What do you think of when you hear the words “health savings account or HSA” as part of an employee benefits package? If you’re like most people, you mistakenly lump it in with the flexible spending accounts (or FSAs) offered by employers. But while FSAs have annual “use it or lose it” strictures and don’t carry over to the next year, HSAs offer tax benefits and long-term, flexible utility that can pack a powerful one-two punch. This combination can help pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses, and grow an individual’s retirement nest egg.
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Topics:
health insurance,
health care,
health savings account,
HSA
Generally, a person’s interest in a Health Savings Account (HSA) is nonforfeitable. However, in the past, the Internal Revenue Service’s Notice 2008-59 described limited circumstances under which an employer may recoup contributions made to an employee’s HSA.
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Topics:
IRS,
HSA
Trying to decide which of the many employer-sponsored benefits out there to offer employees can leave an employer feeling lost in a confusing bowl of alphabet soup—HSA? FSA? DCAP? HRA? What does it mean if a benefit is “limited” or “post-deductible”? Which one is use-it-or-lose-it? Which one has a rollover? What are the limits on each benefit?—and so on.
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Topics:
FSA,
HRA,
HSA,
employee benefit plans,
Flexible Benefits
Q.For a high deductible health plan (HDHP) to qualify for health savings account (HSA) eligibility, what is the minimum amount that an embedded individual deductible can be?
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Topics:
HDHPs,
health savings account,
HSA,
High Deductible Health Plans
According to recent estimates by Fidelity Investments, a couple will incur an estimated $280,000 worth of medical expenses after turning 65 years of age. They estimate this cost every year and when they publish it, I can’t help but have an anxiety spike as I ponder the reality of that number. Even if they are off and have over-estimated by 50%, the remaining number is still very hard for me to swallow. And, as anxiety has habit of doing, it sends me into panic mode and I scramble to reevaluate my retirement planning in an attempt to ward off the eventual doom and gloom that has settled on the far horizon of my life.
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Topics:
retirement savings,
health savings account,
HSA
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Revenue Procedure 2018-27 to modify the 2018 health savings account (HSA) family contribution limit back to $6,900. This is the second, and likely final, change in limit during 2018.
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Topics:
family planning,
HSA,
family insurance benefits,
HSA funding,
health care benefits,
HSAs
With health care costs and insurance premiums continuing to rise, employers are looking for ways to reduce their insurance expenses. That usually means increasing medical plan deductibles. According to the latest UBA Health Plan Survey, the average in-network single medical plan deductible increased from $2,031 in 2015 to $2,127 in 2016. But shifting costs to employees can be detrimental to an employer’s efforts to attract and retain top talent. Employers are looking for solutions that reduce their costs while minimizing the impact on employees.
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Topics:
health reimbursement arrangements,
health savings accounts,
HRA,
HSA,
UBA Health Plan Survey,
health care benchmarking
We’ve just released the latest findings from the UBA Health Plan Survey related to how health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) are being used among employers. (Spoiler alert: California employers lead the way with the most generous account-based plans.)
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Topics:
health savings account,
health reimbursement arrangements,
HRA,
HSA,
UBA Health Plan Survey
Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) and health care flexible spending accounts (HFSAs) are generally referred to as account-based plans. That is because each participant has their own account, at least for bookkeeping purposes. Under the tax rules, amounts may be contributed to these accounts (with certain restrictions) and used for health care on a tax-favored basis.
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Topics:
health plan benchmarking,
PPACA Affordable Care Act,
health savings account,
health reimbursement arrangements,
HRA,
HSA,
UBA 2014 Health Plan Survey,
health care flexible spending account,
health plan cost trends,
HFSA
We recently took a look nationwide at the