There's a lot to look forward to in your golden years. However, the retirement age is also the time when most people start experiencing more health problems, making it more important than ever to have good health insurance.
In Canada, provincial health insurance covers many medical services, but it doesn't cover everything. As you leave the workforce, securing supplemental health insurance becomes essential to protect against unforeseen medical expenses and ensure you are able to access the medical services you need.
To help you choose the best retirement health insurance plan Canada has to offer, we'll go over all the key factors you need to consider—including the different types of health insurance options for retirees and what to look for in a plan.
Why Health Insurance After Retirement is Important
While Canada’s publicly funded health care system provides excellent coverage for doctor visits and hospital stays, many services fall outside the scope of provincial plans. These include:
- Prescription drugs (except in certain provinces with senior drug plans)
- Dental care
- Vision care
- Medical equipment like hearing aids or mobility aids
- Private or semi-private hospital rooms
Without additional coverage, the cost of these services can quickly add up. This is especially true for retirees since health care needs inevitably increase the older you get. With a supplemental plan, you can bridge the gap between what provincial health insurance covers and what it does not so that you can protect your retirement savings from unexpected expenses.
Assessing Your Health Care Needs
The first step when choosing health insurance after retirement in Canada is to take a close look at your individual health care needs. To choose a plan that is best aligned with what you need from health insurance, be sure to consider factors like:
- Chronic Conditions: If you have any preexisting medical conditions that require ongoing medication or treatment, you'll want to choose a plan that offers extensive coverage for prescription drugs and specialist visits
- Family Health History: If there are any health issues that run in your family, be sure to consider these when planning for potential future medical needs.
- Lifestyle Factors: How you plan to live your life after retirement can also have an impact on the type of health insurance you'll need. For example, if you plan to travel out of the country a lot, you should choose a plan with good travel insurance.
- Budget and Financial Goals: In retirement you may have a budget to stick to. Consider how much you can comfortably afford to spend monthly on health insurance premiums, deductibles, and expenses that you must pay for as a part of your coverage. This will help you choose a plan that balances your health care needs with your retirement budget.
It isn't always comfortable to sit down and think about your long-term health care needs. However, this is an essential part of choosing the best health insurance for retirement.
Types of Health Insurance for Retirees
You've got a lot of different options to choose from when it comes time to select a retirement health insurance plan. This not only includes individual plans from different providers but also different categories and types of health insurance. In Canada, here are the main types of health insurance commonly purchased by retirees:
1. Employer-Sponsored Retiree Benefits
Many employers will continue to offer health insurance benefits to employees after they retire. Before you start shopping for another plan, be sure to check with your former employer to see if you qualify for continued coverage. These employer-sponsored plans may not cover everything, but they can at least provide a solid foundation of benefits.
2. Private Health Insurance Plans
If your employer doesn't offer continued health insurance coverage for retirees (or if the benefits aren't sufficient for your needs), you can purchase private health insurance. These plans are highly customizable, and there's no shortage of options on the market to choose from. With private health insurance, retirees in Canada can easily select a plan that fits their budget and provides the specific coverage they need.
3. Travel Insurance
If you're planning to travel abroad, it's essential to purchase a travel insurance plan that includes coverage for health care services when you're outside the country. Provincial health insurance does not cover health care services outside of Canada, and many private plans don't either. That means that you could be left with a massive bill if you happen to have a medical emergency while traveling. With the right travel insurance plan, though, you can avoid this potential expense while also enjoying benefits such as coverage for trip cancellation/interruption.
4. Senior-Specific Plans
Some insurance providers, like GMS, offer plans specifically designed for retirees. These plans are tailored to meet the needs of older adults, and they often include flexible options for additional coverage.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Plan
Comparing health insurance plans can be confusing for many retirees. To help clear up some of that confusion, here's what you need to know about the most important factors to consider in a retirement health insurance plan:
- Coverage Limits: Check the plan's coverage limits for different health care services, and make sure they are enough to cover even the most expensive scenarios.
- Premiums and Deductibles: The plan's premium is how much you pay for the plan, while its deductibles are how much you must pay yourself for different services before the insurance starts to contribute—and these two expenses tend to have an inverse relationship. In other words, lower deductible plans will have higher premiums and vice versa. Be sure to balance affordability with coverage to minimize out-of-pocket expenses.
- Prescription Drug Coverage: If you take medications regularly, look for a plan that covers a wide range of prescription drugs.
- Paramedical Services: Services like physiotherapy, massage therapy, and chiropractic care can be valuable as you age, so you may want to look for a plan that covers these paramedical services.
- Flexibility: It's nice to have a plan that lets you customize coverage based on your unique needs. Options such as the ability to add vision or dental care and the ability to adjust coverage levels as your health care needs change over time help ensure that the plan is a perfect match for you.
- Travel Insurance: For snowbirds or frequent travelers, it's good to have a plan that includes emergency medical coverage abroad. That way you don't necessarily have to purchase travel insurance each time you go out of country.
- Waiting Periods: Some plans will have a waiting period before coverage begins. If you need immediate coverage, be sure to choose a plan with minimal or no waiting period.
How to Compare Retirement Health Care Plans
With so many different options to choose from, comparing health care plans can often feel a little overwhelming. Thankfully, there are several ways to make the process easier. One way to quickly compare different health care plans that you're considering is to use a comparison tool. GMS’s Help Me Choose tool, for example, allows you to enter details about yourself and what you're looking for in a plan then provides personalized recommendations.
Working with an insurance advisor is another great way to simplify the process. These advisors are experts on retirement health insurance and will be able to help you choose a plan that is perfectly aligned with your needs and budget.
Whether you get help or choose a plan all on your own, it is important either way to carefully read the fine print. Review what's covered, what isn't, and any limits or exclusions that the plan includes to ensure there aren't any unpleasant surprises down the road.
GMS: Supporting Your Retirement Health Insurance Needs
At GMS, we understand that every retiree has unique health care needs. Our customizable health insurance plans allow you to build coverage that works for you, ensuring peace of mind as you transition into retirement.
GMS offers flexible options for dental, vision, and travel insurance, allowing retirees to add coverage to their plans as needed to suit their needs and lifestyles. And thanks to a combination of expert advisors and helpful tools such as our Help Me Choose tool, finding the right plan for you is a quick and easy process when you work with GMS.
It's always important to carefully plan for retirement and making sure you have adequate health insurance coverage for your retirement years is a crucial part of the process. If you're ready to start planning for retirement by choosing a retirement health insurance plan, GMS can help. Contact us today to get started!