Is healthcare delaying your retirement decision?

[ShokWaveRider]

Not delaying, but certainly a source of concern and unnecessary stress. As if my blood pressure was not high enough....

 

[Gumby]

Yes, in part. I need to make it 7 more months to get retiree health care. I also want to get to the point where our pensions will fully cover our living expenses (i.e. -- 0% withdrawal rate from the portfolio). That will be in two years.

 

[scrabbler1]

I ERed in late 2008, just a few days before the 2008 election. I had already lined up an affordable HI plan which cost me $469 a month, even in New York which is not a friendly place (back then) to buy HI on the individual market.


I had found this plan through ehealthinsurance.com and it was the cheapest of the main HI plans. I was in good health at the time at age 45.


But when the rates for this policy jumped nearly 50% in 2 years, I was paying nearly $700 per month and becoming fearful that HI would put a big strain on my budget if these increases continued over the next 17 years before I could go on Medicare. Thankfully, the ACA had just been passed and I was looking forward to buying a plan on the NY exchange for 2014 which was just under 3 years later.


In the meantime, I switched to a bare-bones hospital-only plan in the middle of 2011 which left me underinsured but only for a few more years. As long as I stayed healthy in that time, I'd be okay. And I did, but not by much.


I signed up for a Silver plan through the NY exchange for 2014 and its premium, without the small premium subsidy, was about $90 less than my 2009 plan. It's a good thing I had this plan because I became sick in 2015 and was in the hospital for 12 days. I exceeded the annual deductible so I was on the hook for only about $6,400 which was fine. The ACA did its job - it got me well again without sending me to the poorhouse or otherwise endangering my ER.


I switched insurance companies in 2016 and the premiums have risen but are still below what I was paying in 2009. I don't mind the deductible rising to over $7,000 because my OOP expense, even with my Diabetes, is only $2k or $3k tops, not counting the premiums. IOW I don't sweat the small stuff very much, I am glad to be protected against the "big one" which would endanger my ER.

 

[pb4uski]

Is the state you mention VT or FL? We've considered a move to FL just for HC reasons.

VT... if we changed to FL we would probably pay $1,000/month more than what we pay now so that won't be happening until we are both on Medicare.

 

[Chuckanut]

This is a pole.

Here's another Pole. The Bond girl from Goldeneye.

Well..... She is half Polish and half Swedish. But, I will still take my half Pole over all of yours.

 

[Jerry1]

I wouldn't say it's keeping me from retiring, but HI is a big factor as I consider retiring. I'm lucky in that I receive retiree healthcare from employer. The problem is that there is no guarantee that it will continue into the future. When I hired in, we had a defined benefit pension. That quickly got converted to a defined contribution. Better then nothing, but not the "annuity" that I was hoping for. Then, retiree healthcare used to be paid in full. Then they started charging and then capped their contribution. This year, they converted the plan - including current retirees - to a defined contribution. Retiree health insurance is not guaranteed and at 56, I could be looking at 5 years for DW and 9 years for me.

Currently I get $14,000 per year to buy a plan on the exchange. That's a pretty good deal, but with the "excitement" around the ACA, who knows what I'll be able to buy in the future. I'm sure my FIRE decision will come down to how much more BS I can take, but the uncertainty around HI increases the threshold a bit.

 

[Carpediem]

What are people's thoughts about signing up for ACA before it gets replaced (if ever) in order to be grandfathered in to any future plans? What are the risks? What are the advantages?

The reason I ask is that I just ran the ACA subsidy calculators and for some reason I got different results than I had gotten a few weeks ago. According to the KFF calculator, I could receive over $1000 per month in subsidies with an income of $80k (family of 3). The silver plan cost would be $646 and the bronze plan would be $319. Yeah, the deductibles and max OOPs are very high but those monthly prems are much easier to swallow than $1400-$1700 per month without subsidies.

 

[littleb]

We are planning to retire this year and health insurance is our number one concern. The state of Tennessee is currently experiencing insurance carriers fleeing the state. We are covered under the ACA with Blue Cross but I read a recent article that they might not continue for 2018. If so, there will be no health insurance carrier in our area in the ACA. Humana is also leaving the ACA this year. Blue Cross of Tennessee left most major cities last year under the ACA.

We are currently paying 1757.00 monthly for the cheapest Blue Cross ACA plan which is only 1 of 4 plans available to us.

