outcomes. They change the plan before you make it, which is not a big deal given you only need a couple more years. Worse is if they change it after you leave.

This would be my concern, but I agree with the others- for 2 years it's a risk worth taking.

Anything you can do to improve the quality of your job? Take a position elsewhere in the company, for example?

 

[ponyboy]

no brainer...stay

 

[2017ish]

Whatever you do, I wouldn't give up the grandfathered pre-ACA plan. We have one of those and are very happy we do as most of our docs do not accept Covered CA.

Also think about how you will feel if you stay and your company changes the plan as others have described. I personally know several people who have experienced that. With sufficient assets and a relatively low spend rate, buying your own health insurance is very doable.

Unfortunately, the grandfathered plan isn't guaranteed to be there in the future. Because of enrollment bar, the population covered under that policy form is getting older each year ... When (if?) the insurer no longer offers that policy, individual options may not be available at all for periods of time (depending upon state/locale), or may be not very doable for many early retirees who weren't anticipating four figure bills each month for premiums.

(And, as you note,one may well have to be hunting outside of the exchange, and maybe even ACA-compliant individual plans, to ensure that preferred physicians and hospitals are included.)

 

[bobandsherry]

Only you can make the call as to what is important and what your need/want to retire. For me life is too short, now 1yr into retirement at 55 and no regrets.

 

[littleb]

Make sure you get the full details about the health plan. Sometimes companies will have slightly different plans (prices/benefit levels) with retiree health plans. Are you positive the plans are completely identical? As others have stated they can change the plan after you retire. Our large mega company eliminated the retiree health plan years later. Even if you are covered under the "current" plan they can change the plan eligibility (ie must be FT employee) in the future. Be prepared for all.

If the plans are the same or similar I would stay.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Make sure you get the full details about the health plan. Sometimes companies will have slightly different plans (prices/benefit levels) with retiree health plans. Are you positive the plans are completely identical? As others have stated they can change the plan after you retire. Our large mega company eliminated the retiree health plan years later. Even if you are covered under the "current" plan they can change the plan eligibility (ie must be FT employee) in the future. Be prepared for all.

If the plans are the same or similar I would stay.

I was with that "large" mega company that eliminated their health plan for retirees. Granted, we got $300/mo added to our retirement check but it still left a bad taste in my mouth that I never got over. The company can promise you the moon and then not deliver. See if there is any way you can get that deal guaranteed in writing. Regardless, I would stay the required time to get that offer. You are so young.

 

[jollystomper]

With the various risks mentioned, I would stay, but maybe ramp up my savings. Though your organization can change that plan at any time, I make getting the best healthcare insurance possible a priority. You can reassess things as you go closer to your current target retirement date, but I think hanging in for 2 more years, particularly at your age, is worth it.

 

[FIREmenow]

I am in a similar situation. We're more than ready to go now, but DW's mega corp will subsidize health care between retirement @55 and medicare to the tune of $500/mo if she stays on 18 more months. Basic $60K decision for us. "We" (if she has to work, I have to work ) are gonna stick it out for 18 more months for that.

 

[Al in Ohio]

No brainer. Stay. Besides, your young and still will be in just 3 years.