Health insurance if you retire before 65

Your bridge options to 65

• Marketplace plan: covers pre-existing conditions. You may get premium tax credits and lower out-of-pocket costs based on income. Some people qualify for Medicaid.
• COBRA: keeps your employer plan, usually up to 18 months, at up to 102% of the full cost. See COBRA insurance.
• Retiree coverage: if you're enrolled, you can't get Marketplace savings. If you're eligible but not enrolled, you may still qualify.
• Spouse's job plan: if your spouse still works and the plan covers spouses, losing your coverage usually lets you join without waiting for its open season. The DOL says to ask within 30 days.

If you voluntarily drop retiree coverage, or drop COBRA early outside Open Enrollment, you won't get a Special Enrollment Period. Plan the order of your switches.

Plan your income for Marketplace savings

HealthCare.gov bases savings on your estimated household income for the year you want coverage. HealthCare.gov says to include pension income, most IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, taxable and non-taxable Social Security, interest, dividends and capital gains. Qualified Roth distributions don't count. Your tax advisor can tell you how this applies to you.

For 2026 coverage, the income cutoffs use 2025 poverty guidelines: $15,650 for one person and $32,150 for a family of four (100% FPL). Premium tax credits apply from 100% to 400% of those figures. The IRS says the expansion that removed the 400% cap covered tax years 2021 through 2025, and for tax years after 2025 there's no cap on repaying excess advance credits.

HealthCare.gov will post 2027 income levels and savings on November 1, 2026. Until then it suggests estimating with 2026 amounts. The 2026 poverty guidelines are $15,960 for one person and $33,000 for four; HealthCare.gov will confirm which figures apply to 2027 coverage. Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 on HealthCare.gov.

Income above 400% FPL by even a small amount can mean no premium tax credit for the year, and repaying any advance credit. Work out the timing of withdrawals with a tax advisor before you file your application.

Moving to Medicare at 65

1. Know your window. Your Initial Enrollment Period usually runs 7 months: 3 months before the month you turn 65, that month, and 3 months after.
2. Sign up before your birthday month if you can. Part B then starts in your birthday month. Premium-free Part A usually starts the month you turn 65.
3. End your Marketplace plan yourself. It doesn't stop automatically. You can report your Medicare start date up to 3 months early. Once you're eligible for Part A or Medicare starts, you can't get Marketplace savings.
4. Don't count on COBRA or retiree coverage to delay Part B. Medicare.gov says COBRA isn't group health plan coverage for this purpose, and COBRA or retiree coverage ending doesn't give you a Special Enrollment Period. Sign up during your Initial Enrollment Period, or you may have to wait and pay a monthly late enrollment penalty.

Where Gabriel fits

Gabriel can quote Marketplace plans for your ZIP code and household, show the price after any tax credit, and open your own application with a licensed agent in most states. You choose the plan and finish the application. Separately, Gabriel Core is $49 per adult a month with member prices close to cost on lab tests, supplements and prescriptions, plus unlimited virtual urgent care and virtual primary care. Gabriel Plus is $89.

Gabriel is a membership, not health insurance, and Gabriel is not an insurer. It does not replace a health plan's protection against large medical bills.