HSA Question

[targatom2019]

age 50 ready to quit working, employer covers health insurance until the end of July 2019 So I will have to buy health insurance before the beginning of August 2019. I am looking into HSA and wondering if I am able to contribute to HSA with out having a job but do have building rental income of about 50K a year ?


Thanks

Tom

 

[erkevin]

Unlike an IRA, there is no income requirement to contribute to an HSA. Are you considering a HDHP through your former employer (COBRA)?

 

[RunningBum]

What Kevin said. If you have an eligible HDHP policy, you should be contributing to an HSA unless you have a severe cash flow problem...in which case you probably wouldn't be advised to retire at 50.

 

[targatom2019]

We are looking to buy insurance directly with Kaiser with high deductible since my wife and me are both very healthy and we are not struggling with cash flow.

Love this forum with so many good people wiling to help.

 

[ziggy29]

We are looking to buy insurance directly with Kaiser with high deductible since my wife and me are both very healthy and we are not struggling with cash flow.

Good for you. When DW and I were negotiating and thinking about a compensation package for her new call, because we are able to "buy up" to any plan offered, we were thinking we'd rather be offered the bronze plan instead of the Gold plan and have the extra cash (about $3000 a year) just given to salary. So then when we received the bronze plan as part of the compensation package, we bought up to the silver plan (about another $125/month) and put another $200 a month into the HSA that comes with the Silver plan. Almost every year, at least while we remain healthy, we'll come out ahead with the Silver+HSA compared to the Gold. And if expensive medical problems are in the future, we have the option to buy up to the Gold plan at each open enrollment.

 

[MichaelB]

We are looking to buy insurance directly with Kaiser with high deductible since my wife and me are both very healthy and we are not struggling with cash flow.

Love this forum with so many good people wiling to help.

Just make certain the policy is HSA-eligible. High deductible alone is not qualifying, there are other conditions. In some states HSA eligible policies HSA in the name.

 

[targatom2019]

Thanks Ziggy, first thing we are going to do after July 4th is to start running again where we left off before my hectic job.

I got my investment accounts with Fidelity so I guess Fidelity is a good start to open HSA account.

 

[targatom2019]

so I have to buy health insurance first before I could open HSA account. Is this correct ??

 

[REWahoo]

so I have to buy health insurance first before I could open HSA account. Is this correct ??

Yes, and you must have insurance that is specifically HSA eligible. Not all insurance qualifies, so do your homework.

 

[cathy63]

We are looking to buy insurance directly with Kaiser with high deductible since my wife and me are both very healthy and we are not struggling with cash flow.

Instead of buying directly with Kaiser, check the pricing for going through your state's ACA exchange. We have a Kaiser Bronze HDHP purchased through Covered CA. The price and plan are exactly the same as buying it directly from Kaiser, but the advantage of buying through the exchange is that if we can manage our income to stay below 400% of the federal poverty line, then we will be eligible for the premium tax credit when we file our taxes next year.

If we can't manage our income to stay under the line, then there's no penalty for having purchased through the exchange instead of directly. It's the exact same coverage.

You do have to check the pricing though, because in our state, the Silver plans did have different pricing.

 

[targatom2019]

Yes, and you must have insurance that is specifically HSA eligible. Not all insurance qualifies, so do your homework.

thank you, I just looked up Kaiser and they do have HSA qualified plans.

 

[TheRunningMan]

Yes, no fees at Fidelity...a rarity.