Health Savings Account
OhioGuy
plan. I seem to recall that this was one of the requirements to setting up
a health savings account.
Her employer also offers something called a "cafeteria plan", which is
really a health spending account. It lets you guess your health spending
for the year, put that amount in, and then that amount of your income is tax
free for the year. The downside is that anything we wouldn't use goes back
to her employer at the end of the year, and it doesn't encourage you to save
long term.
I'd much rather have something that builds up and grows over time - maybe
even something that lets you invest part of it (as it gets bigger) into
ETF's, so that the index fund can grow and beat inflation over time.
Can anyone give me some hints on places that might offer something like
this?
AllEmailDeletedImmediately
"OhioGuy" <no...@none.net> wrote in message news:ft839m$3e5$2...@aioe.org...
try here for what all's involved:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p969/index.html>
Al Bundy
And how would that help if your wife's employer doesn't offer such a
plan? You have checked and they don't.
"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."
Logan Shaw
> Her employer also offers something called a "cafeteria plan", which is
> really a health spending account. It lets you guess your health spending
> for the year, put that amount in, and then that amount of your income is tax
> free for the year. The downside is that anything we wouldn't use goes back
> to her employer at the end of the year, and it doesn't encourage you to save
> long term.
>
> I'd much rather have something that builds up and grows over time - maybe
> even something that lets you invest part of it (as it gets bigger) into
> ETF's, so that the index fund can grow and beat inflation over time.
Well, now you're talking about long-term savings vs. short-term savings.
The medical savings account plans are targeted at only short-term goals,
specifically meeting (part of) this year's medical expenses. The general
view is that you want a low-risk, high-liquidity investment when saving
for a short-term goal, so if that's true, I don't think it would make
sense to expect a high rate of return.
- Logan
Paul_E_Wog
options:
https://www.americanchartered.com/personalHealthSavings.aspx
Their fee structure is much lower than others I looked at, and in the
year or so I've been with them I've had no problems.
You can look at and compare HSA plans at:
The links on these two pages should also help you determine if you are
eligible for a personal HSA account.
goa...@fractious.net
> My wife's employer recently switched to a high deductible health insurance
> plan. I seem to recall that this was one of the requirements to setting up
> a health savings account.
>
> Her employer also offers something called a "cafeteria plan", which is
That's probably the name for the whole collection of benefit
options.
> really a health spending account. It lets you guess your health spending
> for the year, put that amount in, and then that amount of your income is tax
> free for the year. The downside is that anything we wouldn't use goes back
> to her employer at the end of the year, and it doesn't encourage you to save
> long term.
What you're describing here is a FSA - a Flexible Spending Account -
NOT an HSA. The IRS determines the rules applying to these two
things and the FSAs have been around for a long time. They are
"use it or lose it" accounts, and you'll see lots of folks going
and buying eyeglasses in December to use up the unused balances
in FSAs.
You need to get better details from her employer. If the
health insurance is an HSA-qualified (and there are specific
details) high-deductible insurance plan, the employer is
likely to offer the HSA itself as well. But the HSA is
NOT the same as the FSA. (The FSA is usually offered to
anyone and does not require that high-deductible insurance
plan).
> Can anyone give me some hints on places that might offer something like
> this?
Review the plans. It may be the case that the insurance plan
she's being offered is NOT an HSA-qualified one.
--
Jim Prescott
> My wife's employer recently switched to a high deductible health insurance
>plan. I seem to recall that this was one of the requirements to setting up
>a health savings account.
Not all High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) are setup to permit an HSA but
most are. A good source of HSA info is at:
http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/
> Her employer also offers something called a "cafeteria plan", which is
>really a health spending account.
Frequently called an Flexible Spending Account or FSA. Note that using
a normal FSA makes you ineligible for an HSA; there are custom built
FSAs that avoid this problem.
As far as I can tell, HSAs are superior to FSAs in all ways; if you can
do an HSA there is no reason to do an FSA too. (One exception is if
you are maxing out your HSA, either due to large medical expenses or
because you view it primarily as a retirement account, funding a
limited purpose FSA too lets you deduct more money).
> I'd much rather have something that builds up and grows over time - maybe
>even something that lets you invest part of it (as it gets bigger) into
>ETF's, so that the index fund can grow and beat inflation over time.
That is precisely what HSAs are good for. No use it or lose it aspect
and when you get old the money is usable without penalty for retirement.
> Can anyone give me some hints on places that might offer something like
Check with your credit union or bank. These sites link to a variety of
HSA providers. Note that fees and services vary a lot and from what I've
seen the fees are higher than what is found in other financial products.
http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehi/hsa-health-savings-accounts.ds
http://www.hsainsider.com/Open/AdminFI.aspx
Many websites are mainly interested in selling the HDHP/HSA package so
you sometimes have to look hard to find the "just the HSA" part.
If your wife's employer offers an HSA then it will be the most
convenient choice. But your HSA doesn't have to be linked to your
employer in any way. As long as you are covered by an appropriate HDHP
you can setup an HSA anywhere.
--
Jim Prescott - Computing and Networking Group j...@seas.rochester.edu
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, NY
Seerialmom
> In article <ft839m$3e...@aioe.org>, "OhioGuy" <n...@none.net> wrote:
> > My wife's employer recently switched to a high deductible health insurance
> > plan. I seem to recall that this was one of the requirements to setting up
> > a health savings account.
>
> medical problems and we still have the option of a health savings
> account.
>
> > Her employer also offers something called a "cafeteria plan", which is
> > really a health spending account. It lets you guess your health spending
> > for the year, put that amount in, and then that amount of your income is tax
> > free for the year. The downside is that anything we wouldn't use goes back
> > to her employer at the end of the year, and it doesn't encourage you to save
> > long term.
>
> my unused balance and I start buying up eligible products so I am left
> with a zero balance at the end of the year. Works fine.
>
> > I'd much rather have something that builds up and grows over time - maybe
> > even something that lets you invest part of it (as it gets bigger) into
> > ETF's, so that the index fund can grow and beat inflation over time.
>
> > Can anyone give me some hints on places that might offer something like
> > this?
>
I'm with you on that, Shawn. Last year I put $1000 in the HSA and it
was gone by September.
RodSpeed,_cashflow_and_patience_is_the_game_now
> I'd much rather have something that builds up and grows over time - maybe
> even something that lets you invest part of it (as it gets bigger) into
> ETF's, so that the index fund can grow and beat inflation over time.
>
> Can anyone give me some hints on places that might offer something like
> this?
I'd be interested to see how much flexibility develops with HSAs. I
think health insurance will be the next big thing to squeeze the
consumer's buying power in this country.