Healthy Retirement Savings Start with HSAs

Health Savings Accounts have changed the way that employees and employers look at healthcare. Allowing employees with certain high-deductible health plans to set aside money tax free for healthcare costs, these accounts could have a bigger role in 2017 and beyond, as the incoming administration hopes to make changes that could expand access to and utility of these accounts.

However, using these accounts only for current healthcare expenses is actually quite shortsighted, as these accounts have the opportunity to help employees not only this year, but ten, twenty, or even forty years into the future.

CNBC: Building Healthy Retirement Savings

A recent CNBC article titled An Account That Can Keep Your Retirement Savings Healthy took a deeper look into the present and future of HSAs, noting their potential and featuring insights from WEX Health Senior Vice President Jeff Young, who discussed how these accounts can help employees improve their financial position in retirement:

“Unlike flexible spending accounts for health care, HSA balances can be carried over from year to year — and that money can be invested and grows tax-free, said Jeff Young, senior vice president for WEX Health, a software firm that administers HSAs for banks, insurers and other providers.

“It’s great for the short term and the long term,” he said.

Withdrawals aren’t taxed as long as you use them for qualified medical expenses. Even if you’re healthy, those can be a big bill in retirement: A 65-year-old couple who retired in 2016 could expect to spend $260,000 to cover health care costs, according to an August report from Fidelity.”

Learn More about Health Savings Accounts

Read the full article here, and learn even more about the value of health savings accounts from WEX Health and the Healthcare Trends Institute below:

• How to Talk about HSAs with Your Employees
• Three Advantages of HSAs Your Employees Need to Know
• How HSAs are the Secret to Improving Employee Financial Wellbeing
• How to Turn Your HSA into a Retirement Savings Vehicle