You’ve spent years preparing for this day. You’ve worked hard, faithfully saved your money, and the time has finally come. Congratulations! You’re about to retire early and will have an abundance of free time on your hands. But before you enter your post-career years, have you considered how not working will affect your health care?
Too Young for Medicare?
Generally, Medicare is available for people age 65 or older. But plenty of people choose to stop working before their 65th birthday and, as retirees, are no longer eligible to receive insurance coverage from their employers. Even if you carefully time your retirement to align with Medicare coverage, a younger spouse might need their own health insurance plan until they qualify. So how do you manage the gap?
Browse Your Health Insurance Options
Start your search for a health plan at Covered California, a free service that makes purchasing brand-name health insurance easier and more affordable for California residents. Through Covered California, you can shop for health plans and may even receive financial help. Normally, you’d have to wait for the annual open enrollment period to purchase health insurance, but losing an employer-sponsored health coverage due to retirement is considered a qualifying life event that allows you to participate in special enrollment. In most cases, you can report changes to your employment status and purchase a health insurance plan through Covered California within 60 days of your qualifying life event.
Find Out If You Qualify for Financial Help
If you meet specific income requirements, Covered California can match you with financial help that can lower the cost of monthly health insurance premiums. There are also additional savings known as cost-sharing reductions that help reduce out-of-pocket expenses like copays and deductibles. The amount of financial help you may receive is based on your age, how much money you make, your household size and where you live.