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re: Talk me out of choosing a high deductible plan + HSA
Posted on 10/11/17 at 8:01 am to dkreller
Posted on 10/11/17 at 8:01 am to dkreller
quote:
I understand there's a yearly maximum that can be contributed to a HSA but is there a cap on how much can accumulate in the account?
No maximum on how much can accumulate. I started mine about 5 years ago and currently have about $15k in it. I love it, wish I would have started earlier. And after 65 you can use the money for anything you want, you just pay taxes on it.
Posted on 10/11/17 at 4:12 pm to LSUEEAlum
quote:
And after 65 you can use the money for anything you want, you just pay taxes on it.
You can actually start taking the money out of an HSA at any time you want, as long as you have had medical bills since the inception of the plan. And this counts for everything - contacts, glasses, ibuprofen - whatever.
Here is what you need to do (and what I do):
I maximize my HSA every year (this should be the first account you maximize after you've maxed employer match) due to 3 way tax savings - tax free in, tax free growth, and tax free out.
Whenever I have medical expenses - I pay out of pocket. Although I can reimburse myself through my HSA to cover these, I pay after-tax dollars to cover that. I scan in the bill and throw it on google drive.
From here on out - I can withdraw any amount of money up until the total accumulated cost of all my medical expenses since the inception of the plan, at any time, tax free. I have all my bills to support all the withdrawals. If I am ever in dire need of cash and my nest egg can't cover it, this is where I would go to instead of having to touch my Roth and pay penalties on that.
Young people may not have too many medical expenses right now but as you grow older, these tend to become larger.
Finally - make sure you have at least 1x your deductible in your HSA at any time. God forbid, if something were to happen - you can rest easy as you are covered.
Once you have $1,500 in your HSA you can start investing those funds just like any other brokerage account. HSA Bank offers TD Ameritrade services which offers Vanguard Index funds. This is why I would recommend them.
In Summary - If you are a person that does not visit the doctor a lot - there is no other retirement vehicle as good as an HSA. If, however, you do visit the doctor often, you are better off using a low deductible plan.
ETA: $3,550 a year may not seem a lot but 35 payments of $3,550 at 6% growth ends up being $455K. For reference, the average retirement savings in the US is $201K.
This post was edited on 10/11/17 at 4:27 pm
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