Health Care Prior to Medicare?

[dmccarty]

I took SS at 62 only because I felt that I was being taken advantage of and I had a house that I wanted time to paint, etc. to get on the market.

The situation at work is one of the main reasons to retire a early. It just gets worse and worse with no improvement. While looking at earnings adjusted for inflation, it is obvious that my highest earning years were years ago due to discrimination, inflation, and executive "decisions." Improvement will not happen. I have long thought things would improve, but it is obvious things won't really get better, and that only a selected few reap the rewards. The theft of employee and family wealth is unreal but that will be a tale for another day....

I had long planned to retire early, the money is there, more would be better, to some extent, but the real unknown is this bloody health care.

I got on with my counties school district driving a school bus. I stayed on after I got on Medicare at age 65. After I got on Medicare, under the district's plans, I got $175/month for medical issues not covered under my Medicare plan. Original Medicare and the "F" plan supplement; vison, dental, prescriptions extra so that $175 covered that.

Eventually, I resigned and went back twice to help them out when they were short on drivers.

Being just over an hour away from UK in Lexington, KY was helpful in that they have a lower cost dental clinic. The students whom are in their last year(s) work under licensed dentist's and do a good job.

One of my post retirement plans was to work a part time job. I have thought about bus driving but I don't want to get up that early! Oddly, I have been thinking about working at a local grocery store. They are hiring older workers. Rather ironic since working in a grocery store was one of my first jobs.

 

[2manyrocks]

The cost of health care insurance keeps many people shackled to their jobs until "eligible" for Medicare.

 

[RayIN]

Threads of this subject re-enforce my decision to retire from the military was the correct decision. Military health care/TRICARE is good health insurance at no cost.

 

[NHBX]

Threads of this subject re-enforce my decision to retire from the military was the correct decision. Military health care/TRICARE is good health insurance at no cost.

Except to taxpayers

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

The situation at work is one of the main reasons to retire a early. It just gets worse and worse with no improvement. While looking at earnings adjusted for inflation, it is obvious that my highest earning years were years ago due to discrimination, inflation, and executive "decisions." Improvement will not happen. I have long thought things would improve, but it is obvious things won't really get better, and that only a selected few reap the rewards. The theft of employee and family wealth is unreal but that will be a tale for another day....

I had long planned to retire early, the money is there, more would be better, to some extent, but the real unknown is this bloody health care.



One of my post retirement plans was to work a part time job. I have thought about bus driving but I don't want to get up that early! Oddly, I have been thinking about working at a local grocery store. They are hiring older workers. Rather ironic since working in a grocery store was one of my first jobs.

Sounds like your TCM may be getting pegged... Take Crap Meter.

I am in my higher years of earnings. just want to enjoy doing some "stuff" before I get so I can't.

As for the money, I have asked myself numerous times, how much is enough... HealthCare isn't something I can actually put a number on. Most cost of living items I can. I'm looking at it from a what is the worst case scenario I would have to shell out in a year before Medicare kicks in at the end of 2026.

 

[dmccarty]

Sounds like your TCM may be getting pegged... Take Crap Meter.

The TCM blew up a long time ago.

I am in my higher years of earnings. just want to enjoy doing some "stuff" before I get so I can't.

As for the money, I have asked myself numerous times, how much is enough... HealthCare isn't something I can actually put a number on. Most cost of living items I can. I'm looking at it from a what is the worst case scenario I would have to shell out in a year before Medicare kicks in at the end of 2026.

This is The Truth.

How much is enough is sorta a tough question. At some point, one knows they have enough money, but prior to that point, there is uncertainty about how much is enough. I have modeled our finances so many ways it makes my head spin. I think we have enough, but of course I wish I KNEW we had enough, but I think we are good. Except for the health care issue.

