In a time when healthcare costs are skyrocketing, the benefits to having a Health Savings Account are numerous and exceptional.
Patelco Credit Union now offers an investment option for your Health Savings Account.
To learn more about the investment option and other benefits that an HSA can do for you, click on any (or all) of the links below:
| Affordability | Control | Easy Access | Flexibility | Ownership |
| Peace of Mind | Portability | Savings | Tax benefits | Rx & MyMedLab |
Affordability back to top
As counterintuitive as it may seem, switching to a health insurance plan with a higher deductible may actually lower your health insurance premiums because it allows you to use a tax-advantaged HSA.
Control back to top
As an HSA account holder, you make all of the decisions regarding:
- How much money to put into the account
- Whether to save the funds in your HSA for future expenses or pay current medical expenses
- Which medical expenses to pay from the account
- Which financial institution will hold the account
- Whether to invest any of the funds in the account
- Which investments to make
You can easily access the funds in your account to pay for qualified medical expenses when they occur with:
- An HSA debit card
- HSA checks
- Local branch withdrawals
Use the funds in your Health Savings Account to pay for current medical expenses including expenses that your insurance may not cover or save the money in your account for future medical needs such as:
- Health Insurance or medical expenses if unemployed
- Medical expenses after retirement (before Medicare)
- Out-of-pocket expenses when covered by Medicare
- Long-term care expenses and insurance
Funds in your HSA remain in the account from year to year similar to an IRA.
There are no “use it or lose it” rules for HSAs
Peace of Mind back to top
Your high deductible insurance and HSA protect you against unexpected medical bills.
Portability back to top
You can keep your HSAs even if you
- Change jobs
- Change your medical coverage
- Become unemployed
- Move to another state
- Change your marital status
You can save the money in your account for future medical expenses and grow the funds through investment earnings. Patelco's Health Savings Account provides you the choice to invest a portion of your HSA balance in a wide variety of Mutual Funds, Unit Investment Trusts and Fixed Income options through CUSO Financial Services, L.P.
You can choose to manually move funds into the investment account of your HSA with the help of Patelco's Investment Financial Advisors.
To get started, click here to contact the Investment Financial Advisors.
Tax Benefits back to top
The funds in your Health Savings Account earn interest.
Interest rates vary from bank to bank and it helps to shop around. To comparison shop for Health Savings Accounts offered by various financial institutions, go to www.vimo.com.
The tax savings are as follows:
- Annual contributions are deductible from federal taxes up to the maximum allowable amount.
- Dividends earned are free from federal taxes.
- Qualified withdrawals are free from federal income tax.
The following states currently allow their Health Savings Accounts to have tax-favored status similar to the federal government:
Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The following states require that legislation must be passed before HSAs receive a tax benefit:
Alabama, California, New Jersey and Wisconsin.
The following states do not impose state income tax:
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
The following states do not provide tax benefits for HSAs at the state level:
Alabama, California, New Jersey and Wisconsin.
States that do not impose state income tax but tax interest and dividends:
New Hampshire and Tennessee.
Only Washington DC has not released their position on HSAs. There is no information as of January 2010 that indicates they will offer state income tax deductions for HSA contributions.
The information on this page is provided by HSA for America, January 2010, www.health--savings--accounts.com and National Conference of State Legislatures, www.ncsl.org.
Other Benefits: back to topThe Patelco Rx Savings Program is available to all cost-conscious consumers to help you save money on brand-name or generic prescription medications. It is FREE to enroll. To learn more about this program, visit www.hpprx.com/patelco or call 727-526-0317.
MyMedLab.com specializes in proactive health care. They provide consumers with quality, convenient, low-cost lab testing with no membership fees to pay or groups to join. Visit their website at www.mymedlab.com or call 888-MY-MedLab.
Privacy & Security | Account Disclosure
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Your savings insured to at least $250,000 by National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency. |
