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25 days to go....
Old 04-05-2008, 01:29 PM   #1
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25 days to go....

.. continuing my thoughts as I come close to ER.

If you are interested, you can see my earlier post here
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...-go-34517.html

Days to go: 25
State of Mind today: Relaxed.

Healthcare

For ERs, healthcare expenses are probably the biggest concern. I have 17 years to go till I qualify for Medicare and wife has 20, so health care costs are a HUGE concern. We have no employer sponsored retirement healthcare waiting for us.

New Jersey is a "community rating" state, so while we are assured of getting insurance with no discrimination due to age, sex or health, the rates are high.

A high deductible HMO plan with unlimited lifetime benefits costs $319/mo per person. For some reason, it is less expensive to get two individual plans! The plan is an HMO with a deductible ($2500) and co-insurance (50%). Maximum annual out of pocket of $5000 and copay for primary physician is $40. In essence this is a "catastrophic" plan to keep us from going broke if we get seriously ill.

There is a new initiative in NJ sponsored by State Senator Vitale to make coverage universal. According to their 'white paper', they believe premiums could drop 75%. I'm not holding my breath.

We are eligible for continuing coverage throught COBRA for the next 18 months, and are waiting to see what it will cost us before we make a decision.

Luckily, we are healthy today, so hope to keep our out of pocket expenses manageable in the near future. Fingers crossed, knock on wood.
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Old 04-05-2008, 04:57 PM   #2
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 372
Days to go: Too many to count
State of Mind: Jealous!

Actually - congrats on the pending ER and good luck with that healthcare thing.
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Old 04-05-2008, 05:19 PM   #3
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Congratulations Walkinwood,
Looks like you and I are on the same schedule. My last day in the office in May 9, although my retirement doesn't officially begin until July 14.

Someone asked me if I had been reconsidering because of the state of the market, last week. My response: every day that goes by, I feel more comfortable that I have made the right decision.

-- Rita
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Old 04-05-2008, 06:36 PM   #4
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Arc, GotAdimple,
Thank you & all the best.
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