Generally if you are over 50, COBRA will be cheaper than an unsubsidized ACA policy. Another plus for COBRA is that it usually has a more robust network and lower deductibles and max out of pocket costs.
Sorry for the slight hijack, but I have an ACA MAGI question: Let's say I tell the guvment that I will make $35K next year. How close to that am I allow to vary, and still get the supplement? Like, lets say I make $34K or $36K. Thanks.
You can be over your estimate all the way up to the cutoff cliff limit, which, I think, is $49,960 for a single person for 2020. However, the subsidy is on a gradually decreasing scale up to that cliff. So at tax time, you pay the difference between what you actually got and what your final income said you should get. If you earn $1 over the cliff, your entire subsidy goes away and is added to your taxes due.
As someone who has experienced all 3 scenarios, I can say you are correct. In the 6 years of the ACA exchanges and subsidies, I have undershot my income estimate, overshot the estimate but didn't go over the cliff, and overshot the income estimate and gone over the cliff.
I wildly overshot my $40,000 estimate in 2019 (my first year on ACA). But I did it intentionally when I decided in December of 2019 to sell a losing stock - Boeing. The cap gains pushed me over the cliff, but I decided the loss of subsidy would be less than the further loss in the stock. Once over the cliff, I decided to go even further over and sell off some other stocks I wanted to.
So my $40,000 estimated income ended up being way off. Needless to say I had to pay back about $5,000 at tax time. Fun year. For 2021, I’m back to estimating $43,000 and I think I will end up being about $5000 under that. So I should get some added subsidy refunded at tax time.
I stayed working as long as I did primarily in order to qualify for retiree medical insurance from my last employer.
Went with heavily subsidized ACA plan, but you will need to manage your income (MAGI) to be able to receive the large tax subsidies.
^^^^ @dawdmorgan Which particular one are you in?