Will you have company-paid health insurance when you retire? Don’t count on it!
With the announcement yesterday from General Motors that they are cutting retiree health insurance, a lot of baby boomers are nervous. Me too. As Bill Losey would say, “I can’t guarantee SQUAT!” And neither can any employer.
My husband retired at the end of last month. His pension is secure, because it’s an annuity. I don’t see how his company could take that away. He was one of the last to be eligible for a defined benefit; his company, like many others, is going to defined contribution (401k) type plans, to control costs.
But health insurance is another matter. At present, he has coverage, but the company has said they will cap their costs, with the retiree (us) bearing the additional cost. Ouch!
While most baby boomers will not have a defined benefit like my husband, they will have to carefully manage their portfolios to make sure they have enough to pay for health insurance in addition to living expenses.
Are you in this situation? What will you do if your company slashes retiree health benefits? I got good information online from ehealthinsurance.com. I’m going to get on this now, before we are forced to.
Tags: baby boomers, General Motors, health insurance, retirement planningRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Boomers nearing retirement, Health
4 opinions for Will you have company-paid health insurance when you retire? Don’t count on it!
Maddy
Jul 16, 2008 at 6:48 am
My mom is going through the same thing with the insurances - she’s planning to retire within the next 12 months - her main focus (and reason for still working) has been health care - and making sure that she is “vested” with life time coverage - not necessarily paid-for - but at least eligible to be part of the plan.
Rob
Jul 17, 2008 at 8:17 am
It is too bad to see people lose their health insurance when they thought they would have it in retirement!
Boomer business owners: Please get health insurance and disability insurance!
Jul 19, 2008 at 11:06 am
[…] If you are considering leaving your job to go into a small business, please check out health insurance and disability insurance. If you can’t afford these payments, you need to find something else to sacrifice to get them. If you are not going into business, be sure you have health coverage, and don’t depend on your employer (you know what happened to GM retiree health coverage). […]
Boomer business owners: Please get health insurance and disability insurance! | money news blog
Jul 19, 2008 at 2:37 pm
[…] If you’re considering leaving your job to go into a small business, please check out health insurance and disability insurance. If you can’t afford these payments, you need to find something else to sacrifice to get them. If you’re not going into business, be sure you have health coverage, and don’t depend on your employer (you know what happened to GM retiree health coverage). […]
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