Our COBRA coverage expires this year. And next year, we plan to switch to an ACA insurance plan. As mentioned in an earlier post about ACA health insurance in early retirement, we're hoping to qualify for ACA subsidies. Doing so could dramatically lower our insurance premiums. The catch? We need to manage our household MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income). It’s a major factor in determining whether we qualify for subsidies and how much we can receive. How ironic is it that w

Last week, I explained why my wife and I decided an Health Savings Account (HSA) paired with a high-deductible health plan made sense for our early retirement strategy. Once we made that decision, though, I realized I still had a long list of questions. Some were simple. Others sent me down rabbit holes through IRS publications and insurance websites. I wanted one place that answered everything. If you're considering opening your first HSA, these are the exact questions I res

The end of October marks a big milestone in our early retirement—the expiration of our COBRA coverage. COBRA can be a great healthcare option in early retirement, but it only lasts up to 18 months. After that, you’re on your own. So I started shopping for insurance on the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace recently—the logical next step. And that’s when I realized there was a major flaw in our early retirement plan. We knew buying insurance on the ACA Marketplace could get pric