Barbara Brockway and Matt Padula always imagined retirement as a time to relax and enjoy each other's company after more than three decades together.

"Thirty-two years, right? Coming up on 33," says Brockway, reflecting on their journey.

Brockway, an accountant, and Padula, a former economics teacher and consultant, thought they had crunched the numbers for a comfortable retirement.

"Matt has worked part-time for the last couple of years, so we've had to go on the exchange to get our healthcare, and it was pricey, but we were able to afford it," explains Brockway.

But this year, things changed. The enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act have expired, causing their insurance premiums to skyrocket.

"It's like the rug yanked out from under our feet the last couple of months," Padula says.

In 2025, the couple paid about $1,600 a month. Now, their monthly premium has doubled to $3,200 — totaling nearly $39,000 a year for insurance alone.

"We'll definitely have to cut back just everyday expenses. Discretionary things like eating out, vacations," Brockway admits.

The financial pinch has Padula second-guessing his retirement:

"I'm wondering if I should not have stopped working last year, if I should have kept working."

Accounting professor Usha Rackliffe of Emory University says anyone planning retirement should pay close attention to the income threshold for ACA subsidies:

"The goal and the key is to keep your income below $84,600 if you're a married couple," Rackliffe notes. "You have to be very smart, very strategic about where your money is coming from. Is it taxable, is it not taxable, and what can you do? Can you maneuver for a year or two to kind of shift it so it's not taxable to you in that year, then you come in under the threshold and then you don't have to pay all of that because you get a subsidy."

At 62, Brockway and Padula are still too young to qualify for Medicare. For now, they're left with few options: maneuver their finances or pay double to stay insured.

"We're in a position where we wouldn't even dream of going without insurance at our age at this point," Padula says.

There's still no word on when the Senate will address changes to the Affordable Care Act.