Experts share eligibility requirements, tax treatment rules and allowable expenses for health savings accounts.

Reported by AMANDA UMPIERREZ

Many experts have praised health savings accounts – commonly known as HSAs – for providing a triple tax break. Money is deposited pretax, can grow tax-free and is not taxed when it is spent, as long you as the expenses are eligible. During the pandemic, they have become an important way to save for unexpected healthcare costs.

Despite political partisanship that has marked much of the 116th Congress in 2019 and 2020, there have been some notable exceptions with bipartisan outcomes. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 proved that cooperation is a possibility. That legislation, enacted in December 2019, made significant enhancements to tax-advantaged savings arrangements.

Healthcare during retirement seems far away for many health savings account (HSA) or 401(k) accountholders. Retirement planning usually means daydreaming about where you’ll live — Florida or a cabin in the woods, anyone? But data shows that the healthcare expenses we’ll have in 10, 20, or even 40 years shouldn’t be pushed to the backburner.

Opening a Health Savings Account (HSA) can be a great investment in one’s personal healthcare and financial future. Owned by the participant (rather than the employer), an HSA is a versatile healthcare spending and savings account that can be used for many expenses. Since they can keep the account for life, HSA owners need to adopt strategies for building and using their account to its maximum potential. Should you save and earn interest, or invest your HSA balance and watch it grow? 

Our proprietary data reveals how individuals in the U.S. have changed their savings behaviors over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic as business and travel restrictions disrupted our economy. 

Our proprietary data reveals how individuals in the U.S. have changed their savings behaviors over the course
of the COVID-19 pandemic as business and travel restrictions disrupted our economy. Not surprisingly, we
saw notable shifts in savings plan contributions and withdrawals in the first few months of the outbreak, as
individuals experienced changes in employment and braced for the potential financial fallout.

Chard Snyder's Alli Buis and Cara Maxwell present on COBRA Administration to the SW CEBS Chapter on 6/2/20.

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating entirely new challenges for employers & employees, including unexpected financial burdens, work requirements, and changes in routine. Disaster relief payments under IRS Section 139 was originally created after 9/11/2001.