If your health insurance comes through work, retiring could mean losing it. Here’s what to check before your last day and your options if you want to keep your cover.
The retirement checklist usually covers pensions, savings and tax and perhaps what you’re going to do with all that newfound free time.
There is, though, another thing to sort out before you hand back your laptop: what happens to your private health insurance?
If your private health insurance comes through your employer, you shouldn’t assume that it will simply carry on after you retire.
“If your healthcare cover is provided through your employer’s group scheme, your health cover typically ends on your final working day or the end of the month where you stop work,” says Ashley Bailey, CEO of comparison service DIG.
Some insurers may allow you to switch from a company scheme to a personal policy. Bailey says that major insurers, including AXA and Bupa, can offer this option, but they may set a deadline for switching.
Asad Khan, director and independent financial adviser at Kingsmarque Wealth Management, says the window is typically 30 to 90 days, although this varies by insurer. “The scheme’s own terms are the only reliable guide,” he comments.
And there’s another important consideration – what happens to any medical conditions you already have?
Employer health schemes are usually set up differently from individual policies, with existing conditions potentially covered. When you move to an individual policy, those conditions may no longer be covered in the same way.
Your insurer may offer the option to continue cover on CPME (continued personal medical exclusions) terms. Broadly, this means existing medical exclusions are carried across to the new policy rather than your medical history being assessed afresh. The precise terms will depend on the insurer and policy.
Miss the deadline and you may have to go through ordinary underwriting, where recent medical conditions could be excluded or subject to a moratorium.
“For someone retiring at 62 who has had a knee scan or been treated for blood pressure – and that describes a great many people at 62 – the timing is what determines whether the cover that follows is useful or largely excluded,” says Khan.
The takeaway here? Don’t leave it until your final day at work to find out what happens to your policy. Ask your employer or insurer about your options while you’re still covered.
One of the biggest surprises can be the cost of paying for your own cover.
While you’re working, your employer may be paying some or all of the premium, although you may pay tax on the benefit. Once you retire, the full cost of an individual policy becomes your responsibility. And unfortunately, premiums generally increase with age.
Khan cites a survey of 11,770 quotes from seven insurers in March 2026, which found that average comprehensive cover was around £96 a month at age 50, £133 at 60 and £207 at 70. These are only rough estimates. The final cost will depend on factors including your age, health, level of cover and policy options.
Bailey also warns that switching from an employer scheme to a personal policy can mean paying significantly more, with premiums potentially “as much as 40%” higher.
It’s also worth remembering that premiums can rise from year to year.
“Premiums are re-rated each year for age and for medical inflation,” says Khan. He adds that UK medical cost inflation was around 10% in 2026.
The right answer depends on your circumstances. Consider your retirement income and savings, any existing health conditions, and how much peace of mind it gives to know private treatment is there if you need it. It’s also worth understanding what private medical insurance does and doesn’t cover.
Private medical insurance is generally designed for acute, treatable conditions. It typically doesn’t cover the ongoing management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma, and may not cover pre-existing conditions.
“After 65, a larger share of what goes wrong tends to fall into those excluded categories, so the premium can rise while the range of usable benefits narrows,” says Khan.
So before automatically renewing the same level of cover, check what you’re actually paying for and whether it still meets your needs.
Equally, don’t assume that cancelling it is the obvious way to cut your retirement spending.
“The question that decides it for most households is not whether the premium is affordable now, it’s whether the cost of the worst case could be met without cover,” says Khan.
If private health insurance is eating into your retirement budget, there’s a middle ground between paying in full and giving it up altogether. Khan says there are several ways to bring the cost down, though how much you save will depend on your insurer and your circumstances.
Raise your excess: Agreeing to pay £250 or £500 towards a claim, rather than nothing, can lower your premium.
Add an NHS waiting option: With some policies, you use the NHS if it can treat you within a set time, and your insurance only steps in if the wait is longer.
Narrow your hospital list: Accepting a smaller choice of hospitals or consultants can cut the cost.
Cap your outpatient cover: Swap unlimited outpatient treatment for a fixed annual allowance.
Trim the extras: Dental, optical, therapies and overseas cover all push the price up, so ask yourself whether you really use them.
Don’t just accept your renewal: Loyal customers don’t always get the best price, so compare your options. If you switch, ask about CPME terms (see above) so you aren’t underwritten again.
If full cover is out of reach, a health cash plan is another option. It’s a different kind of product: it helps with everyday costs such as dental, optical and physio, but it won’t cover you the way private medical insurance does.
It’s easy to assume private health insurance also covers your future care needs. It doesn’t. It pays for eligible medical treatment, not residential or nursing care if you eventually need help with everyday living.
Khan says this is “frequently overlooked”, and separating the two is often where retirement planning conversations begin, so when you review your finances, treat health insurance and care costs as two separate things to plan for.
Before you finish work, ask your employer or insurer for the exact terms that apply when you leave. Find out:
Khan says these are much easier to establish while you’re still employed.
“The terms that settle it are the scheme’s own leaver provisions: whether continuation is offered, on what basis, by when, and at what cost,” he says. “Those are held by the employer or the insurer, and they are considerably easier to obtain while still employed than afterwards.”
But private health insurance shouldn’t be the only thing on your retirement checklist.
Bailey’s advice is to make sure you understand your pension arrangements before your final day, too.
“The one thing I’d tell anyone to sort out before their last day at work is confirming their pension details,” he says. “It’s important to understand what income you’ll have coming in, and whether you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to.”
That means checking your pension income, as well as any other employee benefits that will disappear when you leave. Group life cover, income protection, dental insurance and critical illness cover may also end when your employment does.
If you’re losing health cover through work, retirement is a good time to review your options rather than simply letting your existing cover end.
Saga Health Insurance offers cover for people aged 50 and over, so it may be one option to consider when you’re comparing health insurance for retirement.
Buy direct and start a new Saga Health Insurance policy by the end of 10 December 2026 to get your first 3 months free. T&Cs apply.
Underwritten by Bupa Insurance Limited.
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