When do you plan to retire and first trip

[alwysonvac]

Wow, a lot of early retirees.

I would love to hear how the early retirees are managing healthcare insurance? Any tips?
I’m 55 years old and DH is 59 years old. I guess I should look into how much it would actually cost us . We would love to retire early.

 

[bluehende]

Wow, a lot of early retirees.

I would love to hear how the early retirees are managing healthcare insurance? Any tips?
I’m 55 years old and DH is 59 years old. I guess I should look into how much it would actually cost us . We would love to retire early.

I get insurance from my old company. It is subsidized but still not cheap.....800 a month for wife and I. My company health insurance was decreased for the early retirement. I looked into Obamacare and the policy that I have is about 1900 a month. Since my income is low I could have saved a lot of money going there but once I declined the company policy I could not get back on. I spent a lot more money for the security of that plan.

 

[Luanne]

Wow, a lot of early retirees.

I would love to hear how the early retirees are managing healthcare insurance? Any tips?
I’m 55 years old and DH is 59 years old. I guess I should look into how much it would actually cost us . We would love to retire early.

I wasn't that early, I was 62, but I wasn't eligible for Medicare yet. I was one of the lucky ones in that I had a fairly generous retirement package from AT&T. I still got medical for me, and for dh, at a reasonable price per month. Don't quote me on this, but I think it was around $200/month. And it could have been that mine was free and I was just paying for dh.

 

[controller1]

Wow, a lot of early retirees.

I would love to hear how the early retirees are managing healthcare insurance? Any tips?
I’m 55 years old and DH is 59 years old. I guess I should look into how much it would actually cost us . We would love to retire early.

My previous company provides Pre-65 health care benefits. The policies are the same as for active employees with less of a subsidy. The health care benefits are medical, dental and vision. I'm able to choose any or all however once I decline coverage under one of the three policies I am never able to sign up again for that particular coverage.

 

[Passepartout]

It was a little scary at first (at 62). I'd been carrying DW on my company policy, and to continue with COBRA was waaay high. We were in pretty good health then, so we rolled the dice and gambled with a succession of 6-month high deductible policies that would have bacically kept us out of the poor house if we had an accident or sudden illness before Medicare kicked in.

You just have to make the decision for what is best for your individual situation as the time approaches. Sometimes this is the thing that keeps people working. One thing the Canadian OP won't have to worry about.

Jim

 

[Fredflintstone]

It was a little scary at first (at 62). I'd been carrying DW on my company policy, and to continue with COBRA was waaay high. We were in pretty good health then, so we rolled the dice and gambled with a succession of 6-month high deductible policies that would have bacically kept us out of the poor house if we had an accident or sudden illness before Medicare kicked in.

You just have to make the decision for what is best for your individual situation as the time approaches. Sometimes this is the thing that keeps people working. One thing the Canadian OP won't have to worry about.

Jim

Yes, health care is covered here in Canada. Many years ago, my employer wanted me to move to the US and I declined. They wanted to know why and I told him the social benefits are affordable here. I didn’t want to plant roots (like a home) in LA and then pull up once the job was over.

It’s really sad, IMO, that all my American friends have to factor in Health Care. Many of my American friends rationalize why they should pay for someone else. In my view, helping each other is what a country is about. I respect their thinking but it saddens me when they get screwed on health care. Heck, I have a colleague/friend in the LA office get cancer and if it wasn’t for his company plan, he said his insurance would have skyrocketed to the point he would have to get “welfare” coverage as he puts it. He’s a Lawyer but says even a lawyer salary cant keep pace with specialized medical costs.

Good Health care is a right for everyone in my view whether they have the money or not.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[VacationForever]

Wow, a lot of early retirees.

I would love to hear how the early retirees are managing healthcare insurance? Any tips?
I’m 55 years old and DH is 59 years old. I guess I should look into how much it would actually cost us . We would love to retire early.

The year after we retired, I got on an ACA plan with subsidies since we had hardly any income that year. After that year I buy my plan from the private individual market. It is something that just has to be a budget line item for each month/year. I have 1 year of ACA plan and 10 years of private individual plan until Medicare kicks in.

 

[Rolltydr]

Wow, a lot of early retirees.

I would love to hear how the early retirees are managing healthcare insurance? Any tips?
I’m 55 years old and DH is 59 years old. I guess I should look into how much it would actually cost us . We would love to retire early.

