Separate ACA Policies

[Idnar7]

I am 63 and my pension & ss put me over the 400% limit. DW is 61 and has a smaller pension than I. I thought if she delayed her ss then her smaller income alone would qualify her for a subsidy. Then I saw the following on healthcare.gov:

"If you’re married, you must file a joint tax return for 2014 in order to get lower costs on Marketplace coverage based on your income in 2014. You file your 2014 taxes in April of 2015."

So if we wanted separate policies (different needs), we would each need to use household income when applying, which would eliminate any subsidy for either of us? From what I have seen on rates there is no advantage to a family policy for just two of us. Curious what others are doing - family or separate?

 

[2B]

The 400% limit is higher for a couple than a single person. You didn't say that you checked this but I'll assume you did. As far as subsidies go, you could get a divorce and she could file for the subsidy. That would probably cause other problems. I don't see any benefit to individual policies although there may be some better deals on family deductibles and max-OOP. Check your options.

 

[homebody]

If you're anywhere close to 400% (within 10-20k of it), you might want to give serious thought to getting your household 2014 MAGI below that level. Perhaps accelerate some income into 2013, defer some future year income if possible, look for other deductions or contributions that reduce your MAGI, accelerated depreciation if a business, etc. As you probably know, the kaiser calculator shows you can lose as much as a $8,700 subsidy for going just one dollar over that level of income. The subsidy loss is very high as you get close to 65.