At 62, he expected free ACA health coverage — but early retirees warned against dental insurance

"Cleaning and exam visit (all of five minutes with the DDS) is about $300."

A 62-year-old man getting ready to leave work thought he had solved one major retirement expense: he believed he could get an Affordable Care Act health plan for $0 a month. The harder issue, he found, was replacing employer dental coverage before Medicare starts — and many early retirees advised him to skip dental insurance altogether.

What people said

Posting in r/retirement, the man said he was retiring at the end of the year and believed he had figured out his ACA health insurance, which he expected would cost nothing each month.

He said the real challenge was finding an affordable substitute for his employer dental plan through Delta Dental, with comparable coverage at a reasonable price.

About 145 commenters responded with their own experiences paying for dental care during the gap between retirement and Medicare.

One commenter suggested ditching traditional insurance and instead using a dentist’s membership plan: "My dentist offers their own plan. $399 a year gets two cleanings and X-rays. They also offer a discount with no limit on payout."

Another commenter compared the price of routine care with the cost of standalone dental coverage and said the numbers often came out close: "Cleaning and exam visit (all of five minutes with the DDS) is about $300. Two times a year, is $600. I can get a plan for roughly $50 / month....so it works out about the same, and there is some additional coverage if something goes bad."

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More context

The discussion highlighted a common problem for people who retire before age 65. Health coverage can sometimes be handled through the Affordable Care Act, but dental benefits often disappear when employer coverage ends and must be bought separately or paid for out of pocket.

One commenter said it was "totally stupid that Medicare doesn't pay dental, vision or hearing," pointing to a frequent frustration for retirees who have to cover those costs themselves.

Several replies questioned whether dental insurance saves much money at all. One commenter who had previously handled employee benefits said those plans covered "up to $1500/yr" while costing an employer "around $1k/yr per employee," adding, "No real savings."

Some posters also said cash prices looked more competitive than expected. After moving, one commenter checked a local provider on a preferred list and said "a cleaning, exam and X-rays" would have cost about "$177" even in a "VHCOL area."

Possible approaches

A popular suggestion was to ask dentists whether they offer annual membership plans. In the examples shared by commenters, those programs helped make routine care more predictable by including two cleanings and X-rays.

Others recommended comparing that yearly cost with the amount that would otherwise go toward monthly premiums. One reply said it was "cheaper to save 100 a month and use that for at least two cleanings a year for you and any family," especially since "most dental insurance only pays out a total of 2K a year for procedures."

For retirees who still want insurance, commenters said the annual maximum is the key figure to review. Throughout the thread, payout caps of $1,500 to $2,000 were cited as a major reason many plans felt too limited once premiums were factored in, making self-pay or a dentist membership plan easier to budget for.

"Dental insurance is basically a way for employers to subsidize the expense for their employees," one commenter wrote. "It makes zero sense to buy it, IMO (obv others here have [different experiences])."

Related reading

Retirement insurance questions do not stop with health and dental coverage. These stories examine home insurance disruptions affecting retirees and homeowners, along with another warning about routine dental care.

• In Idaho, retirees found home insurers flee western states as wildfire risk reshaped coverage.

• In Washington state, a retiree lost coverage and wondered how this could be acceptable.

• Common dental care items may be releasing microplastics into your body during everyday routines.

• Across the U.S., data showed major companies dropping insurance coverage for younger homeowners.

• Americans faced higher premiums as extreme weather drives rate hikes in home insurance.