Planning to receive a ACA subsidy?

[Malcolm2]

ER colleagues, plans for a subsidy from the ACA?

 

[Onward]

Yep.

 

[obgyn65]

Too early to tell.

 

[MichaelB]

Another poll was done recently, and can be found here http://www.early-retirement.org/for...ies-by-staying-under-the-threshold-65954.html

 

[Malcolm2]

Another poll was done recently, and can be found here http://www.early-retirement.org/for...ies-by-staying-under-the-threshold-65954.html

Thanks Michael you are correct. In this poll though I was trying to focus specifically as much has unfolded in the past two months and I think there may be a bit more understanding.

 

[W2R]

I voted "no" because I am on Medicare along with my federal retiree insurance which picks up what Medicare doesn't cover.

Although insurance doublespeak is not my forte (to put it mildly), I think that means I don't qualify for a subsidy. Besides, my income would probably preclude it even if I did.

 

[Sue J]

Earlier I had assumed that I would go onto an ACA plan and that DH would stay under his subsidized retiree plan. Then I learned through the calculators posted here that to insure just me as one of a married couple would cost us the same amount as insuring both of us. So it doesn't make economic sense for us to be insured by different plans. The ACA cost for both of us at our current income level is less than both of us under the retiree plan. But if DH leaves the retiree plan he is not allowed to go back to it.

In the next year or two, or three, DH is planning on doing some type of part time work, just to earn another 4 Social Security credits. If he does this he'd have enough to get a small SS benefit but it would be reduced by WEP. He doesn't know what he'd like to do or when he'd do it, but that's in the future. Don't know how much he'd earn, but it's something to consider because more income would impact our future costs under ACA.

Our monthly cost under DH's retiree plan had a large increase for 2013, but it will remain stable until 2016. The plan's coverage is much better than I ever cared to pay for but for 2013 it was our only choice.

Another thing to consider is that my Dad is 87, living in an assisted living facility. All of his assets are in a Traditional IRA. The way he talks, he would prefer to die sooner rather than later. Of course, you don't get to decide that. When he passes my RMD on an inherited IRA would count towards our joint income (from what I've been able to learn online). Another point to consider.........

So for 2014 we will probably stay with DH's retiree plan and then re-evaluate yearly. It will cost more than the expected cost of a silver ACA plan but it's an excellent plan that we have experience with at a known cost vs. ACA in a state that appears to be clueless as to the upcoming changes (Ohio).

 

[mickeyd]

I have no plans to apply for an ACA subsidy however, I will, no doubt, be paying for all of those who wish to cash in on this freebe.

 

[grasshopper]

I am hoping to be grandfathered and pay out of pocket, but that may not happen.

 

[martyb]

I have no plans to apply for an ACA subsidy however, I will, no doubt, be paying for all of those who wish to cash in on this freebe.

+1

 

[Which Roger]

I selected the "Too early" option. No plans to do this right away, but if it's my best option after I let the dust settle for a while, I will certainly consider it.

 

[pb4uski]

I voted "Yes" because I can manage my income to qualify and there is no question that I can because of the taxable accounts that I have.

Prior to PPACA my plan was to take 0% capital gains as available and do Roth conversions up to the top of the 15% tax bracket. However, the marginal cost of taxes and lost Obamacare subsidies for the Roth conversion from just below 400% FPL to the top of the 15% bracket is so obscene that I plan to limit my Roth conversions and accept the subsidy. It would really be stupid for me to do those additional Roth conversions in my situation.

Once I'm on Medicare, I can go back to the original plan.

 

[kmt1972]

I voted I voted "Yes, if I can manage my income down to qualify."
I have various plans in place so I can qualify but not sure it would work out. If it does not I would most likely go for alternative years where I will take all my profits with alternating years.
Another factor is exactly what sort of costs the NY heath exchange will come up with for my family when my DW and I retire. If the costs are reasonable maybe we will forget about trying to get Obamacare subsidies as it would not be worth it. If the costs comes out very high then it still might make sense to adjust investment patterns to produce a MAGI that qualifies us.

 

[FUEGO]

Yes; shouldn't be hard to keep our income down to the subsidy levels during ER.

