TRICARE Overseas retiree cost calculator

Retirees are not covered for free overseas. This turns the 2026 TRICARE Select Overseas fees into a monthly planning line and the cash float you need because no hospital will bill TRICARE for you.

Group A: sponsor entered service before 1 Jan 2018. B: on or after. Coverage Covered care you expect to be billed per month, normal year USD. Single or couple: $100 to $200. Family with young kids: $300 to $400 Catastrophic cap, annual published retiree figures sit in a $3,000 to $4,500 band; plan on the high end Largest hospital bill you may have to front, local currency a private-hospital admission you would pay in full before claiming Local currency per US dollar Minimum float you want to hold regardless, USD

Monthly planning line

Enrollment fee, annual	$0
Deductible, annual	$0
Fixed cost per month	$0
Cost-share per month (25%)	$0
Worst-case year: fee + cap	$0
Worst case as monthly	$0
Recommended medical float	$0

The cash-flow problem is bigger than the cost

There is no retiree direct-billing network in Thailand and most of Asia. JUSMAG Thailand states it plainly: retirees pay 100 percent up front and file with International SOS for reimbursement. Hospitals advertising "TRICARE accepted" are almost always describing the active-duty arrangement. A hospital's international desk may genuinely help prepare the itemized bill and DD Form 2642 for your claim. That is useful, and it is not the same as billing TRICARE.

So the float matters more than the premium. It is working capital, not an expense: it comes back. But without it, one admission comes out of the month's groceries.

Free two-page checklist: the ten questions to email a Thai hospital before you need it, including this one. Download it free.

Ask the hospital this, in writing

"I am a US military retiree, not active duty, covered by TRICARE Select Overseas. Do you bill TRICARE directly for retirees, or do I pay in full and file for reimbursement myself? If I pay, does your international desk prepare the itemized bill, medical records and DD Form 2642 for my claim?"

Two deadlines

Enroll in retiree TRICARE within 90 days of losing active-duty coverage or it lapses.
Set up electronic reimbursement with the overseas contractor before you leave. Mailed checks to Thailand ended in August 2026; without a direct-deposit destination, reimbursements strand.

Military Retirement Overseas Budget Planner spreadsheet cover

Want the full picture, with your own numbers?

The Military Retirement Overseas Budget Planner is an Excel workbook that runs retired pay, VA compensation, GI Bill, debts and local living costs at three VA ratings side by side, with a 36-month projection where debts fall off on schedule, the TRICARE Overseas estimator, and a loan-payoff calculator. No macros. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.

Get the workbook, $19

Prefer the reasoning over the spreadsheet? The Retire to Thailand on TRICARE and the GI Bill field guide is 17 pages for $17: the money stack, the on-campus rule, TRICARE for retirees, visa tracks, and the phase-by-phase checklist.

2026 TRICARE Select Overseas retiree figures from tricare.mil. Group A family enrollment and deductible confirmed; individual and Group B figures are estimates, verify yours. The catastrophic cap varies by group and the $3,000 figure commonly quoted applies to medically retired members and survivors.