Employment
Health insurance
Workers whose employers provide health insurance have an incentive to keep working until they are eligible for Medicare at age 65. Sixty-five percent of respondents to the AARP 2002 Work and Career Study said maintaining health insurance was a key reason to keep working.
However, workers who can receive retiree health insurance from their employers before Medicare starts are able to retire early. Low-income older adults with disabilities are discouraged from working because they could lose their Medicaid coverage. The federal "Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999" (TWWIA) allows states to permit people with disabilities to work without losing their Medicaid benefit. Coverage, however, is limited to working people with disabilities who are at least 16, but less than 65 years of age.
Updated: November 2, 2007
