I was (and still am) guilty of not reporting health insurance as a line item in my annual expenses. I agree with you, it isn’t best practice,

That said, my plan is valued at $22,450 and I pay about $5,000 of that which is subsidized by FICA and Federal taxes. I think if I were to retire early, I would probably figure something else out for insurance because I feel pretty comfortable navigating the system. I think odds are one of us will likely always work at least part-time for an employer that covers us. We have almost $60,000 in our H.S.A. account at this point, so I feel pretty protected from out-of-pocket costs regardless of plan design.

Finally, I love the side by side, and people should also go through that exercise when considering a new position at a new company.

Take care!

Max

That amount is for 2 people. I should add that it was for an ex-employer plan. Due to the huge cost I am looking into the ACA for 2021 and my research shows I can get back to the $2800/month range for a similar plan under ACA. Unsure what I will do if the Supreme Court takes the ACA away, will have to see if I can get private insurance. Healthcare is really an area of high cost for early retirement folks, everyone make sure to look at every option available.

Hey Shay, I can see why that’s such a tough decision… If you saved the $$$ on 3 years of high premiums that could be some nice extra padding for your retirement fund.

I tried doing some of these figures comparing insurance vs. paying out of pocket… And there is no clear winner. It comes down to peoples risk tolerance, their lifestyle, and sadly, what they can afford.

Great point on taxes Kelly! I think many people under prepare in retirement and it’s probably a big reason retirees move to cheaper states for a lower tax burden.

I live two miles from DC. Washington has been doing things for more than two centuries! I blame the fractious fools the rest of the country insists on sending us every two to four years. ;)

I think getting insurance from our jobs is just silly. But unfortunately I don’t see Washington getting it’s act together to offer better options. But it would be nice if we could at least have the option to buy into a nationwide plan similar to Medicare.
At least you have time until your FIRE date to see your investments grow and account for whatever the costs may be in a decade!

That’s awesome you get the premiums covered 100%. Cheers to a fast growing HSA account!

Wow, $3,300 per month is crazy high! How many people does that monthly cost include? I agree with you that the annual cost increases are the biggest wildcard. I was assuming 5% for premiums and out of pocket maximums increases, but that is definitely not going to be enough. If Dragon Gal keeps the same plan next year she will pay over 12% more per month in premiums. Time to update our budget!

Good point on not ignoring taxes. When I was working those were by far our largest expense. I’ve started projecting taxes in my futures budgets, based on potential investment income and any side jobs we may do in early retirement.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!