Vision plans for retirees, when did everyone suddenly start needing so many eye appointments?
Posted by Jagdfeld_Somea@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 33 comments
feel like our entire generation hit the age where somebody is always talking about cataracts, floaters, dry eyes, glaucoma checks, or needing stronger prescriptions every year.
A few friends keep telling me I should get a vision plan before retiring, but I have heard mixed things from people who actually use them.
For the Gen Xers here, what has been worth paying for and what turned out to be a waste of money? Has anyone found a plan that really made glasses affordable again because these prices are getting wild.
Kodiak01@reddit
I've had floaters since my 20s. They're always just there, never give them much thought.
mojdojo@reddit
As someone who has needed high index glasses my whole life, glasses have never been affordable. I started purchasing my glasses online a few years ago and the cost per pair is 1/2 the price ($350) from a local place, even with insurance covering the frames and 50% of the lens ($475) and no these are not bifocals or trifocals, these are just single prescription lenses. I also have never been able to get my glasses in hour. Can't wait for a medical issue to happen to my eyes as my health insurance covers nothing that has to do with eyes and vision insurance just covers exams and glasses.
OldSkooler1212@reddit
Last July I walked out to my garage to get a chicken breast to thaw in the sink. Then I walked back to my desk where I WFH. When I sat down at my desk, I suddenly had big floaters in my right eye. I called my eye doctor and she squeezed me in within an hour of the call. She could see droplets of blood in my eye but said it was probably nothing. She said since it’s my vision I should go to a retinal specialist just in case. The specialist I saw a few days later used a laser to repair the retinal tear he found.
Now about 11.5 months later my vision in my right eye is almost back to normal. My vision has remained 20/20 the whole time but colors were noticeably less intense in my right eye, and when I move my eyes, such as checking the rear view mirror while driving, floaters would come to the front of my eye partially obscuring my vision. The floaters are mostly gone now and my colors are almost back to normal. The specialist said it can take a year or so to get back to normal.
The point of this post is unexpected things happen and your vision is one of your most precious assets. You want to take good care of your eyes.
Pristine_Giraffe7941@reddit
I had the same thing with a retinal tear but my vision went from a large floater to looking though a spider web in my left eye. My eye doc got me into the retinal specialist the same day and I had laser surgery to repair two spots the same day.
That was 2.5 years ago and just had my annual eye appt yesterday. My retinal imaging shows the repairs holding well.
I have vision insurance through my job and husband's job. It's worth it!
OldSkooler1212@reddit
I was lucky the floaters only came up when I move my eye in a different direction like checking the rear view mirror then go away. If it was constantly obscuring my vision that would have driven me crazy.
4Q69freak@reddit
My vision allows me a free pair of frames under $150 every year, otherwise everything else is covered by my health insurance, like my retinologist that I see because of diabetic retinopathy.
freakymack@reddit
You can get vision insurance or just have a health saving plan at the bank. Just save up and use that every year.
LedFoo2@reddit
Have double insurance between my wife and myself. My prescription slips about every 9 months right now.
Phobos1982@reddit
I’ve had it since my 20s.
Techchick_Somewhere@reddit
I’ve had annual eye exams since I turned 40.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
I've worn glasses and/or contacts since age 8, so visionnissues ade oretty nir.al.
At age 16, I got contacts because my optometrist said my vision was deteriorating rapidly (it was) and it might slow it down, and it did.
My vision today is bad, my glasses look like the bottom of a bottle and I don't wear contacts anymore unless it's a special night out or something.
I wear trifocal progressives in my glasses and have to use readers if I wear contacts.
I'm in Canada where glasses are fucking exoenisve as hell, so I get them from an online place. I don't give a fuck that it's Chinese-based.
When I can get 2 pairs at my insane prescription for $150 instead of a single pair for about $900, I'll use online.
In Canada, we get free exams from an optometrist every 2 years and only once in my life, my prescription hasn't changed.
So far, at 55, no cataracts or anything else. Just blind as hell. 😆
LayerNo3634@reddit
I've never used vision insurance. Never wore glasses, then developed cataracts at 40. That was through health insurance and I got progressive lenses so still no glasses. Had an oops last week and had to see an ophthalmologist. Again, that was through health insurance.
Many Medicare Advantage plans include vision and dental.
temerairevm@reddit
Generally the insurance doesn’t pay for much. You can just cash pay for the annual appointment.
