| News from Washington |
| Sen. Rosen Thinks You Should Be Able to Use Your Health Savings Account on Your Aging Parents Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen introduced legislation she believes could make it a little easier for caregivers of aging parents. The bill, which she cosponsored with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) would allow people to use their Health Savings Accounts or flexible spending accounts on medical expenses for their aging parents. Read More |
| Trade Groups Say 60-Day Comment Period Is Not Enough for the Fiduciary Rule Stakeholders in the retirement, insurance and investment industries published a letter calling on the Department of Labor to double the comment period for a new fiduciary rule proposal from 60 days to 120. The comment period for the proposal runs through January 2, 2024, but as the letter notes, this leaves only 39 business days to file comments with the department. Read More |
| HSA Studies & Analysis |
| More Employers Positioning HSAs as a Retirement Savings Strategy: PSCA The Plan Sponsor Council of America’s 5th annual HSA Survey of more than 500 employers indicates that more employers are framing HSAs as part of a holistic retirement savings approach and not just a spending account for current health care expenses. The survey reveals that 4 in 10 employer respondents indicated that they position the HSA as part of a retirement savings strategy to employees, up by nearly half from two years ago, when the level was at 27%. Read More |
| For HSAs, Survey Finds Cash Is King Most employees who use HSAs as an investment vehicle keep the money in cash, while overall investing remains a modest component, according to a survey conducted by the Plan Sponsor Council of America. For 2022, the average percentage invested in something other than cash was 28%. 60% of respondents said they offer investment options, and 78% required minimum account balances of $1,000 or more before investing their HSA dollars. Read More |
| IBD’s Best HSAs for 2024: Find the Right Account for Your Investment Goals To help consumers find HSAs that can help them make the most of their contributions, IBD presents its seventh special report. We’ve combined research and insights from Devenir, Morningstar and hundreds of HSA providers to create this report. As you look ahead to your personal finance plan for 2024, use our list to evaluate the fees, account features, investing options and savings rates of the best HSA providers. Read More |
| HSA Compliance Corner |
| HSA Limits Will Rise in 2024 — But Will You Qualify for One of These Accounts? HSA contribution limits are set to rise in 2024, which means you’ll have even more opportunity to protect some of your earnings from taxes. But the minimum policy deductible needed to qualify for an HSA is also rising in the new year, so you’ll need to make sure you’re eligible to contribute to one of these accounts. Read More |
| How Much Can You Contribute to Your HSA and FSA in 2024? Contributing to a medical savings account, such as an HSA (Health Savings Account) or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) can lower your taxable income. However, there are limits to how much you can contribute to each year. If you like to plan ahead, the IRS just announced the contribution limits for 2024. Here’s what you need to know. Read More |
| Sorry! This Doctor-Patient Relationship Is Disqualifying. Direct-primary care arrangements continue to grow in popularity, driven by patients’ desire to focus on health rather than sickness and physicians’ desire to practice medicine without external constraints. Although the benefits of DPC arrangements dovetail nicely with HSA-qualified plans, their design and administration disqualify HSA owners from funding their accounts. Read More |
| HSA Industry News |
| DataPath Granted Non-Bank HSA Custodian Status DataPath Financial Services, Inc. announced its approval by the Internal Revenue Service as a Non-Bank Custodian for HSAs effective November 1, 2023. DataPath an now provide more expansive capacity to its HSA client partners, including powerful efficiencies in both compliance and flexibility. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| What Is a Health Savings Account? And, Why It’s a Great Retirement Savings Option An HSA can be a savvy way to save money by reducing your overall medical spending. It can also have compelling retirement savings benefits. Money can be deferred into an HSA account on a pre-tax basis just like a 401(k) or IRA contribution and withdrawals are tax-free when money is withdrawn to cover qualified expenses. An HSA saves you money in four compelling ways. Read More |
| Health Savings Accounts: From Simple Savings to Investment Powerhouse Once just a vehicle for immediate health care costs, HSAs have transformed into a potent financial tool. Many investors are leveraging their HSA’s triple-tax benefits for long-term health and retirement planning. If you treat your HSA as a retirement account, experts recommend evaluating your time horizon, risk tolerance and investment objectives, as you would with any other investment account. Read More |
