How to Find Health Insurance When You Retire Early

So you’ve worked hard enough and saved enough to retire early. Congratulations! But what to do about health insurance? Medicare won’t kick in until 65 and you will no longer have an employer to supply health insurance. Following these steps will help you to find health insurance for your early retirement.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Determine your COBRA options.
   
   If you’ll be retiring early and currently have health insurance through your employer, you may have up to 18 months of continuing coverage (that you’ll pay for) under COBRA. You can use this time to examine your options but don’t take any longer than necessary for the following reasons: 1. COBRA is usually a fairly expensive health insurance option 2. It will eventually run out and 3. You could develop a condition in the meantime that would make it harder to get insurance on the open market.

2. Check out individual health insurance.
   
   Go online and/or through an insurance agent to find out what your individual health insurance options are. The biggest obstacles to overcome here are cost and pre-existing conditions.

3. Consider a Health Savings Account (HSA).
   
   HSAs combine a high deductible health insurance policy with a tax-advantaged savings account for health related expenses. These can be a great option for those who are generally healthy. Check with an insurance broker to get a thorough explanation of these plans and find out if you qualify.

4. Work part-time.
   
   If obtaining health insurance is becoming a real challenge, consider part-time work with either your current employer or another one who provides health insurance for part-time workers.