|
|
09-27-2006, 10:07 AM
|
#41
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Re: HSA Summary
I would not include your HSA investments as a "cost."
I look at my premiums as a cost, and think of my HSA fund as an IRA.
My HSA money is in Vanguard with a .5% additional annual fee (plus there's an annual $35 fee).
__________________
Al
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
09-27-2006, 10:44 AM
|
#42
|
Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 43
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
I would not include your HSA investments as a "cost."*
I look at my premiums as a cost, and think of my HSA fund as an IRA.
My HSA money is in Vanguard with a .5% additional annual fee (plus there's an annual $35 fee).
|
I understand what your saying.* The reason I include them as
a "cost" is because I will have to have the money to fund them
even though they will behave like an IRA.*
At the point of needing them I am planning on not working so
I would have to fund them using investment returns.* Therefore
I associate them with the "costs" cateogory
Am I making sense? Is there a better way to look at this?
|
|
|
09-28-2006, 10:50 AM
|
#43
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Re: HSA Summary
I would look at it as reinvesting dividends, or moving money from one account to another. If you're funding it with taxable accounts, it's true that your money will be less accessible, but it's still your money.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
10-01-2006, 07:56 AM
|
#44
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 2,179
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by scrubradio
I understand what your saying. The reason I include them as
a "cost" is because I will have to have the money to fund them
even though they will behave like an IRA.
At the point of needing them I am planning on not working so
I would have to fund them using investment returns. Therefore
I associate them with the "costs" cateogory
Am I making sense? Is there a better way to look at this?
|
I agree with what you said above, scrubradio. Also, for those of you who are doing HSA comparison analysis, don't forget: if you have a 'traditional' health plan, you (currently) have small co-pays. You WILL undoubtedly have SOME expenses (annual physicals, blood work, etc.) that you WILL be paying more on compared to if you had your traditional insurance plan. Therefore, to be more accurate, I would suggest estimating the average annual healthcare expenses you will pay w/ an HSA that is above what you would pay with a traditional plan, and count that as an expense against your HSA assets, along with an assumption that at least one (probably two) of the years could see you incur 'substantial' expenses that would require you covering close to all of your deductible.
The rest of the HSA assets, however, I would include as a financial investment asset as TromboneAl suggests.
case in point: I am 29, very healthy. However, in July, I got into an argument w/ my father. I screamed at the top of my lungs for a total of 5 seconds for just the second time in my life. Later that night, when I went to work out, I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my upper left rear portion of my brain. It continued during my workout (and occurred to a lesser frequency later that night) so I ended it early. I went to my internist the next day. She didn't think it was a brain anurysm, but strongly suggested an MRI to be sure. I agreed (given that I don't want to mess around with anything related to my brain). The MRI bill was $2,970, plus $390 for the radiologist to read my print out. Thanks to my HDHP, they knocked the bill down to just $1,100 for the MRI and $150 for the radiologist. My point: I am an extremely healthy 29 year old, and random small things like the above can happen (which I never would have expected). I can only imagine what could happen when I (hopefully still as healthy) reach the 55-65 bracket. While you're healthy, you might think "Oh, I won't run to the doctor for anything unless it's serious"....but when you have questions about something that you feel/experience, you're more apt to run the tests than to just brush it off.
__________________
Dryer sheets Schmyer sheets
|
|
|
10-01-2006, 12:09 PM
|
#45
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Re: HSA Summary
Anything on the MRI? Pain gone?
__________________
Al
|
|
|
10-01-2006, 08:39 PM
|
#46
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 2,179
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
Anything on the MRI? Pain gone?
|
Thankfully, nothing showed up on the MRI (unforutnately, even though I shelled out $1,400 for it, I didn't get a copy of my brain to frame and look at). My doctor thinks it was probably just a nerve. The pain came and went over the first few days, albeit with an exponential decrease. After a few days, it pretty much went away. So, it was an interesting lesson on stress and stresses to your system and how it can effect your body in amazing ways.
__________________
Dryer sheets Schmyer sheets
|
|
|
10-02-2006, 06:12 AM
|
#47
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 926
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter76
Thankfully, nothing showed up on the MRI (unforutnately, even though I shelled out $1,400 for it, I didn't get a copy of my brain to frame and look at). My doctor thinks it was probably just a nerve. The pain came and went over the first few days, albeit with an exponential decrease. After a few days, it pretty much went away. So, it was an interesting lesson on stress and stresses to your system and how it can effect your body in amazing ways.
|
I too have had some MRIs on my head. They never found anything.
