There Is A Difference Between FSA And HSA

Q&A Courtesy The Post-Journal | View the Full Article

Question:

What is the difference between an HSA and a flex-spending account (FSA), and which is better?

Answer:

Both of these options are useful ways to pay for medical expenses with benefits and limitations with pre-tax dollars.

An HSA (health savings account) is a pre-tax way of saving money to pay for medical expenses later. The HSA is useful for those individuals who have a high deductible health plan (HDHP). The HDHP must have a minimum deductible level of $1,400 for individuals or $2,800 for families. You cannot establish an HSA if your health plan isn’t a HDHP.

A HSA is an account that is in your name. The money deposited into the HSA is not taxed when taken directly from your wages. You can also deposit money into this account from other sources. You are allowed to deposit a limited amount into your HSA annually. For 2021 the limit is $3,600 for an individual and $7,200 for a family. If you are over 55 there is a catch-up contribution of $1,000 annually.

A benefit to having a HSA account is the money is always yours to use toward medical expenses for you and your family. The annual deposits will accrue over time and be used over the course of your lifetime. These accounts usually earn some amount of interest. Your funds will grow if you don’t use the money immediately.

Once you turn 65 and are eligible for Medicare you are no longer allowed to put new money into an HSA. The HSA account balance is yours to keep and use as you age, but you will not be able to deposit funds into the HSA once you are Medicare eligible.

A FSA is an employee benefit that allows your pre-tax wages to be put aside and used for medical spending within a fixed period of time (usually annually). You set your amount annually when signing up for the FSA.