Retirement planning

[KiotiKowboy]

How much is it if you take a $2500 deductible? Just curious. Trying to see how long it would take to save up $2500 in an emergency fund.

I can't actually select a deductible amount. There is an optional plan that has a $1000 deductible but, without digging into the details, I don't what other coverages may vary. This plan would cost $100 less per month.

As an aside, I also have a separate long-term care policy. Most health insurance plans do not carry this coverage.

So far ..... thank GOD ..... I pay far more for insurance than I would be spending for care without it.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

My take on the ACA is that it just legitimized victimizing individuals that are not eligible for group plans.

The ACA is not really about providing healthcare to everyone. It's about providing healthcare to those who qualify for massive subsidies. In effect, it is a powerful tool in the Marxist redistribution of wealth ideology. And, it secures power for those in government who use their positions to rob from the productive and enslave the non-productive.

Not trying to start an argument. These are just the facts.

 

[Travelover]

The ACA is not really about providing healthcare to everyone. It's about providing healthcare to those who qualify for massive subsidies. In effect, it is a powerful tool in the Marxist redistribution of wealth ideology. And, it secures power for those in government who use their positions to rob from the productive and enslave the non-productive.

Not trying to start an argument. These are just the facts.

This has been argued to death, but one element in the ACA that is important to me is that I can always buy affordable health insurance regardless of a pre-existing condition. Under the old system if I got a serious disease like cancer and was not in a group plan, I could have been dropped, then literally bankrupted by paying for treatment out of pocket. That might not mean much to some others, but it is a big deal for someone that has worked hard, saved, invested and played by the rules.

 

[Parkanzky]

I did the same last year, more out of curiosity than need. I plugged in my real numbers, and even for the lower quality bronze and silver plans, got prices five times higher than I'm paying through my employer sponsored health care. When I looked at plans that offered benefits comparable to what I have now, premiums were more like 10-12 times more expensive. I understand that some of the premium cost is paid for by my employer, but 80%? I don't think so. My take on the ACA is that it just legitimized victimizing individuals that are not eligible for group plans. Is it any wonder, since the legislation was largely crafted by the insurance industry?

They try to be extremely transparent here with our benefits. We have a "high deductible" health plan with an HSA. IIRC, our employer pays 82% of our insurance premium, so we only pay 18%. That means that if we had to pay it all on our own, it would be over 5x as much. On top of that, they put $2k/yr into our HSA accounts. After you take that into account, they're actually paying those of us that are single or have small families to get insurance. So it's not out of the realm of possibility that your coverage would be 5-10x as much on the open market.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

... one element in the ACA that is important to me is that I can always buy affordable health insurance regardless of a pre-existing condition...

I think most would agree there are several good things in the ACA. The problem is, it placed ideology above logic and essentially destroyed the existing model. The damaged incurred has been massive and spans a wide terrain - from destruction of individual liberty to complete disregard for the law. Yes, you have a major benefit and I'm glad for you - truly. However, in order to provide that type of benefit, many many others are facing premiums that are devastating. There are no "simple" answers but there are "wrong" answers, and the ACA is/was a HUGE mistake.

 

[MossRoad]

We need to have the politics of the ACA discussed in the politics forum.

 

[Travelover]

I think most would agree there are several good things in the ACA. The problem is, it placed ideology above logic and essentially destroyed the existing model. The damaged incurred has been massive and spans a wide terrain - from destruction of individual liberty to complete disregard for the law. Yes, you have a major benefit and I'm glad for you - truly. However, in order to provide that type of benefit, many many others are facing premiums that are devastating. There are no "simple" answers but there are "wrong" answers, and the ACA is/was a HUGE mistake.

I'm waiting for a better answer that still guarantees me coverage - from either party.

 

[riptides]

I'm waiting for a better answer that still guarantees me coverage - from either party.

I am waiting for a better answer that provides decent coverage, simplified processing, better service without the endless excessive rise in costs - from either party.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Simply allowing folks to shop nationwide for insurance would be a start on addressing a lot of your concerns. Even the ACA suffers from state-by-state options. I have no idea why this has not been fixed.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

We need to have the politics of the ACA discussed in the politics forum.

Agree a lot of great info here would hate for it to go away.

 

[ultrarunner]

Health Insurance or planning for Health Care is at the heart of most pre medicare retirement planning... and it has become more complicated in that coverage is required.

Know several folks that are semi-retired and worked just to pay premiums.

Also know a family man age 60 that was as fit as could be... he was a very much in demand geo engineer and wrote many of the codes... one day I talk with him and he said he has food poisoning... a few days later he is still ill... he finally goes to get checked out and has pancreatic cancer and 10 weeks later is gone... family is devastated and have several hundred thousand in medical bills and no coverage because he didn't believe in it...