Just patiently waiting and hoping for a positive resolution.

 

[2017ish]

We are planning to retire this year and health insurance is our number one concern. The state of Tennessee is currently experiencing insurance carriers fleeing the state. We are covered under the ACA with Blue Cross but I read a recent article that they might not continue for 2018. If so, there will be no health insurance carrier in our area in the ACA. ....

Farm Bureau's plans seem to be good, and I think they offer statewide. (Not ACA plans though, and we haven't yet bought a personal plan....)

Do you have COBRA eligibility, or too small an employer? We are in the same position as you and, as noted above, we rearranged things this year to fit within a crappie (but not the fish!) employer plan that is COBRA eligible...

 

[Carpediem]

We are currently paying 1757.00 monthly for the cheapest Blue Cross ACA plan which is only 1 of 4 plans available to us.

Ouch! And I bet that doesn't even include deductibles. Are you not able to manipulate your income in order to receive subsidies?

 

[simple girl]

What are people's thoughts about signing up for ACA before it gets replaced (if ever) in order to be grandfathered in to any future plans? What are the risks? What are the advantages?

Hubby and I have discussed this, but aren't sure of the risks/advantages/if the grandfathering would even happen or if ACA plans would just close down... If it looks like things might go sour before our FIRE plan for 2018 then we would consider retiring a bit earlier if there was enough advantage to being grandfathered into a plan.

The talk from the Freedom Caucus lately about modifying the healthcare bill to no longer protect those with preexisting conditions is high on my radar right now. If that modification should pass (I doubt it, but, ya know never say never) - we'd look hard at the benefits of trying to get on a plan before the bill is enacted. But for now, too early to jump ship if we don't have to.

The reason I ask is that I just ran the ACA subsidy calculators and for some reason I got different results than I had gotten a few weeks ago. According to the KFF calculator, I could receive over $1000 per month in subsidies with an income of $80k (family of 3). The silver plan cost would be $646 and the bronze plan would be $319. Yeah, the deductibles and max OOPs are very high but those monthly prems are much easier to swallow than $1400-$1700 per month without subsidies.

Have you checked prices on healthcare.gov? It is specific to your zipcode, income, age, etc. (not sure if the KFF calculator drills down to those specifics or just looks at averages?). I use https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/

I don't know how/why/if prices can change that quickly. I know they change from year to year (I saw a jump from 2016 to 2017), but I thought insurers had to get approval for their rate increases yearly...but...not sure. Hopefully someone else here knows the rules on that. I surely would like to know, too.

 

[Carpediem]

The subsidy amount differences was a user error....I realized I had been running estimates for when DD dropped off our coverage at 26. Oops!

 

[Rdub]

I'm not postponing... I caught the OMY disease for a couple years, but finally gave notice in January and my last day working will be May 5. I'll use COBRA for the following 18 months and then hopefully this HI mess stabilizes. I'm 47 with 2 young kids, so HI will be a big part of my FIRE expenses.

 

[Carpediem]

I'm not postponing... I caught the OMY disease for a couple years, but finally gave notice in January and my last day working will be May 5. I'll use COBRA for the following 18 months and then hopefully this HI mess stabilizes. I'm 47 with 2 young kids, so HI will be a big part of my FIRE expenses.

Congrats on your upcoming retirement. I hope to be not too far behind you. But until then, OMY....

 

[littleb]

Farm Bureau's plans seem to be good, and I think they offer statewide. (Not ACA plans though, and we haven't yet bought a personal plan....)

Do you have COBRA eligibility, or too small an employer? We are in the same position as you and, as noted above, we rearranged things this year to fit within a crappie (but not the fish!) employer plan that is COBRA eligible...

Self employed so only ACA available. Not COBRA eligible.

I will check into Farm Bureau if necessary. Thanks.

 

[jollystomper]

From my Megacorp water cooler discussions, it seems the main reason the vast majority of retirement-eligible folks are still working is to keep the provided medical coverage.

I am still 90% sure of retiring this year, but HI is definitely a factor in not making it 100%. My current retirement budget plan has health expenses being 20-25% of planned expenditures.

