Just hello for now

[Phroig]

Hi! I have lurked on this forum for years, and finally signed up. I’m half of a mid/late 50s couple. I teach at a state university, and can officially retire in five more years. We are fortunate in a couple of respects. First, I will have a (non-COLA) pension that should be sufficient to meet our needs. (I track our expenses religiously.) We have other investments that will provide a generous BTD supplement. Second, our child has a full ride scholarship, so our college fund will be available to pay for graduate school.
I’d like to retire early, but am concerned about access to health insurance. My wife and I are two presidential elections away from Medicare, so I’m a bit reluctant to rely on ACA options.
In any case, I don’t have any questions at the moment, but am glad to have this forum as a resource should something come up.
Happy New Year!

 

[Gumby]

Welcome, Phroig. I'm glad you have uncloaked.

 

[athena53]

Welcome! I retired at 61 so I had 3.5 years on "Affordable'" Care Act coverage before qualifying for Medicare. Premium doubled from $450 to $900/month during that period for a $6K deductible and a mediocre network, but I jut had to make room for it in the budget. I didn't qualify for subsidies. I'd still do it all over again although it was real blessing to get on Medicare. Fortunately, I barely touched the deductible during that period and my 15-years-older husband had Medicare.

My amateur opinion, not tempered by any particular political bias, is that they cannot eliminate ACA and go back to where we were before, when people with any kind of health conditions couldn't get coverage, or could get it only at crazy-high rates, and insurers could wait till you develop breast cancer and then deny coverage because you forgot to tell them you were treated for depression 20 years earlier.

You have 5 years left on your horizon. Keep saving with the goal in mind, and make a decision based on what's happening closer to the date.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Welcome to E-R, uncloaked!

 

[Kork13]

Minor note, but if desired, one may withdraw 529 funds without penalty in an amount equivalent to the value of any scholarships earned. So unless grad school is a foregone conclusion, you could free up that 529 money for other purposes (like getting your college student started in life).

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Minor note, but if desired, one may withdraw 529 funds without penalty in an amount equivalent to the value of any scholarships earned. So unless grad school is a foregone conclusion, you could free up that 529 money for other purposes (like getting your college student started in life).

Good idea, although I believe the withdrawal would then be taxable, but not subject to penalty, and it would have to be withdrawn in the same tax year that the scholarship was granted (when the tuition was actually paid). Unfortunately, it's not like an HSA, where you can save up receipts:

https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/how-to-withdraw-money-from-your-529-plan
https://www.savingforcollege.com/ar...n-distributions-must-match-qualified-expenses

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/c...drawals-and-prior-year-scholarships/00/825550

 

[VanWinkle]

Welcome Phroig,


I agree with athena53 that some type of income based health insurance will be available for many decades to come. The real question is can you control your taxable income (MAGI) to take full advantage of the ACA and receive the lowest of premiums. I would think you would have options to stay on your current state sponsored insurance in retirement and the ACA would not be a concern.

 

[Phroig]

Thanks all, for the welcome and the suggestions.
Athena/VW: Yes, I can get retiree healthcare in five years. It won't be subsidized, but that's fine. We'll only need ACA coverage if I decide to quit before I'm eligible for retirement. Right now, we're about 8-9 years from Medicare, so that's how long I'd need ACA. On balance, I think my safest option's to just keep working five more years.
Kork/Cosmic: We thought about penalty-free withdrawals with just tax on earnings, but decided against. We don't need the money at the moment, so I'd rather change beneficiaries (grandkids?), or withdraw later if our son gets a scholarship to graduate school. A second consideration is the taxable portion of DS's scholarship is just under the federal minimum income threshold for filing. A bit more income will put him over. We'd rather not have to file a return for him.