Each month Devenir highlights a selection of articles to keep you abreast of the latest trends and developments in the HSA marketplace.
A summary of the articles included in the May 2018 edition:
- Employers Offer Incentives To Get More Acceptance
- IRS Announces Second Switcheroo For 2018 Health Savings Account Contribution Limits
- Investors Business Daily: Best HSA Accounts
- A Couple Retiring in 2018 Would Need an Estimated $280,000 to Cover Health Care Costs in Retirement, Fidelity® Analysis Shows
- HSA Administrator SelectAccount Takes Customers ‘Further’ with New Name, Brand Identity, Launching in April 2018 Nationwide
- How To Help Employees Avoid Wasted HSA Dollars
Employers Offer Incentives To Get More Acceptance
Trying to spur greater use of health savings accounts, employers are offering direct payments or other financial incentives to participants so they will open HSAs or increase account balances. A common approach is for employers to contribute a fixed payment or a percentage of participants’ annual deductibles for high-deductible health plans, the only type of plan for which HSAs can be used. The Internal Revenue Service defines a high-deductible plan as one with a deductible of at least $1,350 for an individual or $2,700 for a family.
Less common strategies borrow from consumer behavior research by providing a corporate match to participants’ contributions or by adding money to accounts when participants complete certain financial wellness/medical tasks.
IRS Announces Second Switcheroo For 2018 Health Savings Account Contribution Limits
If you were one of the few people who stuffed or was trying to stuff your 2018 health savings account to the max before the tax overhaul ratcheted back the contribution limit, you can breathe easy. The Internal Revenue Service announced today in a revenue ruling that it will let taxpayers stick with the original $6,900 contribution limit for family coverage and not face excess contribution penalties.
Investor’s Business Daily: Best HSA Accounts
Investor’s Business Daily has released their annual special section on health savings accounts (HSAs), with articles covering a variety of subjects ranging from HSA basics to HSA provider comparisons.
A Couple Retiring in 2018 Would Need an Estimated $280,000 to Cover Health Care Costs in Retirement, Fidelity® Analysis Shows
A 65-year old couple retiring this year will need $280,000 to cover health care and medical expenses throughout retirement, according to Fidelity Investments’ 16th annual retiree health care cost estimate. This represents a two percent increase from 2017 and a 75 percent increase from Fidelity’s first estimate in 2002 of $160,000.
HSA Administrator SelectAccount Takes Customers ‘Further’ with New Name, Brand Identity, Launching in April 2018 Nationwide
SelectAccount, a leader in health care spending account administration with more than $1.2 billion in assets under management, plans to take its 20,000 clients “Further” with a new name and brand identity. Going forward from April 2018, SelectAccount will be known as Further.
How To Help Employees Avoid Wasted HSA Dollars
A recent report by Benefitfocus found that 65% of employers now offer HDHPs in addition to traditional health insurance plans. Tied to that increase is the growth in the adoption of health savings accounts by employees. HSA participation grew 60% since 2017, with 81% of eligible employees using these tax-favored accounts to pay for eligible medical expenses.
But even though more employees have HSAs, there’s a problem: Workers may not be using their pre-tax or tax-deductible dollars as wisely as they could be.