elurso

Hi All,

First time poster.

My wife and I are looking to retire to Ohio. She is a native Clevelander..I am a Brit.

Has anyone done this? Has anyone any good tips regarding Health care providers? I understand that it isn't going to be cheap BUT has anyone any ballpark figures?

Thanks All

Bill

Noorah101

Hi and welcome to BE.

Health care costs will totally depend on your age and health.

That said, have you researched the correct visa for moving permanently to the USA?

Rene

elurso

Hi Rene,

I haven't looked at the cost of the visa. I have to say that that,like Healthcare is just something I will have to suck up.

The ultimate aim is to take citizenship.

cindyabs

In a perfect world after retirement (ha ha on that one), I'd be here 6 months and the UK 6 months.

scrubbedexpat097

Ditto...on all these comments!

DeltaSierra70

That 'plan' sounds familiar... worked on year three. Now on year 22 and haven't been back for a couple of years.

Rete

To the OP

Yours is a dream held by many of these forums. Fortunately, you, as many others, have a means to get their spouses into their country through proper legal channels. Unfortunately, for those, like yourself, you will be moving to a country when being a senior without the appropriate social security credits means your healthcare costs will strip you of much of your income annual. Perhaps it might lower your lifestyle drastically.

Senior healthcare is expensive. Have a search through the www for healthcare. If you are able to find a 1/2 way decent plan, it might cost you in the range of $800 or more per month, with a very large deductible and it will probably not include prescription meds.

A better plan would have been to come to the US after your marriage to your spouse and work here until you at least became a USC. Then you would be able to live here 1/2 the time and anywhere else in the EU (if your spouse were a UK citizen) the 1/2. In that way, you might have been able to preserve your UK healthcare.

elurso

Thanks Rete,

Unfortunately my career (Air Traffic Controller) could not be used in the US. I am a senior ,but only in the retired sense.I will be 55. I am fairly solvent.
Thanks for the ballpark figure.....and can I bring in medications from Canada?? lol

Noorah101

Sorry, I wasn't referring to the cost of the visa. I was just making sure you know how to obtain the Immigrant Visa itself.

I know your main question is regarding health care. I was just making sure you know how to get the correct visa for your purpose.

Rene

Rete

My reply appears to have "gone up in smoke". My husband arrived here at the age of 57 and worked until the age of 70. A bit more than the 10 years needed to earn 40 credits under Social Security. This enabled him to get a small "pension" from SS as well as to qualify for medicare when he officially retired.

I would urge you to the same when you get here. Find a small job in a field that you are interested/qualified in (need not be air traffic controller) and work for ten years. If you work full time, you might well be able to get employer sponsored healthcare for you and your wife. It is a big savings financially for you with added benefits.

lansbury

I retired from the police service at 58 (Nov 06), my wife was 56. We returned to the US at that time and neither of us has worked since. We budgeted for healthcare until we were 65 and qualified for medicare. Our heath insurance premiums are doable because we budgeted, but I pay $545 a month, everything except dental and a reasonable deductible, and my wife $725. She is diabetic so is in the State high risk pool hence the larger premiums. In the time we have been here those premiums have gone up more than we anticipated, by about 70% of what we paid when we first got here. Paying for our healthcare hasn't been a problem or a bank breaker, and I needed major surgery last year.

Bob

Look back a couple pages....a couple of good threads go into this, in quite a lot of detail...

It's generally not a cheap option, but so much depends on personal situations and location.

Rete

See this is what I don't understand. Perhaps you have to be a Brit to be entitled but I rather doubt that.

My husband would not have been eligible for medicare at age 65 and was not until he had worked 40 quarters. No SS would not credit him with any of my SS credits.

So how are you going to be eligible for medicare when you are 65? I really would like to know how.

BTW if I had to shell out over $1300 a month in healthcare premiums, even now while I am working, I would be destitute. I would not be able to afford it.

lansbury

I've just gone online to the Medicare web site and based on all my and wifey's details, but just adding years to our date of births to put us over 65, it tells me I am eligible for medicare based on her contributions. Likewise when we asked SS if I could get a SS pension and medicare they said yes, and my pension would be 50% of Linda's. When I'm 65 I can buy medicare until Linda reaches 65, that is cheaper than staying private.

She might go back to work to get three more years SS contributions to make up the full 30 to avoid the wind full elimination, but other than that I get both. In fact the police department has a 20 hours post for an evidence room technician and she has applied for that.

We made sure we wouldn't have a mortgage or rent to cover health care and you have to plan for it. It all depends on how you plan your finances in advance.

Rete

Completely the opposite of what we were told by SS. DH was not able to get medicare at age 65 (he was working btw) based on my credits (working for SS quarters since age 16 and was 58 at the time he was 65). Even today he cannot get 50% of my SS benefits and only entitled to his which is only $221 a month after medicare premium is deducted.

The only way he makes out is if I die before him and then his survivor benefits are more than what I would get at full retirement age.

When you say buy medicare do you mean in an amount which is more than what you would normally pay if it were under your credits ... i.e. medicare part B instead of part A?