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 April 2020 edition:
- Health Savings Accounts Continue Strong Growth: HSA Assets Reach a Record $65.9 Billion
- You Now Have Until July 15 to Save in Your IRA and Health Savings Accounts
- Tapping the Power of a Health Savings Account
- IRS OKs HDHP Coverage of Coronavirus Testing
- The New Essential
Health Savings Accounts Continue Strong Growth: HSA Assets Reach a Record $65.9 Billion
Devenir, a national leader in providing investment solutions for health savings accounts (HSAs), released the results of its 19th semi-annual health savings account survey and resulting research report. Devenir found that the number of HSAs has grown to now exceed 28 million, holding an estimated $65.9 billion in assets at the end of 2019.
You Now Have Until July 15 to Save in Your IRA and Health Savings Accounts
The Treasury Department and the IRS are giving you more time to sock away money in tax-favored accounts – and have it count for 2019. The IRS announced that savers now have until July 15 to make 2019 contributions into their individual retirement accounts and their health savings accounts, which are typically paired with a high-deductible health plan.
Tapping the Power of a Health Savings Account
High-deductible health plans have a well-deserved reputation as a way for employers to pass along some of the burden of spiraling health costs to you. They typically come with lower premiums than traditional insurance plans but require you to pay for more of your medical costs before your insurance kicks in. But high-deductible plans also give you access to a health savings account. And an HSA has secret powers that most people haven’t begun to tap. An HSA isn’t just a short-term, tax-friendly way to pay for current and future medical bills; it’s also a vehicle for supercharging your retirement savings.
IRS OKs HDHP Coverage of Coronavirus Testing
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has advised that high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) can pay for 2019 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, testing and treatment without jeopardizing their status as HDHPs. According to the IRS, this also means that an individual with an HDHP that covers these costs may continue to contribute to a health savings account (HSA).
The New Essential
The costs of health care and long-term care are rising as people live longer, and many are ill-prepared to cover the exorbitant bills they might encounter. Today, people just heading into retirement can potentially pay hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket for health care. Among people near retirement, worries over these costs are second only to the fear of running out of money, according to a 2019 report from Empower Retirement.