| HSA Accounts Pack a Powerful Long-Term Savings Punch for Millennials and Gen Z Investors in their 20s, 30s and 40s in search of an big boost for their financial future need look no further than an HSA. Indeed, HSAs are increasingly seen by wealth managers as investment and retirement savings accounts in disguise. That’s thanks to their incomparable triple-tax benefits, investment options, and investor-friendly reimbursement rules. Read More |
| What Happens to Your HSA Money When You Die? You can name beneficiaries for Health Savings Accounts. Spouses who inherit HSAs can opt to treat the account as their own, which means they can make tax-free withdrawals to pay for qualified medical expenses. Other beneficiaries, though, will be required to empty the accounts and pay income tax on the withdrawals. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| 1 in 5 Americans Has This Plan for an HSA — and It’s a Good One A good 20% of HSA account owners say they’re contributing to their accounts in order to invest the money to have on hand for healthcare expenses in retirement. And that’s a really smart decision. If you want to enjoy the maximum benefit an HSA can provide, then you should really try to leave your balance alone and let it grow in a tax-advantaged manner. Read More |
| Health Savings Accounts, With a Triple Tax Advantage, Are ‘Perfect,’ Advisor Says — but Only if Used the Right Way HSAs offer perhaps the best tax perks relative to other investment accounts. But most account holders use them in a way that dilutes their benefits, data shows. This behavior runs counter to the advice of financial experts. The optimal way to use an HSA is by holding enough cash in the account to cover one’s annual insurance deductible and investing the remainder. Read More |
| If Your HSA Offers This Benefit, You’d Be a Fool to Say No Just as some companies help employees by matching 401(k) contributions, so too do some employers fund HSAs on their employees’ behalf. In fact, your employer might contribute funds to an HSA even if you don’t contribute any money yourself. So if your health plan is compatible with an HSA and your employer offers that benefit, you’d basically be a fool not to open one. Read More |
| Are You Missing Out on These 4 Surprising HSA Benefits? HSAs are one of the most underrated tools for financial planning. They provide powerful tax benefits that can save families thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, there are limitations on HSA contributions and participation. Nevertheless, if you qualify, the perks are worth it — and they don’t stop with tax savings. These four features make HSAs even more useful than you might realize, if you qualify. Read More |
| What Can My HSA Be Used For? HSAs are flexible tools that can help you stretch your dollars a bit further. You can use pretax money that you’ve contributed to the account to cover qualified medical expenses, including co-payments, coinsurance, prescriptions—the list goes on. Here are some of the other not-so-obvious medical, dental, and vision expenses you can cover with your HSA. Read More |
| Time Is Short to Review This Year’s HSA Payroll Deduction It’s not too late to fund your Health Savings Account for 2023. In fact, you can contribute up to Monday, April 15, 2024. But if you want to maximize your tax savings, you need to review your contributions to date and act quickly. Your deadline is rapidly approaching to adjust your payroll deductions. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| Instacart, Door Dash Now Allowing Users to Buy Health Items Using HSAs, FSAs Both DoorDash and Instacart announced last week that they would accept payments from health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts to cover the cost of health and wellness items. In particular, this rollout will make it easier for people to take full advantage of their FSAs, as funds expire at the end of each year. Read More |
| Amazon Offering Prime Members Low-Cost Primary Health Care Access Amazon announced it would offer low-cost health benefits for Prime members through its partnership with One Medical. The plan is available for Prime members for $9 per month or $99 annually on top of their existing Prime membership. Included in the annual fee are in-person visits at One Medical clinics across the U.S., but they require additional payments that are paid out-of-pocket or through insurance plans. Read More |
| When That Supposedly Free Annual Physical Generates a Bill Christine Rogers was surprised when she received a bill for her annual wellness check-up which is typically covered without patient cost sharing as preventive care under the Affordable Care Act. But there is a catch: Not all care that may be provided during a wellness visit counts as no-cost preventive care under federal guidelines. Read More |