Early retirement is great. I would highly recommend it if you can afford to.

My DW retired from a federal law enforcement job at 57 (mandatory due to nature of job and physical requirements) and I retired at 58 from a major insurance company. Her insurance was better and cheaper than what I could get so we maintained Federal BC/BS Standard Option. She went on Medicare in January of this year and I will go on in January of 2020. We will also change to BC/BS Basic Option during this open season saving us a couple hundred dollars in premiums each month. Medicare and BC/BS coordinate coverage and we will have little or no out of pocket expenses. For those, I also get $2400 Health Reimbursement account from my retirement so we can file for any drug or doctor co-pays that aren’t covered by Medicare or BC/BS. We both will have original Medicare only. With the BC/BS there is no need for a Medigap or Medicare Advantage plan.

 

[DaveNV]

Being retired military has a few perks I greatly appreciate. One is insurance. Before I was Medicare-eligible, my primary insurance since my military retirement in 1993 was Tricare Prime. Last year when I became Medicare-eligible, things switched around, and Medicare kicked in as my primary payor, and Tricare Prime became Tricare For Life, as the secondary payor. Tricare For Life covers Medicare part B and D, no need for a separate insurance policy. The monthly policy premium for Tricare For Life is the same as everyone else pays.

For the 20 years I served, and all the physical damage the military did to me, it's good to know I don't have to worry about proper medical care for the rest of my life. I had my second knee replaced four weeks ago, and my out-of-pocket cost so far is $Zero. You have to like that level of coverage.

Dave

 

[CalGalTraveler]

One of the reasons we have not considered retiring is the cost/lack of health care options until we are both 65...What sucks is that I don't work enough hours at the large org that I joined to qualify for health care benefits; they make sure I stay under the threshhold, and my small business can barely afford it.

 

[WinniWoman]

Not yet, but I will be looking at the complex’s I’m very interested in when I’m down in December. I’ve meet with my financial planner and I’m on track to be able to retire at the end of the year of my 65th birthday.

I’m hopeful that all goes as planned. I plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Best of luck! Exciting new phase of life!

 

[WinniWoman]

If I didn't get forced out of my job at age 62 I would have hung in there until age 65 for Medicare, since my husband, who is 2 years older than me, planned to retire at age 66. (I could not get SS until age 66 and 4 months but we could deal with that and husband was not planning to apply for SS until age 70.)

Fast forward hubby has had enough of work and is retiring the end of this year at age 65 with Medicare. (No real company retiree health insurance- it is only for those under age 65 and the employee would have to pay for it! And it is expensive and very high deductible. Yeah- thanks a lot).

So this leaves me taking either the retiree health insurance or Cobra until June 2021 when I will be Medicare eligible. I will find out in a couple of weeks which is less expensive- it's the same insurance plan either way. High deductible and premiums and all that good stuff. I was going to try the ACA plans, but decided they were not that great and with moving and everything the easiest thing to do is to take hubby's employer insurance, which will also cover me in another state.

Between hubby's Medicare premiums and my health insurance, it is going to put a big hurting on our budget for the first year of no paycheck. That and the fact that even when we close and move to our new home we still have to continue to pay the rent and heating/utility expenses for the rental for several months due to the lease provisions. Budget redo # 3 coming up.

(First redo was in Fall, 2018 for my missing paycheck. Next one was just last month for this expensive rental we are in until our house is built.)

It's not easy. I so wish we had big pensions and paid health insurance, but that is not the realty.

Calling our FA next month for the game plan.

 

[capjak]

Retired in July at 57, DW retired 2 years ago at 54. Planned a trip to Europe then canceled due to Mother's passing. Had short trip after to Vegas and Florida than Aruba.

 

[rapmarks]

Not yet, but I will be looking at the complex’s I’m very interested in when I’m down in December. I’ve meet with my financial planner and I’m on track to be able to retire at the end of the year of my 65th birthday.

I’m hopeful that all goes as planned. I plan for the worst and hope for the best.

We spent many a timeshare stay looking at houses

 

[geekette]

Inadvertently semi retired already. First trip was a couple months ago, next in a few weeks - I am going to a camp being built by a friend of mine in NC wilderness. Perfect de-stress for me, a nature girl.

