How to contribute to HSA with ACA in retirement?

[flyingaway]

This may sound like an easy question, but I just want to make sure I do the correct thing.

I am retired and with a high deductible plan (ACA or Cobra), so I could contribute to an HSA. But how do I actually do that in Fidelity Investments? Do I just transfer a few thousand dollars from my checking account to the HSA account (my wife has one and is supposed to be a family plan)? Can I use the money right away after the money is transferred into the HSA account? (by transferring some out?)

 

[cathy63]

Yes, that's exactly what you do. You and your wife can put $8300 in her account. If she is over 55, she can put deposit another $1000 into her own account. If you are over 55, then you need your own account to make your own $1000 catch-up contribution.

You can use the funds in the account to reimburse yourself for any qualified medical expenses you or your wife or your dependents incurred after the day you opened the account.

 

[audreyh1]

Make sure your plan is HSA compliant. High deductible is not sufficient. Your plan description or provider should be able to tell you.

 

[thefist]

I have a Fidelity HSA also. My ACA plan specifically says HSA eligible, so you need to check that on yours. As said above, just transfer money in. Fidelity will enforce/inform to the annual limits.

 

[flyingaway]

Yes, that's exactly what you do. You and your wife can put $8300 in her account. If she is over 55, she can put deposit another $1000 into her own account. If you are over 55, then you need your own account to make your own $1000 catch-up contribution.

You can use the funds in the account to reimburse yourself for any qualified medical expenses you or your wife or your dependents incurred after the day you opened the account.

Did you mean we need to have three HSA accounts? One is family account. Two are individual accounts?

 

[cathy63]

Did you mean we need to have three HSA accounts? One is family account. Two are individual accounts?

No. All HSAs are individual accounts.

Every year you get a family contribution which can be split between the two spouses' accounts any way you like.

If a spouse wants to make a catch-up contribution then it must go into their own HSA.

 

[flyingaway]

No. All HSAs are individual accounts.

Every year you get a family contribution which can be split between the two spouses' accounts any way you like.

If a spouse wants to make a catch-up contribution then it must go into their own HSA.

If we only have one HSA account with my wife and my insurance is also with my wife, can I use her HSA account for health related cost reimbursement? I want to avoid opening another HSA account.

 

[Surewhitey]

Related to this, if you open a Fidelity HSA to transfer a different account into it, probably would need to be the same name too. Right?

 

[audreyh1]

HSA accounts are individual. So if you are rolling over/transferring yes same individual name and SS#.

The drawbacks to having only one HSA account for one of the couple is that the other can’t do the catchup contributions for 55+.

Also if the account is owned by the younger spouse they aren’t allowed to pay Medicare premiums for the older spouse out of it until they themselves are 65.

So, plan on an account for each of you. That’s the way HSAs were designed otherwise you miss out on some of the benefits.

 

[old medic]

You can use your HSA to pay for spouse's medical related cost. The money goes in pre tax, any interest is not taxed, and no tax on it when spent on anything medical.
We have some whopper medical balances.... 0% interest over 60 months with auto pay from the HSA account, thats making some money. Plus have a pile of receipts to reimburse us back at some point in the future.

 

[cathy63]

If we only have one HSA account with my wife and my insurance is also with my wife, can I use her HSA account for health related cost reimbursement? I want to avoid opening another HSA account.

Yes, your wife can pay her spouse's or dependents' medical expenses from her HSA account.

If you are over 55 it's really better to open a second account though. It's free at Fidelity, and you can set it up so that you can manage both accounts from the same login, so it's really easy to manage and keep track of it.

 

[jimbee]

HSA accounts are individual. So if you are rolling over/transferring yes same individual name and SS#.

The drawbacks to having only one HSA account for one of the couple is that the other can’t do the catchup contributions for 55+.

Also if the account is owned by the younger spouse they aren’t allowed to pay Medicare premiums for the older spouse out of it until they themselves are 65.

So, plan on an account for each of you. That’s the way HSAs were designed otherwise you miss out on some of the benefits.

Thank you for this, I was not aware.

 

[TickTock]

This may sound like an easy question, but I just want to make sure I do the correct thing.

I am retired and with a high deductible plan (ACA or Cobra), so I could contribute to an HSA. But how do I actually do that in Fidelity Investments? Do I just transfer a few thousand dollars from my checking account to the HSA account (my wife has one and is supposed to be a family plan)? Can I use the money right away after the money is transferred into the HSA account? (by transferring some out?)

audreyh1 is right, "Make sure your plan is HSA compliant."

If it is, Fido makes adding an HSA and adding $ to it easy. DW and I just switched an HSA from Optum (DW) to Fido and added another HSA (me). Once you have an HSA, link a bank account (there are other ways as well, this is what we did) and then transfer $ to the HSA. There is a verification step for the bank account which is a bit tricky. I had to call Fido, and had it resolved in under 10 minutes!

We then transferred funds into a MM account, SPRXX, for an instant just-over-5% return.

 

[Northforker]

If I die with a balance in my HSA account, can my wife use the funds remaining for her medical expenses?

 

[MichaelB]

If I die with a balance in my HSA account, can my wife use the funds remaining for her medical expenses?

Yes indeed. If you name her beneficiary the HSA will transfer to her and reregister in her name.

 

[Northforker]

Yes indeed. If you name her beneficiary the HSA will transfer to her and reregister in her name.

Thanks