Blog
Don’t Sacrifice HSA Tax Benefits in Retirement
“And what happens if you suffer the misfortune of living longer than the average person after turning age 65 . . . ? Why not preserve those Health Savings Account balances for qualified expenses and make withdrawals for non-qualified expenses from the account only after you exhaust your traditional IRA balances? Think of it as […]
Mind the Gap When You Can’t Fund a Health Savings Account
“That’s right – she can use future contributions to reimburse prior eligible expenses that she incurred as far back as when she established her Health Savings Account.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance February 4, 2021 Not everyone who opens a Health Savings Account is continuously eligible to fund the account until […]
Don’t Let New FSA Flexibility Prevent Your HSA Funding
“But this new flexibility can’t erase every potential disqualifying event. If you had a 2020 plan-year Health FSA with a newly extended grace period through the end of 2021, you can’t disenroll from the grace period. The 2020 plan year is over.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance January 21, 2021 A […]
The Year in Review – and What a Busy Year It Has Been!
“But retaining the right to continuation of coverage and paying premiums are two different things. If that person ends up in the hospital in February, she’ll have to pay her premiums retroactively to last March to receive coverage.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance December 17, 2020 Mark Twain said it best: […]
The Pandemic’s Effect on Nondiscrimination Testing
“Pandemic layoffs have disproportionately affected lower-income wage earners. . . Those higher-income employees’ elections now constitute a much larger percentage of the total program, which could flip the plan from compliance to noncompliance.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance December 3, 2020 2020 is the year that has turned many people’s lives […]
Will the New President and Congress Find Common Ground on Healthcare?
“Section 1332 of the ACA gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services broad power to approve state requests to innovate in offering coverage to their populations if the innovations expand coverage and don’t increase costs. The Trump Administration has approved a number of these requests. The Biden Administration is more likely to restrict innovation […]
Accessorizing Your Health Savings Account Program
“A growing number of Health Savings Account owners are building balances to fund qualified expenses in retirement, including Medicare cost-sharing, Medicare premiums, and services (like dental and vision) not covered by Medicare. If they fund a Limited-Purpose Health FSA, they can enjoy the same tax benefits as a withdrawal from a Health Savings Account as […]
Health Savings Accounts Continue to Benefit Owners
“[D]on’t be fooled by the fact that nearly half of all accounts had a balance of less than $500. This is a typical criticism of Health Savings Accounts – that only the wealthy have enough additional income after they’ve paid their bills to fund their accounts. This observation ignores the obvious: This balance figure is […]
ICHRAs Aren’t a Panacea, But They May Help Manage Costs
“With an ICHRA, the company sheds its liability for those high claims. The claims don’t go away. They’re simply shifted from the employer to the nongroup claims pool. Imagine dumping a quart of bleach into a gallon of water and then watering your houseplants. They won’t survive. Dump that same quart of bleach in your […]
A Reform Proposal Built around Health Savings Accounts
“Many economists believe that the [employer] exclusion is a major driver of high premiums, since the federal government taxes a $1 increase in pay but not a $1 increase in medical coverage. That differential tax treatment encourages employees and union members to receive a portion of additional compensation in the form of more benefits (expanded […]
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