Sunday Morning Discussions: Healthcare Costs

Healthcare costs keep going up, which can feel daunting when you're planning to live off your investments. Let's get together and talk about how we're planning for healthcare costs during both early retirement and traditional retirement years.

For this discussion, please read the two short articles below and spend a few minutes playing with the healthcare cost projection tool.

BiggerPockets Money Healthcare Cost Projection Tool
https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/healthcarecosts/
This tool estimates how much extra you might need to save, beyond what your current withdrawal rate accounts for, to cover rising health insurance costs between early retirement and Medicare eligibility—the "healthcare hump."

Center for Retirement Research: How Much Does Health Spending Eat Away at Retirees' Income?
https://crr.bc.edu/how-much-does-health-spending-eat-away-at-retirees-income-an-update/

Kiplinger: 4 Ways to Lower Retirement Healthcare Costs
https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/health-savings-accounts/slashing-healthcare-costs-in-retirement
Here are some questions to think about before we meet. Please bring your own questions and experiences too!

• What are you doing to manage healthcare costs?
• How are you modeling or preparing for increasing health insurance premiums during the pre-Medicare "healthcare hump"?
• What do you think of the BiggerPockets approach of setting aside a specific additional amount to cover rising premiums? Do you use or prefer a different strategy?
• How are you planning for medical expenses that may increase as you age?
• How are you planning differently for healthcare expenses during early retirement versus traditional retirement?
• With open enrollment around the corner, what experiences have you had with different health insurance companies, plan types, or coverage levels?

Optional: If you're interested in understanding the tool better, here's a podcast episode explaining how the healthcare cost tool works and the reasoning behind the approach. Listen if you're curious, but you don't need to listen to participate in the discussion.
https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/podcast/healthcare-costs-for-fire-ultimate-guide/

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Venue: East Simpson Coffee Company
Website: https://www.eastsimpsoncoffee.com/
Please note that we'll be meeting upstairs.
The coffee shop kindly hosts us with the expectation that each attendee makes a purchase. Please plan accordingly.