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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,691 posts, read 58,004,579 times
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Lots of discussion on this here.
non conventional solutions not yet in this thread:
1) Healthcare cost sharing networks - legal option to ACA / Private carrier ~ $300 / month / couple (the risk is NO insurance!, just trusting others to help (which they do))
2) Join 15m in medical tourismhttps://patientsbeyondborders.com/
3) Travel fulltime (travel insurance is CHEAP, but not desired as 'primary') BTDT
4) Move overseas to countries that are affordable or accept USA medical refugees.
5) Self insure (short time frame)
6) Get a PT job with benefits (Costco / Starbucks / ~ 10 others)
7) Private pay
8) Reduce MAGI and qualify for a ACA subsidy.
9) Don't worry... be happy (That does not always work out)
OP: Changes are always, you have TIME to think on this one. I take straight Medicare and have for 15 yrs and it's just fine for me. But I do take care of my health and work with preventatives...many supplements to fill in the gaps of aging.
Sounds like you are 7 years away from this possibility....impossible to say what the situation for health insurance may be by then. We may have medicare for all, or no insurance for anyone below the age of 70! Right now, I am 63.5 and retired at 62. Got an ACA plan for $125 a month....so not too bad....but really, I don't see how anyone without a crystal ball can tell you what the future holds.
Who knows what the future holds for healthcare. I can't see cost going down at all and more people having to work longer.
Who knows what will happen in that time but keep an eye on all the politicians and their stands on health care. I am 60.5 and will retire at 62. Right now to continue my health plan with my company in retirement will cost me about 1650 per month for me and partner.
Hello,
I am currently 55 years old and have 200k in my 401k. I contribute 20% of my take home pay for my 401k. I would like to retire with no debt when I am 62 but I have one big concern.
Can you please give options for health insurance if I do decide to retire at 62 with my wife?
I am confident we can live off of the 401k and social security. Our big concern is the health insurance.
Any help would be appreciated!
Could you say what state you reside in, if you wish and if you have not said already?
Some states have alternatives for health insurance.
Though I had a well-paying full-time job, and had saved significantly for retirement, I didn't even think about retiring at 62, and the problem of healthcare cost was a major consideration.
As already pointed out, COBRA is limited in duration and not cheap. My (ex-)wife quit her job, and both of us were on COBRA for eighteen months. It was about $1,800 per month. Yes, that adds up to around 32,000 out of our savings.
There are two initial periods that can make or break your retirement: the five years before you retire, and the first five years after you retire. You may live till your mid-80s, or even longer. Your 401K is not over funded. Do you or your wife have a pension?
I encourage you to reconsider your plans. One of the best decisions one can make is to work longer. You can do it, but you will need to adjust your thinking. Once potential retirees get "retirement" in their thinking, it's hard to postpone it. I know; the same thing happened to me. I held on to one month before I turned 65.
Go into your retirement financially strong . . . you will never regret that decision. Postpone taking SS until at least full retirement age . . . and even longer if you can afford it (+8% per year for each year postponed, up to 70 for most of us).
Relief from the high cost of U.S. healthcare is not even on the table by either of the two political parties that dominate electoral politics, and members of both parties take money from healthcare insurance companies, hospitals, and Big Pharma. (I am all for free universal healthcare for all U.S. citizens, funded by the MIC budget, or call it Medicare for All, but so are two dozen others in the U.S. who opinions and votes don't count). One healthcare crisis, even one unanticipated by your careful and prudent planning and lifestyle, could torpedo your entire retirement. Murphy's law is called a law, for a reason.
For the meantime, hope for the best, but expect and prepare for the worst -- expensive U.S. healthcare.
I just turned 62 and retired a few months ago. It would not have been possible if I was not able to continue my medical coverage through my former employer at the employee rate until I turn 65. I lost the dental and vision insurance, but that coverage was not all that great anyway and those expenses will just be out of pocket going forward.
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