The Health Savings Account (HSA) is one of the best savings vehicles, yet remains underutilized by many investors. Used properly, you can get a tax deduction for your contributions, like a Traditional IRA, and be able to take your money out tax-free, like a Roth IRA. No other account has this remarkable benefit! And that’s why I’ve been telling clients about the HSA every chance I get, as well as contributing the maximum to my own HSA for the past 8 years.
Most people know that you can use your HSA to pay for co-pays, deductibles, prescriptions and other medical expenses not covered by your health insurance, including expenses for dental and vision care. But fewer people are aware of some of the longer-term benefits of an HSA which make it a very attractive tool to help fund your retirement.
In addition to IRS-qualified medical expenses, after age 65, you can take tax-free withdrawals from your HSA to pay for Medicare premiums for parts A, B, D, and a Medicare HMA. You can also use your HSA to pay for long-term care insurance premiums. If you’re still working after age 65, you can even use your HSA to pay (or reimburse) the employee costs of your employer health plan.
But why do you need an HSA? According to a 2014 study by Fidelity, the estimated cost of health care for a 65-year old couple is $220,000 in today’s dollars. This is the amount not covered by Medicare, and by the way, assumes zero nursing home expenses. Having tax-free dollars available in an HSA can fund these costs while helping retirees reduce their need for withdrawals from taxable sources such as their 401(k) or IRA to pay for medical expenses or insurance premiums.
If you are healthy today, you might not be thinking about an HSA, but it is still a valuable idea to accumulate pre-tax dollars in your HSA now to pay for your health insurance or LTC premiums in retirement. Many families were familiar with Flexible Spending Accounts, which were “use it or lose it”, so when HSAs became available, a lot of participants were still in the mode of contributing only their expected annual expenses. HSAs have no expiration date on contributions, yet I still hear some people say that they “don’t want to have too much money in their HSA”.
Prior to age 65, there is a 20% penalty for non-qualified withdrawals from an HSA. After age 65, the penalty is waived, but you will have to pay tax on any withdrawal for a non-qualified expense. It would obviously be preferable to take a tax-free withdrawal for a qualified expense, but if you were to need the funds for other purposes, then the account would be treated the same as a 401(k) or Traditional IRA. And that’s still a benefit, because you had an upfront tax-deduction followed by years of tax deferred growth. Unlike a Traditional IRA, however, there are no income restrictions on contributing to an HSA, so this is a tax deduction that many high income families miss. And there are no Required Minimum Distributions on an HSA.
The only negative is that the contribution limits are relatively low. For 2014, the maximum contribution is $3,300 for a single plan or $6,550 for a family plan. Account holders who are over age 55 but not enrolled in Medicare can contribute an additional $1,000 catch-up. Once you’re enrolled in Medicare (Part A or B), you are ineligible to fund an HSA. Not all high deductible health plans are HSA eligible, so please do not open an HSA until you have confirmed you can participate.
A high deductible plan is generally a good deal if you have few medical and prescription expenses and primarily want coverage in case of a major illness. On the other hand, if you have a lot of on going medical bills for your family, a high deductible plan may be more expensive if you will hit the annual out of pocket maximum each year.
Given the significant size of medical expenses in retirement, the high inflation rate of medical care, and the troubling state of future Medicare funding, starting an HSA early makes sense. Looking at the remarkable long-term tax benefits of an HSA, I suggest clients consider an HSA on equal ground with funding a Roth or Traditional IRA.
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