Partial retirement means you’ve decided that instead of leaving the workforce altogether, your plan is to gradually move from full-time work to spending reduced hours working. You may work part-time, consult, do a passion project, turn your hobby into your business or do seasonal work. There are so many reasons why continuing some work is great, but often it is to boost your retirement savings, so you continue to have some income coming in to help with the ever-rising cost of living especially since people are living longer than ever before.
If phasing into retirement is your plan, its time to consider how to protect your ability to continue working and your finances from unexpected healthcare costs. Its time to consider having your own health insurance.
Will your healthcare costs be partially covered?
If you have been fully employed and covered by your employer’s health plan, you may not realize the financial impact of not having health insurance. You must pay out of pocket for services that aren’t covered by government health insurance that were covered by your employer plan.
It is true that part of your healthcare costs may be covered by government plans when you transition to partial retirement, like:
Prescription drugs
While some provinces provide pharmacare programs for people over age 65 the number of drugs covered is limited. If you are moving to part time work before age 65, you may be faced with paying for your own prescriptions. Your own private health insurance plan can cover thousands more drugs than those offered under provincial plans.
Dental care
Government provided dental insurance helps offset the cost of basic dental care, but specialized care may cost thousands, but with insurance coverage the out-of-pocket cost would only be a portion of the total.
Vision care
While most provinces cover the cost of eye exams for seniors, the cost of prescription glasses or lenses is not covered. Health insurance can help families with eyewear costs.
Alternative and complementary therapies
For various health problems you may benefit from massage, physiotherapy, or chiropractic care. Speech therapy or mental health counselling may be needed. Over the years, these can amount to thousands of dollars.
When you’ve had employer health coverage, you may have been to see a dentist for major dental work, a chiropractor, physiotherapist, or podiatrist, claimed for your glasses or hearing aids and enjoyed travel medical insurance protection.
The cost of maintaining you and your family’s good health can add up quickly without health insurance coverage. Purchasing your own health insurance policy can help fill in the gaps and protect you from a significant amount of out-of-pocket healthcare expenses now and for years to come.
Having individual health insurance fills the gaps and safeguards you for life
Regardless of your employment status, when you have your own health insurance in place, it is guaranteed to be renewable for life regardless of how much you work or if you are fully retired.
As long as you continue to pay your health policy’s premiums.
- You will be covered regardless of your age.
- If you develop a health condition that needs ongoing treatment, your policy will remain in force.
- You will be able to renew your policy even if you have made significant or multiple healthcare claims that are within the policy limits.
You can depend on health insurance so you can continue working
Once you have health insurance in place, your health insurance helps you manage your health
Access to preventive care
Affordable health insurance includes coverage tools to engage you in proper health maintenance and coverage for preventive treatment to help you stop problems before they occur. Properly treating an injury with physiotherapy, for example, can prevent the serious long-term implications of chronic pain as you age. Even serious conditions that we don’t necessarily associate with our overall health can be better managed through preventive care, helping you stay healthy.
Financial Protection
Medical expenses can be overwhelming, especially in the event of unexpected health issues. If you only have your government health coverage you are left with too many important healthcare costs not covered, and out-of-pocket expenses you may not be able to afford when you need them. You may have to make a difficult choice between skipping a beneficial treatment option or going into debt to get the treatment that could resolve your health problems. If those treatments include something like prescription drug therapy, this choice could have serious long-term implications for your health.
Even if you have no need for these additional services now, you never know what might happen a few months or years from now. An individual health insurance policy provides a safety net, covering a portion of many healthcare costs. This financial protection ensures that you can focus on maintaining your health and well-being or recovering from a health event without the added stress of extra medical bills.
Comprehensive Health Benefits
Retirement can be a big change for a lot of people – even if you are phasing it in with partial retirement. Affordable health insurance plans typically offer a range of benefits, including mental health services to help you feel better balanced as you become accustomed to your new lifestyle. You will be covered for some costs for treatment by specialists, including psychologists, massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and more. These comprehensive benefits ensure that you have access to the necessary resources to maintain both your physical and mental well-being.
Emergency Medical Travel
If you have depended on your employer travel coverage for your trips out of country or out of province, having your own health insurance plan can continue to provide you with coverage. Some plans cover trips up to 30 days outside of Canada and 183 days within Canada.
When should you put your ‘retiree’ health insurance in place?
If you don’t have health insurance that will continue through your retirement years already in place, you can start well before partial or full retirement, before the age of 80 for many plans, and even after age 80 for select plans.
It is smart to purchase the best health insurance plan available while you are physically healthy. The benefits you want may not be available if your health changes in the future. If you are already being treated for a pre-existing condition, anything from high blood pressure to past instances of cancer, this can change the health insurance options you may have.
You are eligible to apply for an individual health insurance plan if you are a Canadian resident 18 years of age or older who has provincial health insurance coverage.
Everyone can qualify for a guaranteed acceptance plan. And many people can qualify for medically underwritten coverage. There are a wide range of “guaranteed issue” health insurance plans available that accept all applicants regardless of your medical history. You will not be required to have a medical exam or fill out a questionnaire in order to qualify.
If you are coming off a group health plan, the good news is that you can apply within 90 days of leaving the group and qualify for a specifically designed guaranteed acceptance individual health insurance policy.
Support your partial retirement vision with Health Insurance
Creating a vision for the future with help partial retirement may be your next great adventure. For sound guidance to help you figure out what coverage you do need, at SBIS we offer over 40 different health and dental insurance plan options. You can buy online or give us a call today at 416.601.0429 or 1.800.667.0429 toll-free to get started on your next phase of working life.
