The employer contribution on the health care plan I have through work is over $20k. It’s a decent plan, but we’ve had better. I’m not surprised companies are not subsidizing retirees any more, they can’t afford it!
I think the cost has probably gone up 5x or more in the last 20 years.
"My question I’d like to pose here is what do pre-65 age retirees manage their health insurance cost?
We were lucky enough to have government funded health insurance that covers all of my costs and covers most of my husband’s costs. I had a low paying government job for many years, and was delighted and surprised to learn that I qualified for this benefit. Makes it all worthwhile to be ultra educated, working incredibly hard, and not highly respected.
Trying to hedge long term care expense potential is another thing insurance plans have drastically changed - so if one didn’t get on board with a good plan, having to go with the new paradigm to cover…
It gives us great comfort to have that cost potential capped off with the insurance we have in place. Also that we have two DDs that do love us and would not kick us to the curb. It helps that we have a good nest egg that will get passed on…we are reasonable spenders/travelers.
We are greatly looking forward to retirement, and also retiring with pretty good health intact.
Our former employer announced last week that they are increasing retiree medical premiums for eligible non-Union employees who retire 1/1/19 and on to what they would be paying for employee coverage. In addition, employee premiums will be variable and based on base salary.
H is retired from the professional union, so his costs won’t change (for now). Mine will hold flat (about $140/month) for two years and probably increase in 2021.
We are fortunate to have coverage as it was eliminated for n-u employees hired in this geographic area after 1990-something. Most former colleagues in other states aren’t covered for retiree medical at all (their pre-merger company eliminated it). Those I know have had to postpone retirement until they are much closer to Medicare.
The company shifted to a defined contribution pension a couple of years ago for existing non-union employees who had been under a defined benefit plan, so honestly we’d been expecting changes to the medical plan. Our hope is that it continues for 8-10 years. Part of our retirement strategy is using SS to cover medigap insurance. We have more than enough to deal if the company changes things again, but I feel for those who now have to totally revise their thinking and plans.
COBRA.
H’s company sold and went from having both 401k and retirement/pension plan, to 401k only. Then he also didn’t have the raises and bonuses. But when you get to a certain age, etc it is risky to move around. They downsized ‘to death’, but his skills are so diverse that they continually come in handy and we feel he has job security through age 65. And if he did lose his job, he could find work in the current job climate. He has had to travel due to local plant not having the work. One of his skill sets is test engineering, and test engineering management - who knows exactly how to manage the current contract technicalities - so the plant manager was sweating out not having someone until H flew in this afternoon and told him how he can handle the customer. A real shock-wave also as the quality manager had a major heart attack and is said to be brain dead.
@bluebayou – COBRA will only extend coverage for 18 months, except in a few limited cases (death, divorce, exceeding the limiting age of the plan) where coverage can be continued for 36 months.
Generally only for 18 months at most.
correct, CT. It covers me until I age into Medicare and then will cover da’ wife for up to 36 months (although she’ll only need 21 of those 36 months.)
COBRA is limited to 18 months, so that is only a solution for folks who retire at 63.5 and get Medicare as soon as they can.
Some Us allow folks who take at least 1 credit course to enroll in group medical. Might that be an option if the cost for a credit isn’t too high, eg at CC?
My wife just got back from her evening shift at Walgreens and informed me that her annual vacation days just got reduced by a week. Walgreens is really going after their employees’ jugular… Bad news two days in a row… Wonder what’s next?
For the older spouse, yes, 18 months is correct, but its my understanding that once the older spouse ages into Medicare, the younger spouse gets a new clock for up to an additional 36 months.
(I’ll test it in a few weeks!)
Never heard there were two clocks—have only read there is one 18 month clock per my H’s plan. We tried to get D on it but somehow they claim to have never received her application. Oh well, turned out ok for her and us anyway.
Yikes, @TiggerDad! That’s very upsetting! Can they do that with no notice like that? Somehow it seems wrong.
How much vacation does she get now?
So much for corporate tax cuts trickling down to benefit employees. 8-|
Walgreens has many corporate lawyers, so I’m sure they know what they’re doing within the legal boundaries. My wife still feels lucky compared to her co-worker who had saved so many sick days and vacations for years. He’s lost almost all of them due to sick leave and vacation policy changes.
My wife’s 25th anniversary of Walgreens employment was this past July. With that, her annual vacation days would have been 30 days. She just found out today at work that her annual vacation days were reduced to 25 days. Nothing to cry about. We’re just wondering, with one more year to go before her retirement, what more Walgreens will be after.
Maybe she should take her vacation days sooner than later so they don’t vanish! So sorry for her and the coworker @TiggerDad. I’m sure it’s happening at many other places as well. 
@bluebayou – I believe that your spouse will be eligible for up to an additional 36 months of continued coverage: 18 months upon your retirement + up to another 36 months from your Medicare eligibility date.
@HImom – yes, there are two (or more) COBRA ‘clocks’. Let’s say an employee loses coverage because of termination of employment, and then becomes divorced during this period of unemployment. The employee would be eligible for 18 months of COBRA but the divorced spouse would be eligible for a total of 36 months of COBRA. This differs slightly from the Medicare example above.
The other 36 month qualifying event is when a dependent child exceeds the limiting age of the plan. We do not see this used as often b/c of the extension of dependent coverage to age 26 with the ACA.
Hmmm, when our child reached 26, she got a letter that she could have a cobra-like plan for 18 months.