# Another retirement question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-retirement-question/838945 "2019-08-20T17:03:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-retirement-question/838945/21 "2019-08-21T15:59:15Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > That’s seems really really cheap. My wife and I are 58 and I’m considering whether I should retire in the next year or two so I’ve shopped around, and to get a decent plan that covers both of us, the premiums would be about $30k/year. What did you get for $400 a month? > > Also, we still have two kids who are 18 and 22, and those “retirement” plans that my employer offers don’t cover dependents other than a spouse. So we’d need to pay even more to cover them. I just pulled up my records on this policy. At the time of cancellation, the premiums were $422.87. This figure was, of course, after the ‘financial help’ that was calculated. Without that help, the premium would have been $1137.87 each month. I purposely took no 401k and limited my IRA withdrawals during the year, plus neither of us had started drawing Social Security, so our combined income was not that great during that year. Our income was, I believe, about $50k. The deductible was $3500, and the maximum per person out-of-pocket was $3500. All of this was in-network. There was no coverage for out-of-network. Each doctor visit had a co-pay, and once the deductible was met, there was a 20% billing until the max was met. So we could have been $7k out-of-pocket on in-network charges. The policy had a prescription plan with a $1k deductible, and did not cover dental, eye care, or a number of other services, including elective abortion. I will admit that I was pleasantly surprised to find this plan via the Exchange. Does this answer your questions? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-retirement-question/838945/22 "2019-08-22T22:25:14Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Excellent explanation, thanks. > > Our post-retirement income would come from several sources: Social Security, pension, 401k withdrawals, and wife’s income. > > Which of these are included in the MAGI figure? > > Suppose I pick up part-time work. Can I dump all or most of that income into an IRA to reduce my MAGI? > mmm Here is a list of what counts as income towards your MAGI. All the things you list count as income. > **[What’s included as income](https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/)** > > Find out if you qualify for lower costs on Marketplace health insurance coverage at HealthCare.gov. I think you’re limited to $7000 a year in IRA contributions. 401k may be 19k. I think HSA funds also reduce your MAGI, so if your wife gets an exchange plan with an HSA, dump money into that. For people over 50 you can put $4500 a year into a HSA. So between those 3, you are potentially able to reduce your MAGI by 30k a year. This article may be useful to you. > **[How might my tax deductions affect the size of my ACA premium subsidy? |...](https://www.healthinsurance.org/faqs/how-might-my-tax-deductions-affect-the-size-of-my-aca-premium-subsidy/)** > > Learn how you might be missing out on deductions and tax breaks that would lower your income for ACA purposes, which could result in larger premium subsidies. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-retirement-question/838945/23 "2019-08-23T13:25:44Z")
Be _very_ careful in determining MAGI. It is used by the US government in several _different_ ways, with different incomes allowed or disallowed, so be sure to use the one appropriate to your context. E.g., the ACA one if you’re talking about healthcare subsidies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-retirement-question/838945.md?page=1)