ACA is robbing me blind!!
I (female, 59, divorced, live in Georgia) was laid off in 2021 due to the pandemic. I had worked for my employer for 28 years, the last several of which were extremely difficult and stressful. I was actually relieved that I had been let go because the stress had become detrimental to my mental and physical health. I had saved a significant nest egg throughout my career by maxing out my contributions to my 401(k), so I decided not to seek other employment and live off of my savings. I was old enough to be able to make withdrawals from my 401(k) without penalty but, of course, I have to report the withdrawals as income and pay taxes on that, which is fine. The problem is that, the amounts I have been withdrawing in order to keep up with my mortgage, home and auto insurance, property taxes, healthcare, my son’s college education and other expenses in a highly inflationary economy, disqualify me for any ACA subsidies. As a result, I am now paying over $1,000 per month just for premiums on a Bronze plan with a $7,500 deductible! That all adds up to almost $20,000 per year WITHOUT dental or vision, plus whatever the insurance company decides not to cover! This exacerbates a vicious cycle of withdrawing money from my retirement savings to pay for it, then adding that to my taxable income which rises to a level disqualifying me for subsidies! At this rate, my entire life savings, which should have lasted at least until the end of my life, are being depleted at an alarmingly unsustainable rate and there is nothing I can do about it because, with several autoimmune diseases requiring expensive specialized medications, it would cost me even more to not have health insurance. Rant over, but misery loves company, so I would like to know — is anyone else in a similar situation?
submitted by /u/Commercial-Tax-388
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