How much for health insurance for early retirees?

[Dakota731]

My husband is considering retiring early before social security kicks in and lately we have been hearing horror stories about people who can't afford to stop working early due to the high cost of health insurance. Several friends of ours said they pay $2000 a month. It's scary to think that my husband has worked so hard all those years and saved so much but still will never be able to retire! Anyone out there in this situation and would care to share what they pay for a couple?

 

[Marionnette]

My husband is considering retiring early before social security kicks in and lately we have been hearing horror stories about people who can't afford to stop working early due to the high cost of health insurance. Several friends of ours said they pay $2000 a month. It's scary to think that my husband has worked so hard all those years and saved so much but still will never be able to retire! Anyone out there in this situation and would care to share what they pay for a couple?

We're not in that exact situation. We pay 100% of our health insurance because we own a small business. Our OOP cost for a "gold" plan, which covers the two of us and one adult child, is more than $2100/month.

Yes, bearing the entire cost of your own health insurance is very expensive. It costs even more as you age. When I was researching policies, the majority of the cost was for covering my husband because he turned 60 last summer.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

This is affecting many people. Our company a few years ago eliminated health care after retirement. Because of the expense of insurance, I am waiting till 65 to retire. At that time, Medicare kicks in and I can carry a supplemental plan, which will be much cheaper.

If this country goes to universal health, then I would consider retiring much sooner.

 

[Sadie22]

Do you mean he wants to retire before he is eligible for Medicare, or do you mean before full retirement age for Social Security? When to begin taking Social Security is a big decision as waiting longer can mean a larger payout. Even on Medicare, many people have a supplemental health insurance policy.

There are too many variables to be able to draw parallels between what others pay in health care costs and what you might pay. What matters is your situation. You need to consider and budget for not only the cost of the insurance but also your share of the costs, such as deductibles, co-pays for office visits and hospital stays, co-insurance amounts, and so on. Take into consideration whether either of you has any chronic conditions and is on maintenance medications and what likely treatment you will need in the future. Don't forget costs for dental and vision care. Your income will determine your eligibility for various government insurance programs should your husband decide to retire before Medicare eligibility.

 

[barkley]

we've got former employer subsidized insurance (back when I hired in people could get it upon retirement, no more) but despite both dh and I getting medicare our premiums for 2 adults/2 adult children (still eligible due to age) our premiums are around $1600 per month (that's including the couple hundred we pay per month for our medicare premiums).

 

[PlutoPony]

Another thing to consider..... currently preexisting conditions are covered due in part to the ACA requiring them to be covered. IF the ACA were to terminated (due to Supreme Court ruling, Congress voting to abolish the Act, etc.) it's very possible the insurance market would not cover preexisting conditions on its own. So it may not be a matter of how much it costs but rather could you get the coverage you needed.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

My husband is retired military. We have Tricare Prime through Johns Hopkins US Family Health Plan and pay $555.84 a year premium for our family (now just the two of us). Bargain! I can't complain.

 

[Keacc]

I retired February 2014 at the age of 63. My Wife and I have BCBS PPO Silver plan for $1,001 per month.

 

[bdcp]

My DH is a retired US Navy reservist and will turn 60 in just over two years which means we draw retirement pay and are Tricare eligible. It's our plan to use it when we retire as our supplemental as it's so much cheaper. We probably won't retire for at least 8 years (I'm 55) but the fact we have Tricare eligibility is nice. We would love to retire right now, but we want to save a bit more so we can continue the lifestyle we currently have.

 

[barkley]

when you start looking at coverage-make sure (1) there are providers in your area that accept it, and (2) any providers listed with the plan are ACTUALY ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS. this is a big issue w/some plans-and it's HUGE if it's one of the ppo's that pay zero outside their network. of course it can also be an issue when you have medicare-we have medicare primary care providers in our area w/horrendous wait lists for new patients.