 

[300UGUY]

I had a friend that died from pancreatic cancer @56. It took a long time to diagnose the problem. By the time he knew what he had, it was too late. Over 10 years, we lost 3 guys to different cancers, 2 at age 56, one at 55. Another had colon cancer and ended up with a bag for the rest of his life. This was out of 13 guys. We had a bunch of electricians get cancer, a lot of them had worked with transformers that had PBB oil in them. One was a neighbor of mine. Didn't smoke, drink, exercised, was very careful of what he ate. He planned to retire @63. He died about 5 months later.

 

[dave1949]

I'm retired but have always thought that I would eventually reach the point of not being able to enjoy the things that are the prime reasons for my current lifestyle. I am beginning to think about that and gather info for Retirement Phase II. I hope that's something for another 6-8 years from now but who knows?

This would be a difficult place for Sharon to live alone and it's turned out to be more remote than she would prefer anyways. Even after retirement there are still things to plan.

 

[Travelover]

........This would be a difficult place for Sharon to live alone and it's turned out to be more remote than she would prefer anyways. Even after retirement there are still things to plan.

That's responsible. As soon as my DW retires, we plan to move closer to her daughter, on a smaller lot in a one level house where we can age in place. I don't want to leave her with a burden she can't handle by herself.

 

[two_bit_score]

Changed it to 2x per week got 5 years.

All my grandparents exceeded the number I got by 10 years. My father's side by nearly 20. I don't take it too seriously!!

Yeah I thought mine was low even after making the adjustment. I would die at the youngest age in my family according to that.

 

[Parkanzky]

That's responsible. As soon as my DW retires, we plan to move closer to her daughter, on a smaller lot in a one level house where we can age in place. I don't want to leave her with a burden she can't handle by herself.

You're both being very considerate. My mother bugged my father for a few years to move out of their large home in the country with extensive landscaping and laundry in the basement to a smaller, everything on one level home in town. He finally agreed and started to get things in order to make that happen when he had a stroke and passed away. Suddenly, she was in a big house with a very long driveway, an acre of yard, and thousands of square feet of flower beds and groomed shrubs and trying to deal with it on her own. She also had to bring herself to sell the home that she and my father had built together 43 years earlier.

Selling the house and moving my mother into her condo were much harder on her after the fact than it would have been with him there supporting her. She's in her new place now, and my brothers and I have done extensive renovations to make it just what she wants. She's happier now than she was in the old house, but it wasn't an easy transition.

My wife and I learned a lot watching this all happen. I'm young to have parents as old as mine, but we still make sure to get all the necessities on one floor when we purchased our latest home. Stairs are fine for entertaining spaces and guest rooms, but I firmly believe that when you beyond starter-home age that you should buy with the future in mind. You never know what will happen!

 

[dave1949]

That's responsible. As soon as my DW retires, we plan to move closer to her daughter, on a smaller lot in a one level house where we can age in place. I don't want to leave her with a burden she can't handle by herself.

Our house is single-level, easy access, small enough to care for easily and the usual things that help with aging. But it's in a very rural area, 10 miles from town. Both kids are hours away. There are no factors that keep me or Sharon in this area other than our current enjoyment of the countryside.

We could always hire someone to plow the driveway, mow our small yard, buy cut & split firewood, and live comfortably enough. Many do. We also might enjoy living somewhere else more when seat time and roaming around on 150 acres is not as much fun as it used to be. Winter can be very confining for elderly people and we have long winters. I think either one of would go stir crazy living here alone in winter.

 

[wmonroe]

Can't you just pay it off sooner, rather than switching it? Or, can you refinance to get a lower rate and lower payments. You have to watch out to make sure the refinance fees don't eat any savings in interest if you're close to paying it off. Sometimes folks get caught up in the lure of lower interest rates when they can just make larger payments, pay it off sooner, and come out better or at least even VS refinancing. You have to put pencil to paper to make sure its a good deal for you.

That's a great point, we have a very good interest rate now and haven't started looking to see what we can get. We will have to decide what is the best deal, I prefer to "have" to make the payment instead of paying extra since it forces me to do it but I won't take a bad deal to get that. I'll be doing some figuring once we get some numbers from a bank (isn't there some phrase about figuring and liars haha).

 

[ultrarunner]

There was a time when my CD was paying 1% more than my mortgage...

I like to live debt free and could be so right now... it's just hard to pay off a 2.75% fixed mortgage even if it does cost me each month...

 

[Threepoint]

That's responsible. As soon as my DW retires, we plan to move closer to her daughter, on a smaller lot in a one level house where we can age in place. I don't want to leave her with a burden she can't handle by herself.

You will still have room to use your tractor, though, right?