USA Health insurance from 62 to 65 if you want to retire.

[Tink3815]

For those of us who have no other option for health insurance other than buying yourself, are you continuing to work just for the health insurance coverage at work? Do you see yourself working until Medicare kicks in?

 

[Dakota731]

Yes

 

[sheilafri]

Medicare. Medicaid is a different program. We’ve been buying insurance ourselves for years now. We will be eligible for Medicare soon. It’s ridiculous to be this excited about getting old, but figure to save thousands a year.

 

[runwad]

My husband will retire in 3 years@ 62 and have employee retiree health benefits for himself only. I'll be 60 no health benefits and plan to go on ACA. If I understand right if your income is less than 400% of the federal poverty rate you'll qualify for govt subsidies. I think we'll qualify unless the rules or circumstances change. That's what frustrating trying to plan, when rules are changed.

 

[Tink3815]

I edited my post, to Medicare. Cobra rates are crazy and the marketplace is not much better if you can not get the help paying for it.

 

[barkley]

My husband will retire in 3 years@ 62 and have employee retiree health benefits for himself only. I'll be 60 no health benefits and plan to go on ACA. If I understand right if your income is less than 400% of the federal poverty rate you'll qualify for govt subsidies. I think we'll qualify unless the rules or circumstances change. That's what frustrating trying to plan, when rules are changed.

has your dh looked into what the retiree share of cost runs where he will retire from? this is one of the biggest shocks many retirees face upon retirement b/c employers tend not to publish the retiree rates to active employees-and they can at minimum run 100% higher. i've experienced this first hand and have seen friends/family devastated to learn of it too close to retirement to change their plans and either extend their employment until they can get medicare or have the time to fully explore less expensive options within the marketplace.

 

[Anthony1971]

I have never heard of retiree rate. I do have my hands in the benefits for our company I would however believe it is the same as the cobra rate as we have had people sort of pushed into early retirement and that is what they pa$$$id. We would retire tomorrow if it was not for the 200-300k we would spend between us and a dependent we still need to cover. We are very close to the point to just work for insurance tired of the stress.

 

[focusondisney]

For those of us who have no other option for health insurance other than buying yourself, are you continuing to work just for the health insurance coverage at work? Do you see yourself working until Medicare kicks in?

Yes that’s exactly what I did. I worked until I was 65 to cover health insurance for myself & my DH. He was already eligible for Medicare by that time too. I worked for a large private health care system. Retirees from there get no break or discounts on health care or insurance. I turned 65 last May. I worked 1 day in April which gave me health insurance all month. Then on May 1st, we started Medicare.

 

[Tink3815]

I was able to call my benefits to get the cobra rate for the current plan we have. Single is 800.00 {my husband gets Medicare in April}. Family was 1800.00 a month. I ended up working a year longer to keep us on the medical plan until he could get Medicare. The only information on the open enrollment plan in Jan was that premiums may be lower on the market place for some people. Now to decide if I want to retire and pay 650.00 a month on the market until April 2025. 200-300 K for health insurance is just over the top.

 

[MillauFr]

Paying a $1,000 a person per month for a high deductible plan is what I plan to do. I don't mind paying out of pocket for most visits but one of us gets a serious medical issue I don't want to be bankrupted.

 

[barkley]

I would however believe it is the same as the cobra rate

that is what they pa$$$id.

i can only speak for what happened with us/friends who hired into civil service/private sector that professed to provide retiree medical. in far too many cases the employer manipulated it so the retiree cost was JUST BELOW cobra so it still met their 'retiree benefit' criteria-

what we've experienced is that the 'active employee' cost is WAY lower than 'retiree'-in some cases retirees paid 500% more of the share of cost for a substandard policy that is obviously selected by the employer to discourage retirees from participating. it can get HORRENDOUSLY worse if a retiree moves outside of a certain mileage radius of their former employer (as many of us do for cost of living and tax purposes). only a single choice insanely high cost ppo that is not mandated to provide 'in area' providers such that retirees not only pay psychotic premiums but also are subjected to crazy deductibles before they travel (i kid you not-personal experience) multiple states from where they live to find ANY PROVIDER willing to accept them as so much as 'out of network' (i left mine after hearing from more than a dozen providers that my out of state coverage was deemed 'poison' and i could not so much as get a cash up front from out of my pocket appointment).

