A job to prepare for the next down turn

[sv2007]

Good luck on the new job. Did you find the health insurance during your two years for a family of 3 to be $250/month? I found that impossible to match Mr Money Mustache and granted we're a family of four. But that was not even close to our premium.

The health insurance was about $1200/month; I remember this was cheaper than my cobra payment (but the coverage wasn't as good).

[sv2007]

I am not asking this in a derogatory manner, but were you or your parents born outside the United States? The reason I ask is because many of your views are very different than what I encounter regularly, and your sentence structure sometimes is often different as well.

Just curious if a foreign culture has helped shaped the views that you post here.

I'm originally from Taiwan but lived in the US since 8. Effectively grew up in NJ, college in MA, jobs in CA, TX. I do read/write Chinese and love reading a lot of Chinese stories; and of course, growing with Chinese parents, etc. So, I'm a mixture of Chinese and American culture. I can fully identify with that tiger mom (although I will not be so strict with my kid).

What's your background?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

The health insurance was about $1200/month; I remember this was cheaper than my cobra payment (but the coverage wasn't as good).

That runs $14.4k/year minimum expenses. This is why I find it hard to RE with under $20k in expenses. I mean yes you can spend maybe $2k/month on stuff like utilities, food, car insurance. But with health insurance running $1k+/month plus other costs i find it next to impossible to retire on so little. Ours bare bones bronze was $650/month and we paid everything OOP and tried not to use it.

I think personally that's a huge cost in early retirement that is hard to predict. If something should happen you would want group coverage again.

[sv2007]

That runs $14.4k/year minimum expenses. This is why I find it hard to RE with under $20k in expenses. I mean yes you can spend maybe $2k/month on stuff like utilities, food, car insurance. But with health insurance running $1k+/month plus other costs i find it next to impossible to retire on so little. Ours bare bones bronze was $650/month and we paid everything OOP and tried not to use it.

I think personally that's a huge cost in early retirement that is hard to predict. If something should happen you would want group coverage again.

I've posted before that health insurance is a big cost in early retirement. However, it is actually very predictable and easy to budget and project into the future (esp with Obamacare laws). It is just very expensive for us because of high income and young age. But if you are above medicare age and no kids (since medicare don't care young people), I think it can be managed pretty cheap (I forget the exact numbers as I wasn't near the age and only read it in passing and 2 years ago). But check it out; use it as retirement planning.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Actually it's not predictable. How do you cover prescriptions? I didn't buy that coverage and Obamacare just allowed us to even buy coverage. We were that uninsurable family before. No amount of money would have allowed us to even risk going without insurance before with our preexisiting conditions.

I think that's another factor at least for us on retiring early. The worry about where Obamacare is going and what could happen.

[sv2007]

Actually it's not predictable. How do you cover prescriptions? I didn't buy that coverage and Obamacare just allowed us to even buy coverage. We were that uninsurable family before. No amount of money would have allowed us to even risk going without insurance before with our preexisiting conditions.

I think that's another factor at least for us on retiring early. The worry about where Obamacare is going and what could happen.

If you want predictability then you must buy coverage. It's like buying homeowner's insurance so that the homeowner can make things more predictable.

As for Obamacare laws, (although nothing is guaranteed in politics or in anything pretty much), the one thing that I've noticed is that social benefit laws don't get changed overnight all that often, if they get changed much at all. Even when they do change, it is a gradual process for a soft-ish landing. Just check the recent historical events.

[DaveInPgh]

Actually it's not predictable. How do you cover prescriptions? I didn't buy that coverage and Obamacare just allowed us to even buy coverage. We were that uninsurable family before. No amount of money would have allowed us to even risk going without insurance before with our preexisiting conditions.

I think that's another factor at least for us on retiring early. The worry about where Obamacare is going and what could happen.

On the topic of unpredictable health insurance, I spoke to my mother over the weekend and she received a letter stating that her prescriptions would no longer be covered by her provider. So she is now forced to look for something different.

Thanks to a Bankruptcy ruling, my father lost his company provided health insurance altogether during retirement.

So just add "it is actually very predictable and easy to budget" to the long list of ridiculous statements made on this forum.

[disneysteve]

I've posted before that health insurance is a big cost in early retirement. However, it is actually very predictable and easy to budget and project into the future

On the topic of unpredictable health insurance, I spoke to my mother over the weekend and she received a letter stating that her prescriptions would no longer be covered by her provider. So she is now forced to look for something different.

Thanks to a Bankruptcy ruling, my father lost his company provided health insurance altogether during retirement.

Dave is absolutely correct. Health insurance is a huge unknowable variable in retirement, especially if you retire before Medicare age (65). Premiums go up at unpredictable rates that far outstrip inflation. It isn't unusual for the cost to jump 20% or more in one year. And coverage changes regularly. Something that was covered last month may not be covered next month. Or the drug formulary can change so that the medicine you've been taking for years is no longer covered or is only available at a much higher copay.

This is all true before retirement, too, but it has an even bigger impact after retirement. We've changed health insurance plans 3 times in 3 years at my job because the costs have risen so dramatically as to be unaffordable to keep what we had. I've now got a HDHP with HSA for the first time as that was the only option that wouldn't cost an insane amount per month, so now we have a $4,700 deductible before the plan pays a penny in benefits. We can manage that but how many average folks could?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Um I was looking at our medical benefits from 2005 till now. In 2010 when we had our first child our premiums doubled going to a family plan. Granted it was cheap $40/pay period to $80. But somehow when we left in 2015 our premium was $130/pay period. So in five years it went up $50/pay period. 62.5% in 5 years. Over 10% a year increase.

So my $650/month buying my own insurance will go up 10% every year for the next 5 years? Where does that put me in 5 years? $650? $715, $786, 865, $950?

How do you handle that in a retirement budget? My uncle and aunt didn't lose health insurance in retirement, but instead they were told they now have to pay a portion that has been increasing of their health insurance in retirement. Something once covered by the company along with the pension.

So their budget once didn't include even paying a portion of health insurance now does.