The price has gotten so nuts that you have to just get a prescription and go somewhere online. If you have old frames you like, replacealens.com is good. I get all the bells and whistles (progressives, astigmatism, anti-glare, transitions) and even discount places are expensive.
TotalRecognition2191@reddit
That's for the information about the lens replacement!
temerairevm@reddit
You’re welcome! I’ve used them several times and had good experiences.
TotalRecognition2191@reddit
I have a few frames that I bought from Zennis, but I'll need new lenses soon. This will work out well for me. :)
mumtoant@reddit
Vision insurance has always been a thing for me. I've worn glasses or contacts since I was 7. Recently, my medical insurance had to come into play. I'm recovering from my second retinal detachment surgery (the first was in the other eye seven years ago). I also have a cataract in the eye that just had surgery, but it hasn't affected my vision yet.
PhysicsTeachMom@reddit
My husband and I get ours free through the VA. We both retired early, me in 2024 and him this year so it’s our first year without vision insurance. For our middle school child we plan to go to Costco.
LivingGhost371@reddit
I haven't found standalone vision plans to be useful since eye exams are covered under my health insurance and I can just get cheap glasses and contacts at Walmart or online. They're like dental plans in that they're more like reimbursment accounts where you get out of it about what you put in rather than actual insurance.
Astronaut6735@reddit
And any serious eye problems (i.e. requiring surgery) are probably going to fall under healthcare insurance anyway.
JulesSherlock@reddit
I have eye insurance through work. It saves me maybe $50-$100 per year on my annual exam & contacts. It’s very close to break even really.
nakedonmygoat@reddit
I have vision insurance, which lowers my payment for services, but I still buy my glasses online. It's a lot cheaper that way. For what I would pay for glasses in an optometrist's office, I can get a pair of progressives, a backup pair, and have money left over. I can afford to get prescription sunglasses, too! I use Zenni, but they're not the only option out there. Scout around and see what appeals.
TelevisionKnown8463@reddit
I had the same experience. I had been paying for the “better” of two plans from work but found that I could actually get glasses online without insurance for cheaper than what I paid the store with my insurance! Between the co-pays for the glasses, the blue light blocking not being covered, and the frames being only partially covered, the glasses I bought in store cost a fortune…and it turns out I prefer my cheap ones and keep the expensive ones as a backup!
LunaPolaris@reddit
I love Zenni!
ratmash@reddit
Tip for people in the UK: Make sure you find out the measurement for your interpupillary distance. Opticians are not required to put this on the prescription and it's a common trick they use to lock you into buying glass from THEM and stop you shopping around. My PD is significantly larger than the average and I found out the hard way how important it is to get this right. I had to take a sneaky look at the device they used to measure it and remember the number. So after taking the hit on expensive glasses in that round, I have been able to get MUCH cheaper ones online since.
TelevisionKnown8463@reddit
Great tip.
featherzz@reddit
I have bought all my glasses online for years and just get a regular old eye check (with all the added old person stuff every year). Now I have a retinal specialist due to PVD, YAY! Seriously tho, the online glasses places are great. I like Goggles4U, but Zenni is good also.
TelevisionKnown8463@reddit
I had a good experience with 39dollarglasses.com. You get to try the frames at home before you buy.
ExtraAd7611@reddit
Maybe if you didn't masturbate so much, this would not have happened.
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
I'll be getting checked yearly, my mom had Macular Degeneration, which seriously degraded her vision. My mobility and my vision are 2 of the most important things that I want to keep healthy over the next few years; I've got crap to do lol.
Impressive-Shame-525@reddit
I just went and got Lasik after being in classes and contacts since 6th grade.
Now I just need reading glasses. I keep an annual eye appointment, and nothing much has changed in like 5 years.
GrandeT42@reddit
Go to America’s Best. Pay for an eye exam. Get a copy of your prescription. Take that information to your favorite online glasses retailer. Buy four pairs for the price of one at a brick and mortar store. Enjoy.
r7pxrv@reddit
I've spent far far far too much cash at the opticians and prescription glasses, I now just buy cheap-o supermarket glasses, which I have multiple pairs of all over the house! Yes, having an eye-test is still important to check for any issues (macular degeneration etc.), but once a year is more than enough and I'm never buying prescription glasses ever again.