Retiring Before 65? 6 Ways to Bridge the Health Coverage Gap Until Medicare

Is this you?

• You are not yet 65 years old.
• You are retiring.

If it is, this can be an exciting — and anxious — time.

Whatever the reason, people are retiring before they reach 65, when Medicare kicks in.

What is the problem then? The problem is when you quit working, you gave up health benefits from your employer. But because you have not yet reached the age of 65, you are too young to qualify for Medicare and you need insurance to cover your medical costs until you hit 65. Finding health insurance for early retirees is job No. 1.

It’s possible that you’ve been forced into retirement, and your need for health insurance coverage is even more dire because you may need it quickly. On the flip side of this, you may have been offered an early retirement package that includes health care. Consider yourself lucky if this is the case.

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6 Options for Health Insurance for Early Retirees

Health benefits are a big consideration when you leave a job and this is especially true of older Americans who likely need more health care. It will take some work by you to figure out the best option for you and your wallet.

1. Enroll in Your Spouse’s Plan

If your spouse or partner has medical insurance through their employer, you can typically move to that policy. Leaving a job for any reason is considered a qualifying life event, and you typically have 30 to 60 days after losing your coverage to enroll in your spouse’s work plan. By adding you to their insurance, your spouse will likely see more money taken from their paycheck to cover the additional coverage, so remember to factor that into your budget.

This is typically the best-case scenario for many but not a reality for single folks or those whose partners don’t work or do not have insurance from a job. They may have been depending on you for their own health insurance needs.

2. Don’t Retire Completely

“Retire’’ means different things to different people. You may be interested in accepting a part-time job that offers benefits that include medical insurance.

According to the rules of the Affordable Care Act, companies of a certain size must offer their employees health coverage if they work 30 hours a week or more. But some employers who depend on part-timers working fewer than 30 hours a week use the benefit as a way to attract applicants.

3. Get Private Health Insurance Coverage

You can get health insurance through private insurers on your own. By going with private insurance, you’ll likely have more plan options than the public marketplace, but you won’t be able to apply tax credits as you can with public marketplace plans.

Short-term health insurance can be a bridge until Medicare kicks in because you do not want to have a major health crisis and have no insurance to help with the high costs of medical care. A short-term health insurance policy can provide that kind of coverage to benefit your mental health and reduce anxiety.

If you are several years away from when your Medicare coverage kicks in, you can buy long-term private health insurance. The cost will depend on your age, your location, your finances (income and expenses), the number of family members you are going to insure, and your health history.

You can find private insurance plans directly through insurance companies or through an insurance agent or broker.

4. Get COBRA Coverage

COBRA (short for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) is administered through the U.S. Department of Labor with the goal to prevent anyone from going without health insurance for the first 18 months after losing a job.

There is one advantage and two disadvantages to COBRA coverage. The advantage is that you get to keep all of your current doctors and other medical contacts because your coverage does not change. The two disadvantages are that COBRA only lasts for 18 months under most circumstances, and it is expensive. If you sign up for COBRA, you’ll be responsible for paying what your employer used to pay for your portion of your health insurance premium, plus a 2% service fee. If you have a Health Savings Account, you may use that money to help cover premiums.

COBRA is offered by employers with at least 20 employees to any employee who was covered by the employer-sponsored health insurance at the time of the loss of the job. You typically must receive notice of COBRA availability within 14 days of the qualifying event, and you have 60 days to decide if you want to access COBRA.

5. Find Coverage Through The Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act was designed for people who do not get healthcare through their employer, a population that has grown over the years as companies have gone to more contract or freelance employees than full-time ones.

The health insurance marketplace can be complicated, and there is a tight window of two and a half months — Nov. 1 to Jan. 15 — when the open enrollment period is in operation. If you sign up by Dec. 15, your coverage usually begins Jan. 1. If you sign up between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15, your coverage begins Feb. 1.

There are four tiers of coverage under the ACA — Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Those tiers differentiate themselves by how much insurance covers once you have exhausted your deductible.

The average cost of Bronze coverage (lowest premiums, highest deductibles) in 2026 was $357 a month, and the average cost for Silver coverage (higher premiums, lower deductibles) was $489. But costs can vary by state. If you qualify, federal premium tax credits can help cover the cost.

You can review and sign up for a plan on the ACA website (healthcare.gov), which provides chat capabilities if you have questions about acquiring health insurance through the federal marketplace. It also lets you search for approved agents and brokers in your area.

6. Apply for Medicaid

Forty states and the District of Columbia have adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion. In those states, Medicaid is available to adults under the age of 65 if their income is below 138% of the poverty level under the ACA. However, 10 states — Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—have not expanded Medicaid. In these states, non-disabled childless adults generally do not qualify for Medicaid regardless of how low their income is.

Regardless of which option you choose, for the best result, have all of your information in front of you, including personal, financial and health history along with what you need from your health insurance coverage.

Kent McDill is a veteran journalist who has specialized in personal finance topics since 2013. He is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder. Senior Managing Editor Tiffany Wendeln Connors updated this post for 2026.