I don't foresee any years where we won't qualify, except perhaps 24 years from now when we have a big lump of "taxable income" in the form of debt forgiveness (unless Congress "fixes" the situation, which I assume they will).

Other than that, perhaps we buy some large lumpy asset (vacation house? rental house(s)) that we subsequently sell for large capital gains and that pushes us out of the ACA subsidy income range.

Or our portfolio grows wildy and we just have so much money to spend, we increase the withdrawals significantly to make sure that check to the undertaker bounces and we earn too much to qualify for ACA subsidies.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We are working hard right now at planning on how to arrange our finances to max out on health insurance subsidies and college financial aid as well as minimize income taxes in the coming years.

 

[truenorth418]

I voted I voted "Yes, if I can manage my income down to qualify."
I have various plans in place so I can qualify but not sure it would work out. If it does not I would most likely go for alternative years where I will take all my profits with alternating years.
Another factor is exactly what sort of costs the NY heath exchange will come up with for my family when my DW and I retire. If the costs are reasonable maybe we will forget about trying to get Obamacare subsidies as it would not be worth it. If the costs comes out very high then it still might make sense to adjust investment patterns to produce a MAGI that qualifies us.

Yes I am also anxious to see the NY state choices. Prior to ObamaCare the insurance rates on the open market here were among the highest in the country. I am hoping for some serious relief and planning on the subsidy at any rate.

 

[kmt1972]

Yes I am also anxious to see the NY state choices. Prior to ObamaCare the insurance rates on the open market here were among the highest in the country. I am hoping for some serious relief and planning on the subsidy at any rate.

If you are retired and live in NYC, it might make sense to move to a lower tax and lower housing cost area, regardless of what the health insurance cost might be. The cost of housing is just way to high in NYC.

 

[scrabbler1]

Yes I am also anxious to see the NY state choices. Prior to ObamaCare the insurance rates on the open market here were among the highest in the country. I am hoping for some serious relief and planning on the subsidy at any rate.

Me too. When I ERed in late 2008 I had lined up a decent individual HI plan for 2009 but the company raised its rates by 50% in the next 2 years so I had to bail out and switch to a bare-bones policy. I would welcome getting back into a more conventional coverage without paying through the nose for it like I had been before. The exchanges and federal subsidies here in NY will give me that chance.

 

[truenorth418]

If you are retired and live in NYC, it might make sense to move to a lower tax and lower housing cost area, regardless of what the health insurance cost might be. The cost of housing is just way to high in NYC.

I am fortunate to own my place in NYC, so housing is not a major expense for me. I have compared my other expenses vs. less expensive/tax free places and, all things considered, NYC is only slightly more expensive than other big cities in my personal case.

As for HI, right now I getting by on COBRA, but come 2014 I will be on my own. I am planning on using the subsidy to keep my HI expense to 9.5% of my income, which I can live with.

 

[ziggy29]

I wasn't planning on it until I got laid off three months ago and our expected 2014 income dropped by 75%. If nothing else, it's made getting whacked a lot less financially scary and somewhat less uncertain.

 

[Silver]

I voted unsure. But...I am sooo hopeful that there will be something available on the exchanges for my husband and I that we can afford.

We both have United Healthcare, and they just increased our annual rates by 29%.....more than a $1600 increase a year. We each have $5,000 deductable, exempted pre-existing conditions that I have appealed to have removed multiple times without success, and we have paid thousands in health care bills without a cent of insurance kicking in because we haven't met the deductables.

Getting something that would cover the pre-existings and also be less than the policy cost of $9600 a year we are now paying would be so wonderful. With five more years to medicare, the health care and health insurance costs are brutal.

 

[ikubak]

I voted "Yes" because I can manage my income to qualify and there is no question that I can because of the taxable accounts that I have.

Once I'm on Medicare, I can go back to the original plan.

That's my game plan too. For retirees in low cost of living areas, who have paid off everything (house, cars, bookies, etc.) and enjoy living frugally, ACA can pay huge subsidies. If you have a good bit of funds in taxable accounts, you can manage how much income you recognize.