Can You Contribute to an HSA After 65?

Posted On November 12, 2017 By Scott Stratton, CFP(R), CFA In Retirement Planning /  

If you are working past age 65 and covered by an employer-sponsored health plan that is HSA compatible (a high deductible health plan or HDHP), you could in theory continue to fund a Health Savings Account with employee or employer contributions. However, an HSA contribution is only allowable if you do not have any other type of insurance. Once you enroll in Medicare Part A (or any other Part), you cannot continue to make new HSA contributions. Many health plans require coordination with Medicare at age 65, so be sure to check with your insurer. Once you have enrolled in Medicare, no further HSA contributions are possible.

If you don’t sign up for Medicare at age 65, be sure to maintain records that you were covered by an employer sponsored health plan. Otherwise you will pay permanently higher premiums for Part B when you do eventually enroll.

[For a primer on HSAs, start here: Health Savings Accounts, 220,000 Reasons Why You Need One.]

The Benefits of an HSA

Fortunately, if you have an existing HSA, there are lots of uses for your account after 65. Just like before you started Medicare, you can use funds in an HSA to pay your out-of-pocket expenses such as doctor or hospital co-pays and prescription drug costs. You can also use your HSA to pay for dental, vision, or other medical expenses not covered by Medicare.

Additionally, Medicare participants can use an HSA to pay for their premiums for Part B, Part D, or for a private Medicare Advantage plan. Are your Medicare premiums are automatically deducted from your Social Security check? If so, you can reimburse yourself from your HSA. Be sure to keep detailed records as proof. Retirees may also use their HSA to pay a portion of their premiums towards a Long-Term Care policy.

You can use an HSA to reimburse yourself for medical bills for past years, again providing you can document and prove these were qualified expenses. When you pass away, if you have listed your spouse as beneficiary, your spouse can inherit your HSA and treat it as their own. Then they can also access the money tax-free for qualified medical expenses. However, if your HSA beneficiary is not a spouse (or one is not named), then the account will be distributed and that distribution will be taxable.

For Medicare participants interested in an HSA-like option, there is the Medicare MSA. This is a Medicare Advantage Plan which provides a cash account for expenses, with a high deductible. Details from Medicare here. 

Have retirement planning questions? We are here to help! Contact Scott for a free consultation.

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Health Savings Accounts: 220,000 Reasons Why You Need One

Posted On August 11, 2014 By Admin In Retirement Planning /   2 Comments

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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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