You did everything right — you retired a few years early. Then it hits you: Medicare doesn’t start until 65, your employer coverage is ending, and there’s a gap to bridge. For a lot of early retirees in Florida, figuring out those in-between years is the most stressful part of an otherwise well-earned retirement. The good news: you have solid options, private and Marketplace both, and this stretch is very much bridgeable.
Retiring before 65? Mind the coverage gap
Medicare eligibility starts at 65. If you retire before then — at 60, 62, 63 — you’re responsible for your own health coverage until Medicare kicks in. Losing your employer plan is a qualifying life event, which opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period, so you can get covered right away without waiting for open enrollment. The task is simple to state: bridge the months or years between your retirement date and your 65th birthday.
Your options for the bridge years
A private health plan through a broker. Often the best fit for the bridge years, and what we specialize in. Private plans are bought off-exchange, aren’t tied to your income, and can usually start year-round — which matters if your retirement date doesn’t line up with open enrollment. They also tend to carry broader PPO networks, which early retirees love: if you travel, split time between states, or just want the freedom to keep the doctors you’ve built relationships with, that flexibility is worth a lot.
An ACA Marketplace plan through HealthCare.gov. Subsidies here are based on your income, so depending on how you draw down your savings, you may qualify for meaningful help — more on that below.
COBRA. You can usually keep your employer plan for up to 18 months, but you’ll pay the full premium, which is often steep for someone in their early 60s. A useful short bridge if you’re mid-treatment, rarely the cheapest way to cover several years.
Your spouse’s plan, if your husband or wife is still working. Sometimes the simplest route until they retire too.
Here’s the honest part: none of these is automatically best. A private plan often wins the bridge years for retirees who want network freedom or whose income is too high for a subsidy. A Marketplace plan wins when your income is low enough to unlock real subsidies. COBRA makes sense for a short, specific gap. Because I’m an independent broker, I compare all of them and tell you which one actually fits your doctors, your prescriptions, and your budget — not which one pays me.
One eye on 65: whatever you choose, your bridge plan only has to carry you to 65 — that’s when you become eligible for Medicare and move off your under-65 coverage. Put that date on the calendar now so the hand-off is smooth and you’re not scrambling when it arrives.
The subsidy trap early retirees fall into
This is the part that surprises people. Marketplace subsidies are based on your income for the year — not your savings or your net worth. So an early retiree sitting on a healthy nest egg can still qualify for subsidies if their taxable income is low. But the reverse is the trap: if you’re drawing a pension, taking large IRA withdrawals, or have significant investment income, your income may be too high for much subsidy at all — and at that point you’re paying close to full price on the Marketplace anyway. That’s exactly where a private plan often becomes the better value: the same kind of coverage, more network flexibility, and frequently a better price for a healthy 60-something. How you draw your income in these years can genuinely change what you pay, so it’s worth a conversation before you enroll.
The mistake early retirees make
Overpaying out of habit. A lot of people default to COBRA because it’s familiar, and pay full freight for 18 months without ever comparing a private or subsidized plan that could cost far less. The other mistake is assuming that because you have savings, you have no options — when it’s income, not assets, that actually drives your Marketplace cost. The bridge to Medicare is very doable; the trick is looking at all of it and matching the plan to how you’re really living in these years.
Retiring before 65? Let’s bridge the gap.
I’ll compare your private and Marketplace options side by side, factor in how you’re drawing your income, and build a plan that carries you cleanly to Medicare — no pressure, no cost to you. Call or text me at (954) 406-5100.
Mark Yacoob is an independent, licensed Florida health insurance broker (NPN 19438278) with Yacoob Health Group. He helps individuals, families, and early retirees compare private and Marketplace coverage to bridge the years before Medicare. This article is general information, not insurance or tax advice — your situation deserves a real conversation.