 

[klpca]

I agree that in Europe, one MUST pace themselves. When we started going, my DW would research to the n'th degree what to see and museum hours and how to avoid lines, etc. etc. She honestly layed it out with a clipboard full of notes and maps and schedules and brochures. I carried a video camera and tried to capture it 'for the future when we were old and couldn't travel anymore'. After a few of these trips, I said ENOUGH! I was tired of seeing the sights through a viewfinder, and running willy-nilly to make it to the next site. We would come home exhausted and sick as often as not.

So now, we still go on extended trips to faraway places a couple of times a year, but no clipboard. And no video camera. And we build in some relax, enjoy the place and bond with the local culture time. Learn some of the language. Shop the local market- not so much to buy stuff, but to rub shoulders with local people. Eat what they eat, drink what and where they drink.

Funny thing, slow down and see more. Travel is so much more than seeing one more museum or ancient church.

Off shortly to a liesurely jaunt through Japan, Taiwan and China. we have carved out some temple and garden visits, but it's mostly a cultural exchange.

Jim

We are usually relaxed travelers - one set "thing to see" per day and the rest is whatever seems good at the moment. This trip became way more scheduled than I would like because of tours (D-Day, bicycle, Versailles) and museums that required set times (Louvre, Giverny). We missed our first bicycle tour (location mix up) and rescheduled so that was another morning with a fixed time requirement. Normally I am a morning person, but since sunrise was around 8:00, I struggled to get out of bed and had to set an alarm, which is a terrible way to start a vacation day if you ask me. Also we stayed in Normandy at the timeshare in Connelles which required way more driving than I had anticipated, which in turn led to more early mornings. (Paris was at the Royal Regency - awesome location). My husband had quite a to-do list (good thing that we got it all done because I don't see a return trip in our future, lol). Also, there were many tour groups that caused a lot of chaos - truly a lot of very rude behavior, mostly with pushing and bumping. After we saw the Mona Lisa (big whoop, btw) I told my husband that I wasn't going to get through this visit without a glass of wine . Luckily it's France and they have wine everywhere, so we eventually found the museum cafe and life was good again. Actually, once we left the room with the Mona Lisa, there were no crowds at all. I'm not sure how it turned into such a march, the itinerary didn't look that busy on paper, but it wore me out, and yes I am sick, lol.

One of the reasons we have not considered retiring is the cost/lack of health care options until we are both 65...What sucks is that I don't work enough hours at the large org that I joined to qualify for health care benefits; they make sure I stay under the threshhold, and my small business can barely afford it.

Isn't it the truth? If it wasn't for the health insurance issue, we may have already retired.

 

[PamMo]

For those trying to figure out early retirement, factoring in healthcare costs is an important piece of the puzzle. We're fortunate, and have always enjoyed excellent health, so bought the cheapest ACA plan with a high deductible. It was still expensive, partly due to limited plans in our area (this year there was only one). Annual cost for insurance has run $20-28K/yr for the two of us, which pays for an annual physical and flu shot. After premiums, we've been on the hook for the next $8,000 before insurance kicks in. We're glad we have insurance though, as I blew w-a-y past that this year!

 

[klpca]

For those trying to figure out early retirement, factoring in healthcare costs is an important piece of the puzzle. We're fortunate, and have always enjoyed excellent health, and bought the cheapest ACA plan with a high deductible. It was still expensive, partly due to limited plans in our area (this year there was only one). Annual cost for insurance has run $20-28K/yr for the two of us, which pays for an annual physical and flu shot. After premiums, we've been on the hook for the next $8,000 before insurance kicks in. We're glad we have insurance though, as I blew w-a-y past that this year!

We are way more worried about access to health care than the cost (although that is very important). If the pre-exisitng condition protection goes away, we're screwed. So we are doing what we have to do to stay on a company plan.

 

[tompalm]

Wow, a lot of early retirees.

I would love to hear how the early retirees are managing healthcare insurance? Any tips?
I’m 55 years old and DH is 59 years old. I guess I should look into how much it would actually cost us . We would love to retire early.

