Retiring early? Bridge your health insurance gap

Even though you’re eligible for Social Security at age 62, very few 62-year-olds qualify for Medicare. If you’re planning to retire at age 62, you’re probably thinking more about bucket-list

vacations or a loved one’s caregiving needs than your own health care. But when you retire, you not only say goodbye to a regular paycheck, but many people also lose medical insurance that

their employer has helped pay for. And if you file for Social Security, your benefits will be stuck at 70 percent of your full entitlement for the rest of your life. YOU WON’T HAVE MEDICARE

UNTIL AGE 65 Medicare, which provides coverage for 68 million Americans, doesn’t start for most people until age 65 unless they have a disabling condition. If your spouse is younger than you

and relies on your insurance, your husband or wife won’t be able to sign up for Medicare either. Every person qualifies for Medicare individually by age or medical condition. That means

you’ll have a three-year gap to fill — and still some sort of gap if you leave work at any time before 65. If you’re like most people, you’ll leave your employer’s group health coverage

behind, and that raises the question: What are your options? ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT YOU COULD GET COVERAGE THROUGH COBRA Provisions in COBRA, an acronym for the Consolidated

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, let you keep your workplace plan. The federal law requires companies with 20 or more employees to continue offering health care coverage after you leave

your job. Some states have similar requirements for smaller employers. After your employer-sponsored insurance ends, you’ll have 60 days to sign up for COBRA. But the coverage can last only

18 months after you leave your job. The good news is the benefits and insurer you had will continue. If you go on Medicare but your spouse is still too young, your spouse can sometimes

continue on your COBRA plan for 36 months total. COBRA premiums are more expensive than what you used to pay. COBRA costs = your health insurance premium + employer’s share + 2% The bad news

is COBRA can be costly. Expect to pay the total premium for coverage, what you were paying and what your employer was paying plus a 2 percent administrative fee. Some companies pay as much

as 80 percent of their workers’ insurance tab. JOIN AARP’S FIGHT TO PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY You’ve worked hard and paid into Social Security with every paycheck. But recently, we’ve heard

from thousands of worried Americans.   Join us in sending a loud and clear message to lawmakers. YOU COULD BUY AN AFFORDABLE CARE ACT PLAN Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage is available

through the federal insurance marketplace or, in some states, with a state’s own exchange. Your starting point for finding the right plan at the right price is HealthCare.gov. ACA insurers

are required to cover preexisting conditions and provide several types of preventive care, including many vaccines, at no out-of-pocket cost. One detail to keep in mind: ACA open enrollment

generally runs Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, but you can qualify for a special enrollment period (SEP) if you lose your medical coverage because you retired. If you want to retire before you’re

eligible for Medicare, compare your COBRA costs to an ACA marketplace plan to determine the best deal. If you want to retire before you’re eligible for Medicare, compare your COBRA costs to

an ACA marketplace plan to determine the best deal. You might qualify for a subsidy to help pay premiums based on your household income for the year, but your Social Security benefits will

count as income. Without any financial help, KFF, a nonpartisan nonprofit health care policy research group, estimates that a 62-year-old in 2025 would pay $1,116 a month on average

nationwide to get a popular silver-tier plan. A bronze plan, which offers the lowest premiums but also the least coverage, averages $857 a month. Adding a spouse of similar age to create a

family plan offers a small discount, or tax credit. Then add a surcharge if you smoke or chew tobacco or vape, and think how much you would have to pay toward the deductible before your

coverage kicks in. The 2025 maximum out-of-pocket cost for any tier is $9,200 for one person, $18,400 for a family. ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT OTHER OPTIONS MAY BE TOUGHER TO GET

Three other possibilities aren’t available to everyone: * YOUR SPOUSE’S EMPLOYER if the company offers coverage to dependents. * RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE if your employer offers it. It’s

rare. * MEDICAID if your household income is below a certain threshold that varies by state. If you decide to file for Social Security before you turn 65, you’ll be enrolled automatically in

Medicare Part A and Part B at the beginning of the month you turn 65. That’s because the Social Security Administration handles registration for both Social Security and Medicare, no matter

what age you apply. Medicare Part A helps pay hospital and some skilled nursing care costs after an inpatient hospital stay. Medicare Part B helps pay for doctor visits and other outpatient

services. Most people don’t have to pay a premium for Part A, but the premium for Part B, $185 a month in 2025, will be deducted from your Social Security benefit. If you wait to file for

Social Security retirement benefits until after you’ve signed up for Medicare, you’ll get a monthly bill for your Medicare premium until you’re on Social Security. [embedded content]

_Contributing: Donna Fuscaldo, Phil Pruitt_ RELATED ABOUT _Kimberly Lankford is a contributing writer who covers Medicare and personal finance. She wrote about insurance, Medicare,

retirement and taxes for more than 20 years at _Kiplinger’s Personal Finance_ and has written for _The Washington Post_ and _Boston Globe_. She received the personal finance Best in Business

award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and the New York State Society of CPAs’ excellence in financial journalism award for her guide to Medicare._ _Jammie Lyell is

the Social Security program manager for AARP's office of community, state and national affairs. He formerly worked at the Social Security Administration as a legal administrative

specialist and technical expert._ NEXT: You Can Work and Get Social Security. But It Might Cost You