Obamacare Repeal Could Delay Retirement For The Most Vulnerable

If the Affordable Care Act goes extinct in the Trump era, it could very likely end early retirement along with it, reports The New York Times .

The option to retire early  was undoubtedly one of the bonus gifts of Obamacare . The law provided health insurance untethered to employment and removed a big impediment for those who wanted to leave their jobs before turning 65, when they become eligible for coverage through Medicare . 

Before that, pre-existing conditions frequently blocked the ability to buy insurance  on the open market as an individual, and people found that their older age likely made it cost-prohibitive. In the same vein, self-employment numbers increase when workers turn 65 and obtain Medicare coverage .

But what the Times doesn’t spell out is exactly who relies on retiring early.

“Early retirement” conjures images of affluent-looking couples walking along a pristine beach holding hands, or entrepreneurs writing their second chapters in life. In reality, it looks nothing like that. Early retirees are often folks who lose their jobs  or have to retire unexpectedly because of a health problem either their own or that of a spouse or other relative. It is the nation’s family caregivers, sick people and older workers who lose their jobs before retirement age.

People actually aren’t looking to leave work early as much as they are planning to work longer if they can. A Willis Towers Watson survey of 5,100 U.S. employees last year found that far more are planning to retire after age 65 (46 percent) than before it (30 percent). And only 2 percent of those surveyed expect to retire before age 55. 

That may explain why the ACA did not fuel a mass exodus of early retirees . What it did was provide an option to those who had to leave the workplace. And now, that option is at risk of going away.

Should that happen, here’s who will feel the pain the most:

Caregivers who must leave the workforce.

Two out of every five adults — tens of millions of Americans — are family caregivers. Most of them are also working full- or part-time jobs. Their stress levels are high, their work often suffers, and with support services unavailable, they feel they have no choice but to retire early. Increasingly, working women over 50 are leaving their jobs in order to provide care to a loved one , according to Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.

Caregiving for parents peaks in the mid-50s when the caregiver is too young for Medicare. Nevertheless, about 11 percent of caregivers  end up having to quit their job to care for someone at home around the clock.

Caregivers often neglect  their own health. That will likely worsen if they leave work and have no option for health insurance. And that simply advances what they are hoping to avoid: One of the big factors in deciding to place a loved one in a long-term care facility is the family caregiver’s own declining physical health. Caregiving kills .

Older people who lose their jobs.

In the Great Recession, people of every age were laid off from their jobs , but it was older people who stayed out of work the longest . Some never found their footing in the job market again. Age discrimination is real, especially in the hiring process. Finding a job is hard. Older workers have been encouraged to age-sensitize their resumes drop off the year they graduated and maybe even their first few jobs. 

As long as health coverage is tethered to jobs, there will be a painful gap for older workers who lose their jobs.