My husband is 7 years older. He retired at age 64 and went on my employer plan. Once he got to 65 and on Medicare, I retired. For the first 18months I used my Coba. Now I’m using a health care account set up years ago when they went away from traditional retirement/medical. It will only last about 3 years. At that point I bet I’ll be here seeking advice 
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Curious why people prefer cobra to aca. I’ll be retiring soon and am not yet old enough for Medicare. Husband is on Medicare. When I researched last it seemed that aca insurance is the same level plan as my employer offers but less expensive than what I would pay through cobra.
In the Thumper family, the older spouse was able to retire at 60 and go on the younger spouse’s employer insurance until 65.
At 65, the younger spouse did Medicare. Older spouse continued with employer health insurance until retirement at age 68.
For me, ACA plans are just as expensive, but they are all HMO vs. PPO on my COBRA plan, have significantly higher deductibles and out of pocket maximums, and much smaller networks.
And we would have had to start the deductible over, which would have been several extra thousand dollars in expenses.
The cheap ACA plans are basically catastrophic coverage, and some have really restricted networks, but if you are ok with that you can do better than COBRA price-wise.
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I wonder if aca offerings vary a lot by state. When I looked, I was looking at silver level plans which mirrored what my employer plan had for deductibles, etc. My doctor’s practice accepts 6 of the offered silver plans and some are significantly less than cobra. BCBS, which is what I have now, is offered but price seems the same as cobra. Other plans are less.
ACA offerings do vary tremendously by state. The CT plans only have CT providers, but that list of providers is as extensive as most commercial insurance plans. They have started offering an expanded network with in-network access to some NY docs for slightly higher premium. I believe HMO models are offered, but there are several PPO options from two carriers. The coverage is excellent as long as you remain in network.
Another difference I have noticed is that CT appears to use maybe five age bands to set rates but NY does not seem to use age–or to a lesser extent, so a 20-something in NY will pay the same as a 50-something. The 50-something in CT would pay two & a half times as much as the 20-something.
Not Rich Enough’s comment about mid-year deductible change is valid and something to consider. Retirees may want to remain on the employer plan until Jan 1st so as to avoid that loss.
If your doctors accept the ACA plans, it could be worth changing. Also worth checking the drug formulary, if you are currently taking any meds.
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Our state (CA) ACA plans were as expensive/more expensive that cobra for a similar plan (80/20 PPO). Might as well continue with the same insurer if there was little savings. OTOH, ACA plans can be great if you get subsidies.
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I thought staying with COBRA because of familiarity with the health plans. I’ve never used ACA ever, so I don’t really know. When my sister was on it, she made sure she’s not in the bottom income, I mean she’s avoiding some plans.
I believe that some states will force enrollment into Medicaid if income is below a certain threshold. I assume this does not apply to the non-Medicaid expansion states.
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Yes, that’s the one she’s avoiding. When she was unemployed, she made sure she withdrew some money to be above certain threshold.
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Admittedly I did not investigate ACA before taking COBRA, assumed our income (including some investment stuff) from prior year would be too high. Was looking for continuity too.
The rate (me only) seemed reasonable…. about $450/month to continue on my high deductible but excellent plan. Now the rate for same plan is about $800, but I don’t “feel” it since being paid out of the employer lump sum retiree medical fund (which can ONLY be used for the employer plan). So over a few years I have had same medical plan , even though paid for 3 different ways…. employer, COBRA, retiree lump sum fund. I also have option to stay on same plan self-pay once lump sum gone, but likely won’t due to high cost.
I will point out that many friends jumped right into the retiree lump sum fund. Though higher rate, no impact to pocketbook. I opted for COBRA to push out my run-dry date (still prior to 65). Depending on age, their decision was fortunate do to upcoming limitations of the lump sum fund.
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Everyone’s situation with COBRA vs ACA is going to be individual. In my case, COBRA was going to be $1200 a month and ACA is $350 with my subsidy (I live on a lot less per year than many of you). The deductible went from $3000 to $7000, but the difference in premiums more than covers that. I also have enough saved in an HSA to cover the deductible, worst case, until I qualify for Medicare. The big difference is that ACA only covers emergency care out of state while my COBRA policy would have covered care anywhere it is accepted, but I’m satisfied that in-state, in-network would offer quality care. I did think about waiting until the end of the year, but I wasn’t close to having met my deductible anyway, so went ahead and changed. I picked a plan that wouldn’t require changing any doctors so the transition has been smooth.
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I finally saw a 5 year brokered CD at 5% at Fidelity. While I’m not ready to lock in yet. A few years ago, that would be nice interest.
I was planning to annuitize a portion of my husband’s account, but the interest for the annuity is low, almost close to zero. At what interest rate are you willing to lock in.
I briefly checked into ACA plans upon retirement, and saw no reason to change (unless I was getting a good subsidy). Get to stay on a very comprehensive plan with Cobra, continue what I have, and it was a good deal. Weird that Cobra is so much cheaper than if I paid the normal rate for my company plan (which we will have to do in March). Cobra insurance even went down $35 per month for next year, which surprised me, as I didn’t think health insurance prices ever went down.
I guess it depends upon when you think you’d need it. I’m willing to lock in at 3% or so for a short time period. I didn’t think I’d need this Roth, but I’d consider utilizing it if property prices crash around here.
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I have not seen a call-protected 5% on the five year. The highest I see at the moment is 4.75%, assuming you want the call protection.
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I think I will wait for one more .75 hike before I lock in. Marcus and Capital One have nice 2.4% regular CDs for now
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Futures market seems to be betting that the Fed won’t stop until 4.65%.
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Do you mean online savings? Marcus is paying 2.35% at the moment, as is Ally. I suspect the others are very close. The brokerage firms’ money market rates are higher, in case you are looking for somewhere to wait.
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This is a non Roth, I intend to have my Roth all in stocks. I won’t need this money, but my husband has to take RMDs soon.
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