SCENARIO SIMULATOR
Pre-Medicare Healthcare Bridge
Retire at 55, get Medicare at 65. The 10-year gap in between is the single most-cited blocker in the FIRE community. ACA premium tax credits, HSA drawdown, COBRA, taxable-bracket management. See what you actually need liquid to bridge it.
Uses 2026 Federal Poverty Level + simplified ACA premium tax credit table per Affordable Care Act Section 36B. Premium estimates are national-average silver-plan benchmarks. Educational only, not insurance advice.
Your Bridge Window
% of FPL displayed below
Tax-free for medical use
Available before ACA
If using COBRA bridge
Why The Bridge Is Harder Than The Math Suggests
ACA premium tax credits are calculated against your Modified Adjusted Gross Income, but MAGI for ACA includes capital gains, dividends, IRA distributions, and even tax-exempt interest. A "low-income" early retiree drawing from a brokerage account can have a high MAGI just from realizing gains, killing the subsidy.
The standard FIRE strategy is income management: structure annual MAGI between 150% and 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. Below 150% you risk Medicaid (good in some states, awful in others). Above 400% you fall off the subsidy cliff entirely (though the Inflation Reduction Act extended the 8.5% cap through 2025 and possibly longer).
Common bridge strategies: live off taxable brokerage (capital gains harvesting at low rates), Roth IRA contributions (already-taxed, don't count toward MAGI), 72(t) substantially equal periodic payments from a traditional IRA (rigid but works), Roth conversion ladder started 5 years before retirement. Pair with the retirement projector to model the full plan, and the portfolio stress-test simulator to see whether the bridge survives a recession.