If I retire mid-year COBRA takes us through the end of 2018, then a very slight Megacorp subsidy towards buying their HI which might make costs reasonable for 2 years. That leaves our potential peak HI costs for 2021-2022 (DW is eligible for medicare toward the end of 2022, I would be eligible in 2023). What HI will look like then is impossible to plan for now... I just have to bite the bullet and take the probably 5% risk with what we have saved and invested.

 

[littleb]

Ouch! And I bet that doesn't even include deductibles. Are you not able to manipulate your income in order to receive subsidies?

No our deductible is 6,500 per person. We cannot manipulate our income this year due to high salary. Next year would have been our first year of subsidies but it looks like ACA is going away.

 

[pdxgal]

I'm new to this site and this is the first thread that caught my eye. Yes, it's definitely a concern for me. I'm pretty healthy but starting to feel the physical changes that come with aging, and accidents happen. Last year a guy T-boned my car. Luckily I wasn't injured, but it could've been much worse.

Reading this thread made me realize I need to check w/ my employer about continuing coverage as an early retiree. That may well be an option.

My plan is to move to France and continue to work there in some capacity (temp jobs, teaching English, B&B, etc.). Even if I pay out of pocket it will probably be less than what I'd pay here in premiums, and care is good. I'm sure others on this site are doing that, will see what they say. Plus, it will be good for my French That's always been part of my plan, but given the current state of healthcare in the US it's now going to come sooner rather than later in my early retirement.

 

[Mdlerth]

Possible outcomes...

...4) worst outcome: we delay FIRE and one of us croaks early with a big stash of money we never enjoyed together, i.e. we go home with the idol in our pocket.

So, once I realized I can't predict the future and would regret #4 the most, I have become more comfortable pulling the FIRE trigger in 2018. Hubby is in agreement, especially having recently lost 2 co-workers to the grim reaper.

Roger this. I just buried a good friend last week, so planning around The Dirt Nap is taking priority over other potential obstacles.

In TMY, if I'm still breathing color me retired. If I'm not, health insurance will be moot.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I could retire early because of ACA. I budgeted for health insurance just in case I didn't qualify, but so far no problem. Costs me $200 a month for a Silver Plan after the subsidy.
I'll be 65 in another 2 years, and then will switch over to Medicare. I still would have retired even if ACA was not around, it would just have taken a much bigger chunk of my monthly budget.

 

[simple girl]

No our deductible is 6,500 per person. We cannot manipulate our income this year due to high salary. Next year would have been our first year of subsidies but it looks like ACA is going away.

Not necessarily...but yes, there is a risk of that happening, or changes being made which would make coverage truly unaffordable for many. You just have to keep an eye on what is developing and modify plans as needed. {easier said than done, I know!}

 

[Alex The Great]

I'm not optimistic about the current situation with healthcare. ACA is OK for ER folks in most cases, but the cost will continue to rise and other insurance providers probably will continue to leave exchange if no changes are made. Another scenario (but unlikely) would be the changes in ACA, to make it closer to AHCA in some aspects which make it difficult to deal with. The only hope I have is that California would be able to come up with some better solution like single payer system, but the big question is who is willing to pay for that solution. By these reasons, although I may have enough money to live I would not even consider to retire before 65 until I see a reasonable and stable health care cost. Do I hope for too much?

 

[NoiseBoy]

Yes, I am now working mainly for affordable health insurance in retirement. I need to last 23 more months to reach the minimum age to receive company supported retiree health benefits. There is also a pension cliff tied to that age, so quitting with 18 months to go and using Cobra is not an option for me. Well, lets call that the nuclear option

On the other hand, I do feel fortunate to still have the possibility of retiree health insurance on the horizon. I don't know exactly how I'd feel today if I didn't because I have a dim view of the current political leadership's desire to provide affordable HI access to all. And yes, I freely admit to the warts in ACA as it stands. I guess I would be back to exploring living abroad or "health tourism".

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Ugh, yes! Just turned 62. At 65 my SS and annuity will cover all of our expenses. I hate the thought of way overpriced insurance digging into the savings I worked so hard for. Right now, I'm thinking of pulling the plug at 64 and biting the bullet and paying for insurance for one year. If it was affordable I'd quit my job tonight!

 

[GTFan]

What are people's thoughts about signing up for ACA before it gets replaced (if ever) in order to be grandfathered in to any future plans? What are the risks? What are the advantages?

We're not supposed to speculate about the future of the ACA here. Not one bit, in any form.