I will probably be semi-FIREing soon at age 41 (single). My plan the first year is to do some relaxing, spend time with family, do a couple of extensive international trips, and get trained for my next career. That second career may be teaching English overseas. I am figuring to teach for at least two of my first five years of FIRE. I am not sure how things will turn out, but right now I do not intend to do it permanently. I have always wanted to try out living overseas, and by doing it for 2 years out of my first 5 years of semi-retirement it gets my withdrawal rate below 2% for my first 5 years of semi-retirement.
So this would mean a semi-FIRE in 2007 and an overseas deployment in 2008 timeframe. The overseas deployment of two to three years duration would probably be mostly continuous but there may be several month gaps so that I can come back to the US to visit family, friends, etc. When I come back to live more permanently in the states, I may come back to live in a different state than where I will be living before all this takes place (Southern California).
My plan is to go on COBRA immediately after I quit my job (~$400/month). Then I would do one of two things: 1) find a high deductible US health policy ASAP and drop COBRA or 2) stay on COBRA. My COBRA lasts for 3 years because I am in California (Cal-COBRA program). My COBRA is not international (30 days overseas limit). So the policy does not fit me very well. Also, it includes dental and eye check coverage, which I would rather get done overseas or in Mexico (I just want the core health insurance part). I am getting a physical soon but as far as I know I am healthy. Also, the US coverage is really only regional (Kaiser).
On any deployment overseas, I would have local health insurance coverage and I will be researching just how good it really is (varies by country, this will be one of my criteria for choosing a country). But if I like some place and the coverage is decent, I would rather drop my US coverage for that time since I will be covered overseas. Then when I visit the US, I can buy emergency health coverage (basically travel health insurance which is around $100/month) -- I would return to my overseas base if I got more seriously ill. In most countries where I would be teaching, I would buy one of their private health plans, which are typically much less expensive than the US.
But eventually I would want to return home to the US for good in a few years (probably). This would mean reapplying for US health insurance, say at age 45 or 46.
I know there is some risk to this plan because of pre-existing conditions (e.g., develop diabetes in a couple of years on an overseas deployment). My backup plan if I could only get US coverage at a very high cost would be to live in Mexico, a place that I enjoy and am somewhat familiar with (language, culture, etc.).
Can anyone comment on the idea of "continuous coverage" in this context. I would be able to show continuous coverage, just not all of it in the US. How important is continuous coverage?
My initial take on this is that if I am on COBRA, which is expensive (and covers more than I would like), then I would drop it once I am established overseas rather than pay $5K/year plus co-pays and not really be covered overseas anyway. But if I got a cheaper high deductible US-based plan, health coverage only (not dental/eye), then I would probably keep it throughout my "deployments." And anything that I paid cash for overseas could go for the deductible. Or should I buy international coverage from some place like BUPA in Thailand?
Kramer
So this would mean a semi-FIRE in 2007 and an overseas deployment in 2008 timeframe. The overseas deployment of two to three years duration would probably be mostly continuous but there may be several month gaps so that I can come back to the US to visit family, friends, etc. When I come back to live more permanently in the states, I may come back to live in a different state than where I will be living before all this takes place (Southern California).
My plan is to go on COBRA immediately after I quit my job (~$400/month). Then I would do one of two things: 1) find a high deductible US health policy ASAP and drop COBRA or 2) stay on COBRA. My COBRA lasts for 3 years because I am in California (Cal-COBRA program). My COBRA is not international (30 days overseas limit). So the policy does not fit me very well. Also, it includes dental and eye check coverage, which I would rather get done overseas or in Mexico (I just want the core health insurance part). I am getting a physical soon but as far as I know I am healthy. Also, the US coverage is really only regional (Kaiser).
On any deployment overseas, I would have local health insurance coverage and I will be researching just how good it really is (varies by country, this will be one of my criteria for choosing a country). But if I like some place and the coverage is decent, I would rather drop my US coverage for that time since I will be covered overseas. Then when I visit the US, I can buy emergency health coverage (basically travel health insurance which is around $100/month) -- I would return to my overseas base if I got more seriously ill. In most countries where I would be teaching, I would buy one of their private health plans, which are typically much less expensive than the US.
But eventually I would want to return home to the US for good in a few years (probably). This would mean reapplying for US health insurance, say at age 45 or 46.
I know there is some risk to this plan because of pre-existing conditions (e.g., develop diabetes in a couple of years on an overseas deployment). My backup plan if I could only get US coverage at a very high cost would be to live in Mexico, a place that I enjoy and am somewhat familiar with (language, culture, etc.).
Can anyone comment on the idea of "continuous coverage" in this context. I would be able to show continuous coverage, just not all of it in the US. How important is continuous coverage?
My initial take on this is that if I am on COBRA, which is expensive (and covers more than I would like), then I would drop it once I am established overseas rather than pay $5K/year plus co-pays and not really be covered overseas anyway. But if I got a cheaper high deductible US-based plan, health coverage only (not dental/eye), then I would probably keep it throughout my "deployments." And anything that I paid cash for overseas could go for the deductible. Or should I buy international coverage from some place like BUPA in Thailand?
Kramer