Planning my last months at work

[conversationalphrase]

I had originally planned to FIRE at the end of this year, but due to a merger and a change of numerous mega corp policies I decided to work about 10-12 more weeks into 2020. Here is my situation:

Both of us are 61 years old (married filing jointly)
Roth plus non-cola pension will cover our expenses until 65
Managing MAGI for ACA until 65 when we get Medicare
Social security deferred until 67

My working plan:
Contribute the IRA max 401k standard and catch up contributions in the first quarter of 2020.
Plan for a spousal IRA max contribution
Maximim pro-rated annual HSA contributions while working.
All of the above will keep my MAGI and taxable income very low.
I will work until my remaining year pension benefits plus MAGI from earned income plus dividends/capital gains will equal 2x the Federal Poverty Level, thus maximizing ACA subsidy for the remainder of the year after retirement.

Since I also qualify for a substantial amount of paid time off in the first quarter and we don't have any big plans before summer this seems to be an optimum scenario.

Am I overlooking anything? Other considerations?

I think I will have:

Salary - 401k contributions - Spousal IRA - HSA contributions + Pension + Taxable dividends + Capitals gains = MAGI.

MAGI-$24K = Taxable income.

Extra expenses compared to retiring on 1 January are social security, medicare, corporate health insurance premiums and deductible.

All thoughts are appreciated - Thanks in advance.

For reference: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/pdf/2019/magi.pdf

 

[SecondCor521]

If you're planning on an AGI that is 200% of FPL, you may find that your tax rate now is lower than it will be when you hit RMD age. If that's the case, you may want to shift your savings from pre-tax (401k, IRA) to posttax (Roth, taxable).

Your ACA subsidies will not be "maximized" at 200% FPL. They will be maximized at 133% or less of FPL. You may want to research the breakpoints for the various cost saving reductions associated with Silver plans (IIRC 150%/200%/250% of FPL).

 

[Dtail]

Yes, the Silver Plan tax subsidies are maximized at =<150% FPL.
Other minor things to consider is to get any medical work like dental care while you are working, as these types of costs are typically covered more thoroughly on employer plans.

Why are you using Roth monies instead of Taxable account monies to manage your MAGI for ACA?

 

[conversationalphrase]

You are both correct, I am not maximizing ACA subsidy at 200% of FPL.

If I shift my savings to posttax then the income also counts against MAGI for ACA, which would quickly lead me to the conclusion to just retire on Jan 1.

If I had substantial taxable account savings I would use it instead of Roth, unfortunately (?) I don't. The vast majority of our saving is in Roth and traditional IRAs.

 

[SecondCor521]

You are both correct, I am not maximizing ACA subsidy at 200% of FPL.

If I shift my savings to posttax then the income also counts against MAGI for ACA, which would quickly lead me to the conclusion to just retire on Jan 1.

If I had substantial taxable account savings I would use it instead of Roth, unfortunately (?) I don't. The vast majority of our saving is in Roth and traditional IRAs.

Well, if you do have enough to quit on Jan 1 and don't want to work past then, I think most here would be supportive of that decision (including me).

If you need more or want to work more or want more padding or whatever, then my point is that paying 24% now (i.e., post-tax) might be better than paying 32% later when you hit tax torpedo time.

Also, saving post-tax would increase your taxable savings, which can be useful for lots of things. You probably noticed that, though.