2027 ACA benchmark premiums and subsidies for early retirees, by state and age

Published 2026-10-30. Plan year 2027. Premiums from CMS's public use files for the HealthCare.gov states.

What does the benchmark plan cost before 65, and what does the credit leave you to pay?

In the 29 states that use HealthCare.gov, the 2027 benchmark silver plan for a 60-year-old costs $1,489 a month on average (weighted by county population), from $1,029 in New Hampshire to $2,737 in Alaska, up 12.2% from 2026. At 400% of the poverty line ($63,840 for one person) the premium tax credit on that average plan is $11,339 a year; one dollar more of income and it is $0. For a couple both 64 at their 400% line ($86,560) the credit is $30,569, and in Alaska $61,545.

Your numbers: the free ACA subsidy calculator
Enter the benchmark for your ZIP code from HealthCare.gov's plan preview to price your own household.

Open enrollment for 2027

On HealthCare.gov, open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Choose a plan by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1; a plan chosen December 16 to January 15 starts February 1. States that run their own exchange set their own dates, and some close later. (CMS statement of July 27, 2026; HealthCare.gov dates and deadlines; 45 CFR 155.410(e)(4)(ii).)

The line to watch when you estimate your 2027 income: at 400% of the poverty line ($63,840 for one person) a 60-year-old's 2027 credit on the U.S. average benchmark is $11,339 a year, and one dollar more of income ends it; for a couple both 64 at their line ($86,560) it is $30,569. Price your own county, ages and income below, then plan each year's income under the cliff (Roth conversions, withdrawals) with the ACA Bridge Optimizer (it runs the 2026 rules).

A 60-year-old, every HealthCare.gov state

The benchmark is the second-lowest-cost silver plan in the county; the credit is that premium less the share of income the Rev. Proc. 2026-26 table expects you to pay. The state figure is the average of its counties' benchmarks weighted by population; the range is its cheapest and most expensive county. Alaska and Hawaii use their own, higher poverty guidelines, so their 250% and 400% incomes are higher than the 48-state figures in the column headings ($79,800 and $73,440 at 400% for one person).

A couple both 64: the largest cliff

A couple pays two age-rated premiums, and an adult's premium can be up to three times a 21-year-old's (45 CFR 147.102); in every covered state the benchmark is highest at 64, so the credit a couple loses by crossing 400% of the poverty line is at its largest in the last year before Medicare.

By age, 50 to 64 (U.S. average of the covered states)

By income: one 60-year-old at the U.S. average benchmark

The credit falls as income rises, then stops: a dollar over 400% of the poverty line ends it. Incomes are the 2026 poverty guideline for one person ($15,960) times the percentage. The 2026 column is the same percentage of the 2025 guideline under the 2026 table, on the 2026 benchmark.

Your county

The county figures behind every state row are published below; the lookup prices your own county, ages and income on the same data.

States not covered

22 jurisdictions (21 states and the District of Columbia) run their own exchange, and CMS's public use files do not include their plans (CMS): California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington. Their benchmarks are on the state exchange's own site.

Related: 2027 applicable percentage table · 2027 poverty-line figures · ACA bridge MAGI planner · Early-retirement healthcare costs · The 2026 ACA cliff study

Download the data

Every state, household, age and income point: aca-benchmark-premiums-2027.csv (6,300 rows) · every county's benchmark at ages 50 to 64: aca-benchmark-premiums-2027-counties.csv · both, with sources: aca-benchmark-premiums-2027.json (CC0).

Questions

How much is the ACA benchmark premium for a 60-year-old in 2027?

In the 29 HealthCare.gov states it averages $1,489 a month (county-population weighted), from $1,029 in New Hampshire to $2,737 in Alaska.

Is there still a subsidy cliff at 400% of the poverty line in 2027?

Yes. The Rev. Proc. 2026-26 table stops at 400%; a dollar over it ends the credit. For one person that is $63,840 of income, where the credit on the average benchmark for a 60-year-old is $11,339 a year.

Which poverty guidelines set 2027 premium tax credits?

The 2026 HHS guidelines ($15,960 for one person in the 48 states and DC), because a coverage year uses the guidelines in effect when its open enrollment begins (26 CFR 1.36B-1(h)).

When is open enrollment for 2027 coverage?

