By Lisa Gerstner
From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
If you’re 65 or older when you retire, you can rest easy knowing that you’ll be eligible for Medicare. But if you want to leave the workforce earlier than that, you’ll have to find a way to bridge a health insurance gap.
Here are some options:
Get on your spouse’s plan. If your spouse is still working and has access to employer-sponsored group coverage, check whether you can enroll in the plan too. If so, joining the employer plan may provide solid coverage at an affordable price.
You typically have 30 days from the time you leave your job to request special enrollment in your spouse’s plan. The employer may subsidize less of the premium for a spouse than for the employee. Some employers levy a surcharge, say, $100 a month, to add a spouse who has other coverage available through his or her own employment. But that shouldn’t be an issue if you’re retired….