Years ago, I saw a video on YouTube that was from Australia that was done by a doctor who treated elderly people. He had four graphs on how people "lived", declined and then died in old age. The first graph is what everyone wants but very few get which is one is living, everything is fine, then one just suddenly dies. This happened to a coworker many years ago. Ironically, he went out for a jog, had a heart attack and was supposedly dead before he hit the ground.

The other three graphs were variations of one's health declining until one died, which is what one does not want to happen but what happens to most people. It certainly is what I have seen in my family.

Money wise, as one gets older, one generally spends less money. The one big variable is that pesky health and nursing care.

The worst case scenario prior to Medicare is what the wife and I were discussing last night. I think we will have to pay what we have to pay, even though I think our health is good, it is still a roll of the dice and the penalty for a bad roll can be very high.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

You've probably heard the terms, Go _Go years (first 5-7 of retirement) Slow_Go years (next 5-7), No_Go years.

Planning on your spending is critical to what phase you are in and how long it lasts.

Wife and I like to travel some, me more than she. Wanting to take a few good trips somewhere before the slow/no_go years kick in. I "think" we're ready...

She hasn't worked in over 10 yrs but will be able to file for SSI in May. So she is used to not having a boss. She swears I am her boss, HA... I tell her the farm is OUR boss... That's another chapter we have to deal with probably in our slowgo/nogo years.

 

[dmccarty]

You've probably heard the terms, Go _Go years (first 5-7 of retirement) Slow_Go years (next 5-7), No_Go years.

Planning on your spending is critical to what phase you are in and how long it lasts.

Wife and I like to travel some, me more than she. Wanting to take a few good trips somewhere before the slow/no_go years kick in. I "think" we're ready...

She hasn't worked in over 10 yrs but will be able to file for SSI in May. So she is used to not having a boss. She swears I am her boss, HA... I tell her the farm is OUR boss... That's another chapter we have to deal with probably in our slowgo/nogo years.

Yeah, that is a good way to put it, GoGo years, SlowGo years and then there are the NoGo years.

I have seen family work hard to get to the GoGo years, but then health issues came out of the blue and they had very few GoGo years, the SlowGo years were very few and the NoGo years arrived way to soon and last too long.

We have done traveling and want to do more. One of our ideas is to sell everything and move somewhere, or buy a boat and see as much of the world as we can before the NoGo years appear. The problem with selling and moving is we can't find a place to go. Looking at our requirement list for a place to live, we mostly have it all where we are now, and we have not found any place that would work in the US, but we are still looking. Money wise, if we sold the real estate health care would not be a problem. But we really like our house and land.

The advantage of the boat is cheaper health care insurance, and if one goes to the right place, quality health care.

 

[2manyrocks]

My experience was that I couldn't find enough information about my insurance options on my own. I tried about four or five agents before I finally found one that could provide enough information for me to make any decisions. Some of them could quote premiums, but that was about all. They didn't seem to actually have much expertise in insurance. It was a frustrating process.

Searching for healthcare insurance options is a total PITA, but you're the only one who can seek out the advice you need and determine if it will work for you.

 

[fishheadbob]

You've probably heard the terms, Go _Go years (first 5-7 of retirement) Slow_Go years (next 5-7), No_Go years.

Planning on your spending is critical to what phase you are in and how long it lasts.

Wife and I like to travel some, me more than she. Wanting to take a few good trips somewhere before the slow/no_go years kick in. I "think" we're ready...

She hasn't worked in over 10 yrs but will be able to file for SSI in May. So she is used to not having a boss. She swears I am her boss, HA... I tell her the farm is OUR boss... That's another chapter we have to deal with probably in our slowgo/nogo years.

Sorry to nit pick... Please stop saying SSI when you mean Social Security payments. SSI is a welfare program; think "living in the projects"... if you have worked a lot of your life you're not going to be SSI material. On the other hand SSI recipients automatically get medicaid which costs them zip. Those fine young men you encounter in the SS office are attempting to get an SSI check. They rarely do.