Mystery of early retirement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you retire and have no or low income, an ACA plan will have no or low premiums regardless of assets. That's how many people have been able to retire early. It's strictly based on income, so if you receive a large pension that would affect your premium.

define large pension. We'll receive 100k together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We retired in our mid 40s. We live in VA and have the only PPO plan offered here to individual marketplace insurance buyers. (An HMO was available but we didn’t retire to change our options or lifestyle). It started at around $4800/month, increased yearly until around $5300/month and then it has gone down the last few years to around $4000/month. Two more things:

It is for a family of 4.

There are two level options for the PPO: gold and silver. We have the lower/silver one.

Crazy...we are in DC and pay $1700/month for family of 3 for a silver plan (the kid is only like $200/month as part of this).

I pay $1900/month inclusive of dental through work for a family of 4. It is so expensive that I think I could do just as well in the private market when I'm ready to retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The wealthier ones buy ACA health insurance. Or they are retired teachers, gov, military, police, fire, etc.

While they can probably keep their plan they might have to plan on a large increase in the premium costs.

Why? Wouldn't they pay the same premium as they paid while working? Or do just assume premiums will go up generally?

On many cases the employer is paying 2/3 to 3/4 or the premium, which they stop doing when the person retires. Not always, some employers keep paying. Just depends on your deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We retired in our mid 40s. We live in VA and have the only PPO plan offered here to individual marketplace insurance buyers. (An HMO was available but we didn’t retire to change our options or lifestyle). It started at around $4800/month, increased yearly until around $5300/month and then it has gone down the last few years to around $4000/month. Two more things:

It is for a family of 4.

There are two level options for the PPO: gold and silver. We have the lower/silver one.

Crazy...we are in DC and pay $1700/month for family of 3 for a silver plan (the kid is only like $200/month as part of this).

I pay $1900/month inclusive of dental through work for a family of 4. It is so expensive that I think I could do just as well in the private market when I'm ready to retire.

Key here is they are in DC. I'm guessing there is some special rate for DC. Go out to VA and it is much higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These people who retire early in their 30s, 40s, and 50s; what do they do for health insurance? I could in theory retire early but my medication is $7k a month without insurance so I would blow through my retirement savings quickly.

Marry a "stethoscope spouse" who has a job with health insurance.

[Anonymous]

FIRE folks move to low cost of living areas, to minimize income use and then apply for ACA insurance. Because their reported income is so low, the insurance is heavily subsidized.

Other folks have a working spouse with benefits or retiree health benefits from their previous job, military, or Fed position. Sometimes a combination of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you retire and have no or low income, an ACA plan will have no or low premiums regardless of assets. That's how many people have been able to retire early. It's strictly based on income, so if you receive a large pension that would affect your premium.

define large pension. We'll receive 100k together.

https://www.goodrx.com/insurance/aca/aca-income-limits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We retired in our mid 40s. We live in VA and have the only PPO plan offered here to individual marketplace insurance buyers. (An HMO was available but we didn’t retire to change our options or lifestyle). It started at around $4800/month, increased yearly until around $5300/month and then it has gone down the last few years to around $4000/month. Two more things:

It is for a family of 4.

There are two level options for the PPO: gold and silver. We have the lower/silver one.

Crazy...we are in DC and pay $1700/month for family of 3 for a silver plan (the kid is only like $200/month as part of this).

VA is definitely the most expensive of the DMV area. I looked into the different costs.

I live in MD, and the type of plan that the PP has is about $2300 for a family of four, $4500 deductible, PPO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We retired in our mid 40s. We live in VA and have the only PPO plan offered here to individual marketplace insurance buyers. (An HMO was available but we didn’t retire to change our options or lifestyle). It started at around $4800/month, increased yearly until around $5300/month and then it has gone down the last few years to around $4000/month. Two more things:

It is for a family of 4.

There are two level options for the PPO: gold and silver. We have the lower/silver one.

Crazy...we are in DC and pay $1700/month for family of 3 for a silver plan (the kid is only like $200/month as part of this).

I pay $1900/month inclusive of dental through work for a family of 4. It is so expensive that I think I could do just as well in the private market when I'm ready to retire.

There is basically no private health insurance market anymore. Obamacare is the only thing that is left unless you want to buy a scammy insurance that has exclusions and other issues that will screw you over when you actually need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to know too. BIL thinks he has enough to live on but is healthy and hasn’t considered this fact. I hope he is right but he has asked us for money before. Meanwhile DH is planning to work until 70 to avoid saddling our kids with our care. Modern health care is a beast. Not sure we are better off than people were even before antibiotics.

Really?!

This is a naive question. The life expectancy is twice what it was before antibiotics and you're "not sure we are better off". I am. It really doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These people who retire early in their 30s, 40s, and 50s; what do they do for health insurance? I could in theory retire early but my medication is $7k a month without insurance so I would blow through my retirement savings quickly.

Marry a "stethoscope spouse" who has a job with health insurance.

Maybe it's an urban myth...but I always was told doctors have crappy insurance. I suppose that makes sense if you are getting health insurance for a small private practice since it is just a small business with little bargaining power. No idea how good insurance through a hospital system may be.

I guess your thinking is no matter your spouse's specialty, they can administer their own annual checkups and prescribe everyday antibiotics and what not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to know too. BIL thinks he has enough to live on but is healthy and hasn’t considered this fact. I hope he is right but he has asked us for money before. Meanwhile DH is planning to work until 70 to avoid saddling our kids with our care. Modern health care is a beast. Not sure we are better off than people were even before antibiotics.

Really?!

This is a naive question. The life expectancy is twice what it was before antibiotics and you're "not sure we are better off". I am. It really doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

We are better off...but life expectancy took a massive jump as a result of the massive reduction in infant deaths, which coincided with the advent of antibiotics and what not.

[Anonymous]

Lifetime medical insurance through Tricare or through federal or state government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The wealthier ones buy ACA health insurance. Or they are retired teachers, gov, military, police, fire, etc.

While they can probably keep their plan they might have to plan on a large increase in the premium costs.

Why? Wouldn't they pay the same premium as they paid while working? Or do just assume premiums will go up generally?

Maybe not. I'm with Fairfax County Public Schools. Using Kaiser Permanente as an example, a current teacher pays:
$132.94/month for an individual
$443.31/month for employee +1
$553.90/month for a family
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/employee-benefits-premiums.pdf

A retiree not receiving Medicare pays:
$695.83/month for an individual
$1,491.66/month for employee +1
$1,889/month for a family
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/retiree-benefits-premiums.pdf

[Anonymous]

I retired in my early to mid 40s. Frankly to retire at that age I had a lot of money. We have insurance. The cost doesn’t really seem unreasonable to me. Then again before I retired I ran a business that had nearly 100 people on the company health plan. That monthly bill was ridiculous.