re: HSA for retirement

quote:

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Why would you voluntarily pay for medical expenses with after tax dollars when you have a vehicle to pay with pre-tax dollars (the HSA). By doing so you are literally paying more in taxes than you are obligated to

If you want to save more in your HSA or IRA, that is fine, but forgoing the HSA’s medical expense benefits and overpaying for medical expenses doesn’t make sense to me.

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I think your basic premise is flawed here. You are better off to pay medical expenses with non-HSA dollars and have the investments in the HSA compounding tax free (both in growth and when sold in the future for retirement/medical expenses in retirement). Either way, regardless of if you pay the medical expenses currently with HSA or non-HSA dollars, you still get the tax benefits of contributing to an HSA (avoiding FICA, federal income taxes, etc.).