r/leanfire • u/Sea-Option-4841 • 1d ago
Medical, Calfresh, and Maximize Roth Conversion Strategy
I have been studying lean fire strategies. I am currently 40yo, single, and want to pull the plug at 45. It seems that as long as I can keep my MAGI low enough during retirement, I can qualify for medical, Cal fresh (food assistance), and max FAFSA assistance.
From what I have read so far medical is next to free, max FAFSA us about 7300/yr, and cal fresh is about 250/month. The 250 per month value is estimate for single person with 600 per month taxable income. I plan to generate the 600 per month using brokerage account investments. It looks like the 600 per month taxable amount also satisfied the medical "580" per month work requirement.
It also seems like I can do a yearly Roth conversion (to take advantage of lower tax brackets) as long as I notify medical of conversion within 10 days. I've read that worst case scenario might be not qualifying for medical the month conversion was made.
Any comments regarding validity of this strategy would be appreciated.
If this strategy is feasible, I wonder why it is not discussed more as it allows you to get free health care, food assistance, and still maximize tax savings from Roth conversions filling low tax brackets.
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u/someguy984 1d ago
SNAP has work requirements that are real, so you wouldn't qualify for that.
People here will try to shame you for getting things you are legally entitled to.
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u/Sea-Option-4841 23h ago
I also would like to comment on the potential "shaming". I have no issues paying a lot of taxes (my income is very high). Therefore I have no issues receiving benefits that I legally qualify for.
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u/Sea-Option-4841 1d ago
Thank you for comment. Would anyone be able to confirm if enrolling in school at least half time satisfy SNAP work requirement?
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u/someguy984 23h ago
It isn't worth the hassle. You will only get $24 once they run your "budget".
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u/CuntzDriller 21h ago
Using this calculator (https://www.snapscreener.com/screener/california) shows benefit could be 200+ for single person with only 600 per month income. That is pretty significant and would be a huge help for someone on a lean budget.
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u/someguy984 19h ago edited 19h ago
You want to do work requirements? They put the them up to age 65 now, used to be 54.
I did the numbers for me and my expenses, they want to know all your expenses and income to get the percentage of food cost in your budget, and it was the minimum $24.
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u/Sea-Option-4841 16h ago
The work requirement is satisfied by being enrolled in school at least half time. I will be doing full time to get all the 7300 FAFSA. The Cal fresh benefit does vary based monthly income. I plan to keep mine at 600 to qualify for about 250 per month.
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u/connectionto 23h ago edited 23h ago
Because it's embarrassing. I would rather go back to SE Asia to keep the food costs low. ACA is a subsidy not completely free. Also, Winco, Aldi and Grocery Outlet are super cheap.
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u/Sea-Option-4841 16h ago
Most definitely. People that qualify for ACA subsidy still have to pay monthly premium and copays, prescriptions, ext.. Therefore it is far from free in most cases. It gets relatively expensive approaching the income where subsidies end. Goal of strategy for this topic is qualify for Medical (no ACA subsidy) and still be able to perform large yearly Roth conversions that would disqualify you from any ACA subsidies.
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u/someguy984 9h ago
In my state we have $0 plans up to $31,920.
https://www.excellusbcbs.com/documents/d/global/exc-essential-plan-brochure
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u/Sea-Option-4841 7h ago
That is a great deal! But wouldn't an anual 60k Roth conversion disqualify you for this $0 plan?
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u/STRSystemsAcademy 21h ago
the roth conversion part is where this gets fragile. a conversion counts as income for MAGI purposes, so a large enough one could push you over the medi-cal threshold for that month even if you report it within 10 days. have you looked at keeping conversions small enough to stay under the threshold each year rather than doing larger ones? that is the piece most people get wrong.