by Joe Hearn | Jul 9, 2012 | Insurance, Medicare
One of the biggest obstacles to retiring early is health care. If you want to retire at 62, but don’t become eligible for Medicare until 65, you have a three-year window where you need to bridge the gap between your employer’s coverage and Medicare. Traditionally, that has meant either going without insurance (not a good idea) or paying for an individual policy (mucho deniro or not available due to pre-existing conditions).
The new health care law has elements that could make it easier to bridge the gap between employer coverage and Medicare, thus making early retirement a more viable option. The law phases in over time, so I’ll discuss the options available to you between now and 2014 and those after 2014.
Between now and January 1, 2014
In the short term, the law makes $5 billion available to employers to spend on insurance for employees who decide to retire early (visit www.errp.gov for more info). The drawback here is that your employer needs to offer retirement insurance benefits, which most don’t.
If you’re willing to buy an individual policy to bridge the gap, but don’t qualify due to a pre-existing condition, the new law also has a pre-existing conditions insurance plan. Visit HealthCare.gov to get details for your state and information on how to apply.
After January 1, 2014
Both the early retiree and pre-existing conditions programs mentioned above expire at the end of 2013. What replaces them? Starting January 1, 2014 insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, so you can shop around with private insurers regardless of your health. If you want to retire early and still can’t find affordable coverage with a private insurance company, states will have “exchanges” where anyone can buy health insurance.
So if you plan on retiring early, it looks like you’ll have a few more options for health coverage. Work with a trusted adviser to see if these options are right for you.
by Joe Hearn | Jul 2, 2012 | Pursuits, Retirement
I’m back! Sorry you haven’t heard from me for a bit. Every year my wife and I take a trip with three other couples and this year I decided to pretty much “unplug” so I could just relax and recharge.
Not posting for almost two weeks means that I have plenty of things in the hopper though, including a 30-Day Learning Challenge update, some thoughts on fixing problems before getting to retirement, life advice from Ray Bradbury (he passed away a few weeks ago), and an overview of how the Supreme Court’s recent ruling will likely affect your health care during retirement.
But first, a few quick ideas that occurred to me over the last few weeks on how to maximize fun and minimize stress.
Is this worth doing?
Everything we do in life takes some of our time and some of our money. Our activities also come with a built in “opportunity cost” because choosing one thing means forgoing something else.
With so many things to choose from, how do we pick those things that will result in the most fun, fulfillment, and satisfaction? A good place to start is to ask yourself this question:
“Will I remember this in 50 years?” (Or however long you happen to live)
If something passes the “50 year” test, there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll add it to my to-do list. Those things usually cost money, take some planning and get you out of your comfort zone, but they are also the things that give you a full life and a rich abundance of memories with family and friends.
I don’t have a very clear memory of what I did yesterday afternoon, but I will never forget teaching our daughter to ride her bike, scuba diving with my friends in Anguilla, hiking The Great Wall or having lunch with my wife at the Eiffel Tower. When I think about the story of my life, those are the things that will stand out.
Is this worth stressing about?
For many of us, stress is a constant. It’s like white noise in the background of life. Stress can be a useful motivator, but it’s not really healthy or worthwhile to constantly be worrying.
As I was scrambling to finish things up before heading out of town, I could feel my anxiety level rising. To counter the stress, I asked myself this question:
“Will this matter in five years?”
For most of the projects on my desk, the answer was no. It was stuff my assistant could handle while I was gone or something that I could finish when I got back. It wasn’t the kind of stuff that was going to alter the course of my life, it was just a bunch of work that needed to get done. Once things were in perspective, my anxiety melted away. If it’s not going to matter in the long-run, it’s not worth worrying about in the short-run. Just do your best to come up with a “rip off the band-aid” solution (quick and painless) and then move on.
How about you? What are you contemplating doing? Does it pass the “50 Year” test? How about stress? Anything keeping you up at night? Does it pass the “5 Year” test? You can craft a pretty satisfying life if you’re intentional about your choices and selective about your worries.
Have a great week!
Joe
