The Relationship Between Health Insurance and Early Retirement: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act

Abstract

As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) recently expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income childless adults, the uninsured rate reached a record low in 2015. In contrast, large firms with 200 or more employees are continuing to cut retiree benefits. With Medicaid as a new alternative to early retiree health insurance, it is important to understand the effects of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion on early retirement. This article summarizes working paper 1807, where PERC researcher Erkmen Giray Aslim studies the effect of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion on the decision to retire.