Healthcare-What would you do?

[DawgSavr]

I will be 58 in less than 2 short months and my DW of 35+ years is 6 months younger and has been a stay at home mom and held a part time job to make herself some mad money until end of 2020 when the owner closed and retired. She talks of going back to work part time but not sure how serious she is. 2 adult kids are making their own lives.

I would like to retire at year end and have heavily loaded Healthcare, Dental and Vision in our retirement plans as though we will be paying full freight in perpetuity. We are fortunate that we can defer a small pension, 401K and Pre-Tax IRA’s, Social Security and small annuity payments post medicare eligibility as we have built a buffer of Taxable brokerage investment savings that we can use to bridge the gap while giving us flexibility to manage our MAGI for ACA Cost Sharing options. We are looking at a Bronze, HSA, policy with a very low premium that includes our respective doctors and hospital network which also allows us to continue to add to our current HSA bucket. We are healthy and hopefully will remain so for many, many years. Through my research, ACA is a good option for us, especially in 2022 with no cliff and lower premiums due to Pandemic relief…but obviously this will not last forever, and who knows what will happen with all of the debate around lowering Medicare age, including dental and vision and impact from the new virus strains that are popping up. All of which is out of our control and very difficult to plan around.

Hence our predicament...

I work in the Central Banking System, after attaining age 55 and 10 years of employment, retiree, subsidized health insurance is an option for my wife and I including Medicare Advantage subsidies, no dental or vision but the option to continue in the group plans with no subsidies. I am 3 years away from attaining this benefit however, the movement of my cheese, the bureaucracy and politics wear me thin and I hate the thought of going through the motions just to attain a very nice benefit when my time is more important than money and I have a bucket list of things to start doing that I get excited about each time I review it … however, where we are with Healthcare options in the country, this seems to put me more in control … could I suck it up and cross the finish line…sure…do I have to no.

Interested as to what others would do if they were or have wrestled with a similar predicament?

 

[Alan]

I was in exactly the same predicament and managed to stick it out for the last 3 years until I got to age 55 and qualified for healthcare and early retirement pension. I did manage to get a transfer to another State for the last 2 years which helped somewhat.

Retired over 11 years now and so pleased to have served out my time. (Age + years of service = 80)

 

[retire-early]

Besides cost, there is the issue of network.

My ACA plan is good only in my state except for emergency treatment.

I have been on ACA since its inception. I started coverage on Jan. 1, 2014.

.

 

[kaudrey]

I'm retiring at the end of this year also, at age 52 with 30 years of gov't service. I am giving up FEHB, which to many is a sacrilege. But my DH is older and will go on Medicare when I retire, so I'll be on ACA by myself. I'd have to work 4 more years to keep my healthcare; it's not worth it to me.

 

[teej1985]

I'm retiring at the end of this year also, at age 52 with 30 years of gov't service. I am giving up FEHB, which to many is a sacrilege. But my DH is older and will go on Medicare when I retire, so I'll be on ACA by myself. I'd have to work 4 more years to keep my healthcare; it's not worth it to me.

Props to you. It's easy to say I'll gut it out to 57 for the FEHB when I'm 36, but if I am financially independent in my 40s or early 50s, that's a long time to wait for that sweet lifetime FEHB (not to mention FEDVIP - nothing comparable in the private market).

My current job seems pretty laid back, it's hard to imagine I'd enjoy this job, or any job, for 20+ years.

 

[pacergal]

I would have been able to retire with full pension at age 54. I stayed until age 60 for retiree health benefits. I did a financial cost analysis and it was far more beneficial for us. Luckily, I enjoyed my job for the most part, until politics got worse the last year or so.

Only you can answer what is best for your financial situation, taking into account mental/physical health related to stressors.

 

[ncbill]

Besides cost, there is the issue of network.

My ACA plan is good only in my state except for emergency treatment.

I have been on ACA since its inception. I started coverage on Jan. 1, 2014.

https://travel.nationwide.com/plans/annual

Gets you back home to your network...I buy the Pro Deluxe.

 

[Aerides]

With 3 years to go, I would probably have already baked that into my plans. Now, let's say though, you're well ahead of your financial goals and could retire with a 3% SWR today, to where you would quite literally ONLY be staying to get on the company plan? Then I'd go.

My choice was easier, as I had at least 8 years to go when I RE'd so I knew I'd never hang around for that long. The ACA works well in my area, with a lot of plans and doctor choices, and I have no complaints. If I lived in an area with only one plan provider, or couldn't find a PCP within 20 miles or something, I'd think differently.

 

[chassis]

I will be 58 in less than 2 short months and my DW of 35+ years is 6 months younger and has been a stay at home mom and held a part time job to make herself some mad money until end of 2020 when the owner closed and retired. She talks of going back to work part time but not sure how serious she is. 2 adult kids are making their own lives.

I would like to retire at year end and have heavily loaded Healthcare, Dental and Vision in our retirement plans as though we will be paying full freight in perpetuity. We are fortunate that we can defer a small pension, 401K and Pre-Tax IRA’s, Social Security and small annuity payments post medicare eligibility as we have built a buffer of Taxable brokerage investment savings that we can use to bridge the gap while giving us flexibility to manage our MAGI for ACA Cost Sharing options. We are looking at a Bronze, HSA, policy with a very low premium that includes our respective doctors and hospital network which also allows us to continue to add to our current HSA bucket. We are healthy and hopefully will remain so for many, many years. Through my research, ACA is a good option for us, especially in 2022 with no cliff and lower premiums due to Pandemic relief…but obviously this will not last forever, and who knows what will happen with all of the debate around lowering Medicare age, including dental and vision and impact from the new virus strains that are popping up. All of which is out of our control and very difficult to plan around.

Hence our predicament...

I work in the Central Banking System, after attaining age 55 and 10 years of employment, retiree, subsidized health insurance is an option for my wife and I including Medicare Advantage subsidies, no dental or vision but the option to continue in the group plans with no subsidies. I am 3 years away from attaining this benefit however, the movement of my cheese, the bureaucracy and politics wear me thin and I hate the thought of going through the motions just to attain a very nice benefit when my time is more important than money and I have a bucket list of things to start doing that I get excited about each time I review it … however, where we are with Healthcare options in the country, this seems to put me more in control … could I suck it up and cross the finish line…sure…do I have to no.

Interested as to what others would do if they were or have wrestled with a similar predicament?

Turn in your notice. Time is the only irreplaceable commodity.

 

[badatmath]

Retired over 11 years now and so pleased to have served out my time. (Age + years of service = 80)

I so wish my megacorp used that and I would have been gone by now! .