JG
__________________
Some of us have pretty stories, about good friends, good times and noodle salad.
|
|
|
10-02-2006, 08:48 AM
|
#48
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,463
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter76
Thankfully, nothing showed up on the MRI (unforutnately, even though I shelled out $1,400 for it, I didn't get a copy of my brain to frame and look at).
|
If you really want it you are entitled to copies of your MRI's. I picked mine up the other day. Popped the CD in my computer and there it was - my brain. Interesting, but not very decorative.
|
|
|
10-04-2006, 09:26 AM
|
#49
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
My HSA money is in Vanguard with a .5% additional annual fee (plus there's an annual $35 fee).
|
Al, I'm getting close to setting up an HSA account and noticed the annual fee at Health Savings Administrators is now $39. Have there been any other fee increases this year? Are you still happy with them?
__________________
Numbers is hard
|
|
|
10-04-2006, 09:44 AM
|
#50
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,670
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by scrubradio
...Total cost for the 10 year period: $60,500 ($26,000 HSA, $34,500 HDHI)
Monthly cost for first 5 years: $475 ($216 HSA, $259 HDHI)
Monthly cost for 2nd 5 years: $532 ($216 HSA, $316 HDHI)
...Bottom line seems to be that $100k of investments recieving a return of 6%
would cover the medical side of early retirement and would only be necessary
until medicare/medicaid begin. At that point I would only have to worry about
the copays for them and I may still have investments left over in HSA if my health
doesn't go south.
Am I anywhere near close?
|
I would think you need more like $150K to $200K of investments to pay your $500/month premiums. ($500/mo x 12 = $6,000 x 25 = $150K)
You will need $65K in investments just to pay for max yearly deductibles of $2600.
__________________
No man is free who is not master of himself. --- Epictetus
Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think). --- Guy Lombardo
|
|
|
10-04-2006, 10:54 AM
|
#51
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Al, I'm getting close to setting up an HSA account and noticed the annual fee at Health Savings Administrators is now $39. Have there been any other fee increases this year? Are you still happy with them?
|
Yes, everything has gone fine. I've had very little contact with them. Checking my account just now I noticed that they are deducting the .5% annual expense fee from the account itself. I just called to see about this, got a person immediately (no phone menu or anything!) and asked whether I could send in that fee separately. Answer was "No," (but it was delivered with a smile).
It's easy to log on and see the activity in your account.
I didn't receive any notification about the new, higher fees.
Bottom line: Still recommended.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
10-04-2006, 11:32 AM
|
#52
|
Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 43
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by retire@40
I would think you need more like $150K to $200K of investments to pay your $500/month premiums. ($500/mo x 12 = $6,000 x 25 = $150K)
You will need $65K in investments just to pay for max yearly deductibles of $2600.
|
hmm...my math is a bit shaky. Thank you.
|
|
|
10-04-2006, 01:51 PM
|
#53
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
Bottom line: Still recommended.
|
Thanks. I'll probably go with them assuming my pending application for a HSA policy from BC/BS is approved.
__________________
Numbers is hard
|
|
|
10-05-2006, 04:17 PM
|
#54
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Re: HSA Summary
I don't want to sound like I'm pushing this company, but I just got a notice that their maintenance fee is going from .5% per year to .36% per year.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
10-30-2006, 01:50 PM
|
#55
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 673
|
Re: HSA Summary
Can you pay into the HSA in one lump sum at the beginning of the year or does it have to be paid monthly (in order to make sure you are maintaining your health insurance)?
__________________
I'm made of atoms, you're made of atoms, and we're all in this together. Ben Lee
|
|
|
10-30-2006, 01:54 PM
|
#56
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,049
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by shiny
Can you pay into the HSA in one lump sum at the beginning of the year
|
Yes but backing it out sounds like it would be painful.
|
|
|
10-30-2006, 01:56 PM
|
#57
|
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by eridanus
Yes but backing it out sounds like it would be painful.
|
Sounds like a medical procedure. :P
__________________
.
No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
|
|
|
10-30-2006, 01:57 PM
|
#58
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 673
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by eridanus
Yes but backing it out sounds like it would be painful.
|
By "backing it out" do you mean what you would have to do if you did change your insurance mid-year?
__________________
I'm made of atoms, you're made of atoms, and we're all in this together. Ben Lee
|
|
|
10-30-2006, 02:13 PM
|
#59
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,049
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by shiny
By "backing it out" do you mean what you would have to do if you did change your insurance mid-year?
|
Yep.
Actually, backing out excess contributions isn't too difficult. Page 6, "Excess Contributions,"
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf
|
|
|
10-30-2006, 02:19 PM
|
#60
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 926
|
Re: HSA Summary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martha
Sounds like a medical procedure. :P
|
Funny, that's not the image I conjured up. I have reached dirty old man status I guess.
JG
__________________
Some of us have pretty stories, about good friends, good times and noodle salad.
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|