On HealthCare.gov, open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Choose a plan by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1; a plan chosen December 16 to January 15 starts February 1. States that run their own exchange set their own dates, and some close later.

Method and sources

For each county CMS lists in the QHP Landscape PY2027 Individual Medical file (posted October 30, 2026), every individual-market silver plan sold there (child-only plans excluded) is priced at each age from 21 to 64 from the Rate PUF (posted October 30, 2026), non-tobacco rates for the county's rating area. Each plan's premium is multiplied by its share of premium for essential health benefits, the part the credit covers (26 CFR 1.36B-3); the plans are ranked and the second-lowest value is the benchmark, which equals the lowest when the two lowest are tied (CMS methodology). Before anything is published, every plan's Rate PUF premium at ages 21, 27, 30, 40, 50 and 60 must equal the premium the landscape file prints for that age, to the cent. A state's benchmark is the average of its counties' benchmarks weighted by Census Vintage 2025 population (all residents, not marketplace enrollees); the U.S. figure weights every covered county the same way.

The credit is figured as Form 8962 does for a household that buys the benchmark plan all year: income as a percentage of the 2026 poverty line with the decimals dropped, the applicable percentage of that whole percentage from the Rev. Proc. 2026-26 table (rounded to 0.01%), the expected contribution (income times that percentage, to the dollar), and the credit, 12 months of benchmark less the contribution, never below zero. That arithmetic is QuantCalc's tax engine's own (Form 8962, held to the C engine by parity tests); for 2027, only the table and the poverty line are the year's. Incomes are the stated percentage of the household's poverty line exactly, and a dollar more for the cliff row. Every published figure is re-derived by a separate checker from the county data and the published table.

• QHP Landscape PY2027 Individual Medical (data.healthcare.gov)
• Exchange Public Use Files, Rate PUF PY2027 (CMS)
• CMS, Health Insurance Exchange Public Use Files (Exchange PUFs)
• CMS, QHP Choice and Premiums in HealthCare.gov States, methodology (how the second-lowest-cost silver plan is found)
• Rev. Proc. 2026-26, section 3.01: the 2027 applicable percentage table
• 91 FR 1797: the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines
• 26 CFR 1.36B-1(h): the poverty line of a coverage year
• 26 CFR 1.36B-3: the credit, the benchmark plan, the EHB portion of premiums
• IRC section 36B
• 45 CFR 147.102: premium rating, age (3:1 limit for adults)
• Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 2.04: the limit on repaying excess advance credit is removed from 2026
• CMS, statement on the Failure to File and Reconcile requirement for plan years 2026-2027 (July 27, 2026): open enrollment November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027
• HealthCare.gov, Dates and deadlines
• 45 CFR 155.410(e)(4)(ii): a State Exchange may adopt a later end date (eCFR)
• Census Bureau, county population estimates, Vintage 2025 (POPESTIMATE2025)

What is not modelled

• States that run their own exchange are not covered; their plans are not in CMS's public use files.
• County level: where a plan serves only part of a county, the benchmark for an address in the rest of the county can differ. In Alaska CMS reports the premium of the rating area with the county's largest population.
• State figures weight counties by total population, not by marketplace enrollment.
• Non-tobacco premiums. A tobacco surcharge is not covered by the credit and is not included.
• Adults only: a couple is two adults of the same age; children and household members under 21 are not priced.
• The net premium is for the benchmark plan. A cheaper plan costs less after the same credit; a pricier one, more.
• Incomes start at 150% of the poverty line: below 138%, adults in a state that expanded Medicaid are generally eligible for Medicaid instead.
• The credit is reconciled on the 2027 return against actual 2027 income, and from 2026 any excess advance credit is repaid in full (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
• CMS updates the public use files when issuers change their plans; this edition is the files as posted on the dates above.

An estimate, not tax or insurance advice. Benchmark premiums are as CMS published them; your own benchmark, credit and plan choice depend on your address, household and income. Check your figures on HealthCare.gov or your state's exchange before you enroll.

@misc{quantcalc20272027acabenchmarkpremiumsandsubsidiesfore,
  title  = {2027 ACA Benchmark Premiums and Subsidies for Early Retirees, by State and Age (50 to 64)},
  author = {{QuantCalc Research}},
  year   = {2027},
  url    = {https://quantcalc.app/research/aca-benchmark-premiums-2027/},
  note   = {Accessed <date>}
}