Three safety nets, three very different price tags

Published 2026-10-24 · Last reviewed 2026-10-24

A job loss, a high-deductible plan and a disability are three different shocks, and each has its own arithmetic. One asks for the group premium out of your own pocket, one rewards money you put aside before it is taxed, and one replaces a fraction of the paycheck after a wait. This page prices all three from the engines the calculators run, so the numbers on the page and the numbers on the tools are the same numbers.

COBRA is the full premium plus two percent

As an employee you paid part of the group premium and the employer paid the rest. COBRA asks for both, plus an administrative charge capped at 2 percent. On a $620 full monthly premium, the charge is $12.40 and the monthly payment is $632.40 - for a $11,383.20 total across 18 months. The law allows 18 months after a termination or reduced hours, 29 months when a disability extends the period, and 36 months for death, divorce, Medicare or a dependent losing status. The monthly payment does not change with the period, so the difference between the rows is entirely how long the bill runs.

An HSA is taxed at three points, and the answer is zero

A health savings account touches the tax code three times: your deposits go in before income tax, the growth inside is never taxed, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses come out tax-free. For 2026 family coverage the limit is $8,750, and at 55 or older the catch-up adds $1,000, for $10,750 in all. At $500 a month your own deposits are $6,000, which leaves $4,750 of room. At a 25 percent marginal rate those deposits save $1,500 of income tax. Employer deposits occupy the same limit, and only deposits that fit inside it save anything - the three zeros describe a qualified withdrawal, not a deposit over the limit.

Disability replaces part of the paycheck, after a wait

Social Security disability pays the primary insurance amount, built from average indexed monthly earnings through the 2026 bend points: 90 percent of the first $1,286, 32 percent of the stretch up to $7,749, and 15 percent above that. On $4,000 of AIME the three pieces are $1,157.40, $868.48 and $0.00, and the monthly benefit rounds down to $2,025 - $24,300 a year. Against $3,500 of monthly obligations that replaces 57.86 percent and leaves $1,475 uncovered every month. The first check arrives only after 5 full months of disability, so $10,125 is forgone before any payment, and Medicare starts after 24 months of benefits.

Where these numbers come from

• DOL FAQs on COBRA continuation coverage. The 2 percent administrative charge, the 102 percent cap and the 18, 29 and 36 month periods are the published rules; the $12.40 charge and $632.40 monthly payment follow from them.
• IRS 2026 HSA limits. The $8,750 family limit and the $1,000 catch-up are the published amounts; the $10,750 total, $4,750 of remaining room and $1,500 of tax saving follow from those limits and your own contributions.
• SSA bend points and the disability statutes. The $1,286 and $7,749 bend points are the published 2026 values, and the 5-month wait and 24-month Medicare delay are 42 U.S.C. 423(a)(1) and 426 as applied here.

What this guide does not cover

It prices one COBRA notice, one family HSA and one disability claim. It does not model the 60-day COBRA election window, a severance subsidy, state continuation rules, Medicare or Medicaid alternatives, the requirement that an HSA sit behind a qualifying high-deductible plan, the excise tax on an excess HSA contribution, or state tax treatment of any of the three. SSDI eligibility is medical and vocational and is decided by SSA - this is a benefit estimate, not a claim decision - and a private disability policy has its own definition of disability, elimination period and benefit cap that the page never sees.

See the monthly bill in the COBRA Cost Calculator, check your own room in the HSA Contribution Calculator, or size the gap in the Disability Insurance Calculator.

Estimates only - not financial, tax or legal advice, and it does not predict how the IRS will treat a particular return. Read the full disclaimer.