I was in a job I loved and had planned to work until age 65. Than Aloha Airlines shutdown and a few days later there was a meeting for all the pilots and the biggest gripe was that people did not have health care. On that day, I remembered that I did have health care from a 20 year Navy retirement and started using my Tricare insurance. I was 54 years old and found myself unemployed and later I decided to call it early retirement and was able to get by on my Navy pension and some rental income that we had. A lot of the pilots took any job they could find that had health insurance. It was a major issue for most folks, but people did what they had to get insurance. That is something people overlook or take for granted when job hunting. There should be more information about that. But what 20 year old is going to worry about something 40 years away and something that might change. I feel lucky that I have it. My neighbor taught school for 30 years for the state of Hawaii and got that as part of his retirement. I don’t think anyone can truly appreciate having that benefit until it is time for retirement.

 

[tompalm]

Regarding trips, there were no big trips to celebrate retirement. But not working and being flexible helps save a lot of money. Last year, Hawaiian had a sale for flights to Japan at $450 RT and we bought tickets. I had enough Hilton points to stay for free and bought a seven day rail pass for $255 pp. The entire trip cost about $2000 for DW and I for eight days. We also found a deal on a Panama Canal cruise and spent two weeks traveling on the east coast after that. There is no need to hurry up and take a big trip. Look for the deals and save money to take more trips.

 

[PcflEZFlng]

Health insurance: Retired just shy of age 61, went on COBRA for 3 years at $650 per month. When COBRA runs out next April, I'll have one year to bridge to Medicare, so I'll buy the same plan on the state exchange (ACA) where my monthly cost will go up to about $850, unsubsidized. DW is still teaching so she's on her employer's plan (no cost) until she retires two years from now. Then either COBRA or ACA for her until Medicare.

Travel: We took an awesome Mediterranean cruise about 5 years ago. We loved it so much we're planning to take another one to the Aegean in two years for our 40th wedding anniversary. Two years ago, we took a trip with family to New England, Montreal and New York, and then I took a tour of Israel. I would also like to go back to Spain, Italy, and the Balkan peninsula. Meanwhile, we'll continue enjoying timeshares, mainly the desert and occasionally Hawaii, like we've been doing for the past 15 years.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If they lowered the US Medicare age to 55, many more people would retire. We probably would.

 

[isisdave]

We ooze out of bed at the crack of 9:30 or so, have a little breakfast, hit the street about 11, typically see one thing, walking to it if possible. Lunch/dinner about 4, relax at the apartment or wherever, make some little supper snack. If there's a nearby free concert, like there usually is in Florence, great! Early to bed. Rinse, repeat.

Rick Steves often points out that the places inundated by tourists by day are often empty at night. This is true of all the Italian hill towns, and they are just SO pleasant after 6pm on a fine summer evening.

We petsit a lot and so stay in one place for a week or more, but even when on our own, it's always at least three days per stop.

Brother-in-law, 8 years younger, is still on the spreadsheet-guided go-go-go mode. We can only join him for about two days of that mode.

 

[WinniWoman]

If they lowered the US Medicare age to 55, many more people would retire. We probably would.

I will tell you, after seeing the Medicare rates for my husband yesterday. Medicare with the supplements are no bargain.

Example: $135 per month for Part B; $210 per month for Part G; $14.00 per month for part D (cheapest plan). Then Part B has a $185 per year deductible; Part A has a $1364 per BENEFIT PERIOD- NOT ANNUAL- deductible. If you're a couple, double that.

When I factor in health insurance for me at somewhere about $500- $600 per month- we are looking at a total of close to $1000 per month coming out of the household just for health insurance.

Retirement? What are we thinking? This is crazy.

 

[WinniWoman]

Health insurance: Retired just shy of age 61, went on COBRA for 3 years at $650 per month. When COBRA runs out next April, I'll have one year to bridge to Medicare, so I'll buy the same plan on the state exchange (ACA) where my monthly cost will go up to about $850, unsubsidized. DW is still teaching so she's on her employer's plan (no cost) until she retires two years from now. Then either COBRA or ACA for her until Medicare.

Travel: We took an awesome Mediterranean cruise about 5 years ago. We loved it so much we're planning to take another one to the Aegean in two years for our 40th wedding anniversary. Two years ago, we took a trip with family to New England, Montreal and New York, and then I took a tour of Israel. I would also like to go back to Spain, Italy, and the Balkan peninsula. Meanwhile, we'll continue enjoying timeshares, mainly the desert and occasionally Hawaii, like we've been doing for the past 15 years.

I was told by my husband's employer that Cobra is for 18 months. How did you manage 3 years?