 

[MomToOne]

Live off of traditional savings so my income is low enough to qualify for max subsidies on Obamacare. There is no means test that includes savings and such, just an income test.

 

[Sheree]

I have never heard of retiree rate. I do have my hands in the benefits for our company I would however believe it is the same as the cobra rate as we have had people sort of pushed into early retirement and that is what they pa$$$id. We would retire tomorrow if it was not for the 200-300k we would spend between us and a dependent we still need to cover. We are very close to the point to just work for insurance tired of the stress.

I would leave tomorrow if not for the insurance. ACA coverage is expensive and lousy. Need to wait for Mediare and a supplement

 

[Tink3815]

So many of us are in this position,.....

 

[runwad]

has your dh looked into what the retiree share of cost runs where he will retire from? this is one of the biggest shocks many retirees face upon retirement b/c employers tend not to publish the retiree rates to active employees-and they can at minimum run 100% higher. i've experienced this first hand and have seen friends/family devastated to learn of it too close to retirement to change their plans and either extend their employment until they can get medicare or have the time to fully explore less expensive options within the marketplace.

Yes we have a pretty good idea, he works for a municipality so they reimburse him for whatever his cost is, I know very lucky. But when he first started working wives and families were included then over the years that changed, so we had to pivot too.

 

[tvguy]

I edited my post, to Medicare. Cobra rates are crazy and the marketplace is not much better if you can not get the help paying for it.

The marketplace for us was much worse.
We retired 18 months before we turned 65 because COBRA is 18 months. $1,400 a month for my wife and I. Marketplace quote was $3,000......UNTIL they noticed I qualified for COBRA. I was not aware you can only get Affordable Healthcare Act coverage if you have no other insurance options. So I could not even get AHC coverage since I qualified for COBRA.

 

[MomToOne]

The marketplace for us was much worse.
We retired 18 months before we turned 65 because COBRA is 18 months. $1,400 a month for my wife and I. Marketplace quote was $3,000......UNTIL they noticed I qualified for COBRA. I was not aware you can only get Affordable Healthcare Act coverage if you have no other insurance options. So I could not even get AHC coverage since I qualified for COBRA.

That's not true.

https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/cobra-coverage/

https://www.verywellhealth.com/cobra-obamacare-subsidy-1738953#:~:text=Merely being offered COBRA doesn,60-day special enrollment period.

https://www.coveredca.com/support/before-you-buy/cobra/ (since I know you are in CA from previous conversations)

If you have already enrolled in COBRA, then you are not eligible for ACA coverage until the next open enrollment period. But you are eligible generally even if you have a COBRA option on the table. Just never sign up for COBRA until you evaluate all your options - you have 60 days after termination of employment.

 

[tvguy]

That's not true.

https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/cobra-coverage/

https://www.verywellhealth.com/cobra-obamacare-subsidy-1738953#:~:text=Merely being offered COBRA doesn,60-day special enrollment period.

https://www.coveredca.com/support/before-you-buy/cobra/ (since I know you are in CA from previous conversations)

If you have already enrolled in COBRA, then you are not eligible for ACA coverage until the next open enrollment period. But you are eligible generally even if you have a COBRA option on the table. Just never sign up for COBRA until you evaluate all your options - you have 60 days after termination of employment.

I can't explain discrepancy you are posting as compared to what I was told when I inquired in 2021 when I retired. However it's moot, because Covered Californias Obama care premiums were so much higher.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I am counting down until I can sign up for Medicare. Just over 9 years left. I don't know if I can last that long. My job is physically and emotionally draining and the pace (patient schedule) is set by the people in charge. I look at like one of those fake rodeo bull rides. I just keep holding on tight until it throws me off.

 

[Darcy03231]

DH is already on Medicare and right now my plan is to work until I'm 65. We planned it so that I could retire when he did, but I was only 52 at the time and wasn't ready to retire. I'm still not ready. It helps that I have a lot of vacation time (6 weeks) and can take time without pay if I want, and I really enjoy my job and the attorneys I work with. If I do decide to retire before 65 I'll have to buy my health insurance on the market place.