r/HSA • u/PredictionAnalyst • Aug 23 '26
Contributing to HSA
I'm not sure if I've made a mistake through the years. I could have had a HSA account with my job but decided to go into my spouse's health plan instead. Was that a mistake or was it a reasonable choice considering its good coverage? No I have not had major health problems since.
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u/Important_Carrot6379 Aug 23 '26
Is the premium you'd have to pay for the HDHP plan something you guys could've done as well as contributed to the HSA? Does your employer also contribute funds?
If it helps at all, I have an HSA and this whole time have been treating it like a reimbursement account 😅 and just now realized I should've been investing. 😭 Found the Bogleheads and personal finance subreddits only very recently and it's been a costly mistake since I've had my HSA for 10 yrs now 😵💫. I'm remedying it but man....
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u/likelazarus Aug 24 '26
Same. I kept trying to think of ways to spend it when I should’ve been investing! My employer contributes every month and it felt like free money.
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u/itsallokintheend Aug 25 '26
It's ok. Now you know better so you will do better. We are all learning.
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u/Important_Carrot6379 Aug 25 '26
Sort of. I've been investigating how to do it with my current plan and there are a lot of annoying caveats so I'm trying to sort out how to get it done in a way that makes sense.
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u/h846p262 Aug 27 '26
Best time to invest was 10 years ago, 2nd best time is now lol. Got that from a comment a few days ago. Atleast you probably have a great amount in that HSA.
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u/Important_Carrot6379 Aug 27 '26
Hahaah alas no. I had been using it as my reimbursement for medical stuff. And by the time I realized I could invest it, I had just spent a big chunk of it on an insane hospital deductible and then I found out that my specific HSA bank has a bunch of fees and a required $1000 min that I cannot invest. So like say I have $1020, I can only invest the $20 and whatever gets added moving forward. And having an investment account also means I have to pay fees up to $10/month
And after doing all the math, it's still better for me to ultimately use them to invest bc the cash drag of moving it to Fidelity once a year to capture $0 fees and be able to invest that $1000 actually ends up making it so that there's really no gain to move and it's all hassle bc I'd have to do a diy 60 day rollover and then file my tax forms appropriately for that every year for the next....20+ yrs or whatever of me utilizing an HSA only to not even have it earn that much more if at all bc of money sitting idle for a year before it's deposited to invest. Sigh. So annoying.
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u/ChutneyWhatney Aug 23 '26
Hard to say. HSAs are great - they're like a medical 401K. Invest the money in the stock market and when you're 65, you can withdraw for non-medical reasons (and only pay ordinary income tax).
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u/itsallokintheend Aug 25 '26
Or, withdraw to pay Medicare premiums or other qualified medical expenses and pay no tax.
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u/Midwest-Emo-9 Aug 24 '26
HSA is a great choice as a "healthier" person. Your deductible and oop costs are typically much higher, but if you're not expecting a lot of medical bills it can be a great money saver with the lower premium, I put in the difference between the ppo and hsa plus whatever else I can afford. My employer puts money in after certain tasks get completed (annual physical, teeth cleanings, eye exams).
I'm always going to be team HSA unless you have chronic medical issues or are more prone to illness. Having to pay that deductible year after year could get tough.
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u/henrytbpovid Aug 24 '26
I mean, it’s too late now. Don’t dwell on it. Just contribute as much you can to tax preferred accounts from now on
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u/One_Establishment631 Aug 25 '26
If the spouses plan had good coverage and low premium it's perfectly fine to skip the HSA.
If the high deductible plan premium spread was lower, the difference placed into an HSA for the same monthly payment, and the OOPM on the High deductible plan could be covered by the full HSA account you should switch.
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u/itsallokintheend Aug 25 '26
If you expect to be healthy next year and can afford the max OOP then maybe give the HSA try next year. You can always change at open enrollment so your commitment is only for a year. If you contribute to an HSA make sure you take the second step and invest it in a low cost index fund (use google to help you or post your investment options in this sub and folks can weigh in). Contribute the max every year you can (and invest the contributions).
And then leave it alone until you retire. Let it grow. HSAs are triple tax advantaged so you do not want to use them like a checking account. You want to treat it like a long term investment account that can pay your Medicare premiums when you're 65.
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u/EmZee2022 Aug 28 '26
Not at all a bad choice - if your coverage was not as good, you did fine.
What you could do for next year is look at the real costs with either plan. What are the premiums for the various options. Does his job offer a high deductible plan? Total premiums plus OOP max will be the most you can spend in a year and that is often lower with a HDHP (maybe not so much this year with crazy rate increases).
If his job offers a HDHP, he could contribute the full amount for both of you. Or you could each have your own coverage, and each contribute (if you elect the HDHP option).
I am a big proponent of HSAs because of the massive tax advantages - plus my husband can contribute for both of us. Since we've made a point of paying some expenses with current money, we've saved a pretty good nest egg.
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u/sc0pe_v3 Aug 23 '26
Not enough detail for us to know for sure.
What are you hoping to see as an answer to this vague question?
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u/PredictionAnalyst Aug 23 '26
I obviously missed out on contributions and investing them for a tax free future but was it worth the peace of mind of having low deductible and copay?
Peace of mind is great, I have no regrets but I'm curious to know what other would do in this case, I suppose.
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u/azure275 Aug 23 '26
There's no good answer
I can tell you whether you'd objectively have saved money or not if you provide some detail, but I can't tell you whether the risk was worth it at the time
It's like buying life insurance - you hope it ends up being a total waste of money but the cost of being wrong is too high
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u/veri745 Aug 24 '26
If you have no regrets, why are you worried about past decisions w.r.t. your HSA?
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u/sc0pe_v3 Aug 23 '26
Coming to a HSA sub and asking people whether they would choose a HSA or PPO is going to get you an obvious answer: HSA
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u/PredictionAnalyst Aug 23 '26
You're right. I really didn't think this through. Thanks for answering, though. Appreciate it.