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I’m also very curious about the numbers here. Even medical cost aside, that doesn’t seem sufficient to me... Unless OP is paid so well that 20% is a large number or there is some pension plan involved.
The median household income in this country is 56k. There are millions and millions of households getting along on LESS than OP and his wife will be with their 2 SS checks and modest nest egg withdrawals.
Do people understand your 401k isn't guaranteed? Retire and it loses value then what? People forget 2008...
It may be guaranteed; depends on the underlying investments chosen. Or, it may be not guaranteed but OP is taking a sensible approach. If you have several years of withdrawals in cash equivalent, another several in short-term bonds, then stock market fluctuations are much less problematic. You simply don't sell stocks when the market is down, but take your withdrawals from cash and short-term bonds instead.
ACA subsidies look at income, not assets. If OP's state expanded Medicaid, those with income low enough get placed on their state's version of Medicaid.
states with expanded medicaid have the option of recovery if you ARE 55-64 for money spent on medicaid health insurance
Please take this with a grain of salt. If someone's health insurance is $940 a month that means their income is high enough to support a payment like that. ACA is income based. My payment is very reasonable and I have a very modest income. Bottom line, people with modest incomes should do fine getting reasonable insurance. You will not be paying $940 a month if your income is $30,000 a year, for example.
Depends on your definition of "income high enough." A person in their early 60s with a gross income of $49,000+ will pay over $900 a month without any subsidies - and that's for the least expensive bronze plan with high deductibles.
That's a gross income of just over $4,000, and after taxes, would be $3500 max. That might be OK for low COLAs, but if you live in an expensive area - like DC or NY, where apartment rents for a modest 1-bedroom 20 miles out go for $1200 - $1400 - coughing up nearly another $1000 for a high deductible insurance plan makes things very tight.
Depends on your definition of "income high enough." A person in their early 60s with a gross income of $49,000+ will pay over $900 a month without any subsidies - and that's for the least expensive bronze plan with high deductibles.
That's a gross income of just over $4,000, and after taxes, would be $3500 max. That might be OK for low COLAs, but if you live in an expensive area - like DC or NY, where apartment rents for a modest 1-bedroom 20 miles out go for $1200 - $1400 - coughing up nearly another $1000 for a high deductible insurance plan makes things very tight.
It's not just tight for many people it's impossible. I still work and I have a lot more taxes taken out than what you mention being single without dependents. Add to that what is taken out for a 401k savings plan, life insurance and other things most people have. Most people also need to drive to get to work or have any way of getting around and many have a car payment as well as car insurance, gas, maintenance and so on. Utilities depending on where you live can also be several hundred dollars a month.
Oh, let's not forget that somehow one also has to buy food if there is anything left.
So you basically have to live like a low income person even if you're not in order to buy health insurance. Like i said previously, it's crazy.
Last edited by marino760; 11-22-2018 at 08:23 AM..
It's not just tight for many people it's impossible. I still work and I have a lot more taxes taken out than what you mention being single without dependents. Add to that what is taken out for a 401k savings plan, life insurance and other things most people have. Most people also need to drive to get to work or have any way of getting around and many have a car payment as well as car insurance, gas, maintenance and so on. Utilities depending on where you live can also be several hundred dollars a month.
Oh, let's not forget that somehow one also has to buy food if there is anything left.
So you basically have to live like a low income person even if you're not in order to buy health insurance. Like i said previously, it's crazy.
Yup. And then you have to consider that after paying nearly $1,000 a month for insurance, you still end up out-of-pocket for most medical expenses. You can end up paying close to $20,000 a year (paying expenses up to the deductible), on a net income of maybe $42, 000. That leaves you with $22,000 a year (or around $1,900 a month) to cover your rent, utilities, transportation, food (!), and so forth. As you say, impossible.
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