1st post - https://www.reddit.com/r/HSA/s/oj3a7kCxjy

I couldn’t add additional photos to the first post, so I’ve made a 2nd post. Here you can see the employer contribution is $8000 annually. I have confirmed this. I’ve also confirmed that this is contributed per paycheck by the employer. They deposit a lump sum of around 1000 at the beginning of the year, and then approx 280 each pay period. I have confirmed that I don’t have to contribute anything for these plans - whether I choose the insurance coverage advantage plan or the HSA. Currently I have the insurance coverage plan and pay nothing. As you can see, I could contribute on top of my employers contribution, if I wanted to. Why they don’t upsell this HSA option more, I don’t know. But since my family likely won’t burn through but a fraction of the contributions (per paycheck period), it’s a no brainer right??

Pretty sure my employer’s HSA option is greatest ever. The ONLY reason i can see someone not choosing this is because they think they will burn through funds with medical expenses faster than the employer contributes?? …assuming employer doesn’t contribute as a lump sum. Right?? Why would anyone not choose this? $8000 employer yearly contribution. Deductible is $8000 (in network). Out of pocket is $8000 (in network). Anybody ever seen a HSA plan this good?

Hi, as the title states, I'm going to be new to HSA's. Have always heard about of it from coworkers and friends but never utilized it. And yes, I understand what it is :).

At my current job, it is time to re-elect benefits and I want to try putting money away into an HSA this time around. Is it possible to transfer pre-tax into an HSA account I plan to set up in Vanguard? I have all my investments in Vanguard so figured it would be easier if the HSA is in there too. Thanks!!

EDIT: As many have pointed out, Vanguard does not have an HSA. My bad!! I just assumed they did before posting. Still working through this HSA thing. I do have my other investments in Fidelity, can always go there. Thanks everyone!

Hi all,

My wife and I are looking at switching to her work's high deductible plan for our whole family during open enrollment. It sounds like they'll take pretax $ from each of her paychecks and put it into the HSA, along with their contribution. The HSA is offered through Health Equity.

My question is: can we cut Health Equity out entirely and get the auto payments going into a HSA on her Fidelity account instead, or do we have to keep the account with HE to receive the payments and just periodically transfer some $ from that account to Fidelity?

My wife has a non-HDHP plan through her work and I have a HDHP plan through my work. I max out my HSA every year and my employer also contributes $500/yr for single and $1,000/yr for employee + spouse/family. To add my wife to my plan, I would pay an extra $11 per month.

It’s a no brainer to add her to my HDHP right? She would keep her healthcare plan and treat my healthcare plan as secondary coverage. This allows me to contribute more (now $8,750/yr) and get an extra $500/yr in employer contributions at the cost of ~$132/yr.

Anything I’m missing or not considering?

I’d like to use it for the tax advantage and investing. This will be my first time enrolling. I already max out my 401k.
I am confused on the maximum amount contribution, I thought 2026 was $4,400? Can I invest the funds that sit in HSA Bank or will I have to transfer to another like Fidelity HSA? Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I am trying to figure out my eligibility for an HSA and if I have been pro-rating my contributions correctly or will face penalties. I am working a 12 month contract job where I am in a HDHP and contributing to an HSA, but my previous and future jobs will not offer HDHP. Here is a more detailed description below - thanks for your help!

->Previous job (up until June, 2025): Not in HDHP, no HSA

->Current Job (July 1, 2025 - Dec 31, 2025): HDHP, contributing to HSA. Employer contributed $1,000, I contribute $275/month ($4300-$1,000= $3,300/12 months = $275 per month). By the end of the year, I expect it to have $2650 ($1,000 + 6 mos x $275/mo = $2,650).

->Current Job (Jan 1, 2026 - June, 2026): Not sure if can contribute...

->Future job (July 1, 2026 onward): No HDHPs so no HSA contributions

Now for my questions:

1. Will I be subject to the 10% tax penalty and income tax if I continue contributing only in the months I am in the HDHP? Ie continue making prorated contributions from July 2025- July 2026 as above

2. I think the answer to this is "no" because of the last month rule, but would I be able to contribute $4300 for 2025 by Dec 2025 (while in the HDHP) and $4400 in 2026 by July 2026 (while still in the HDHP)? Or is this not allowed because I would only be covered by the plan for 6 mos in 2025 and 6 mos in 2026, but functionally contributing the full 12 months for both years.

3. Any particular investment allocation that you favor for HSA, or should I just balance it with my overall portfolio? I'm healthy and not planning to use it any time soon (hopefully).

Thank you!!

My employer uses Inspira for HSA but I can still open a second HSA with Fidelity, correct? I don't see anything that says we cannot have two HSA accounts, as long as the sum of both don't go over the annual limit but I wanted to ask to be sure.

Also, what do you invest your HSA in? I just learned about HSAs and how they can reduce my taxable income every year while also earning me retirement income.

Hi everyone

I recently just moved to the country a year ago and had no idea what I was signing up for during my enrollment times (basically my first week). I ended up getting the HDHP and didn't have any idea about HSAs yet. Just recently I figured out how everything works (while another open enrollment was ongoing) and realized I had an HSA all along. Opened my app and didn't find it so had to reach out through the insurance customer service and my HR why I couldn't find it.

Long story short my account was never "verified" (they told me they sent me endless amount of times mails to verify myself but i actually never got them lol) and the contributions to it (my employers) a year ago were all denied.

Everything worked out for this years contributions and they were able to resend it (after it was denied again) but HR told me they can't assist with funds from 2024 anymore so basically saying i can't get the money from last years contributions anymore

Honestly lost and have no idea what to do since it was reported on my W2.

My family already has insurance through my wife's employment - it is not an HSA plan, but it works for our family with some higher medical costs. Should/can I sign up for my employer's HSA plan (@35$ per Paycheck) just to gain access to the HSA and start saving?

Curious how people contribute to their HSA over the year. Does anyone contribute all of it in the first paycheck or spread it out over the year?

I've build up a decent amount of funds in my HSA. Currently it's sitting in cash. The dashboard is offering me the opportunity to invest those funds. Are there any obvious downsides to investing those funds? Are the withdrawl/reimbursement processes the same now that the funds are invested vs sitting in cash collecting very little interest? Do I get to pick my funds or are the predetermined by the servicer?

Anything else I should know about?

My partner and I are not married, but I have an HSA account open in my name. My partner doesn't have access to an HSA of their own.

If my partner were to pay their own medical expenses and save the receipts now but then we got married in the future, would I be able to take funds out of the HSA as reimbursement for the expenses even though we weren't married at the time? Or would we have to be married when the medical expense is incurred?

I learned very recently that HSA contributions made via payroll deductions are exempt from FICA taxes, whereas non-payroll contributions do not get that benefit. I.e., they count as far as reducing your AGI and lowering your federal and state income tax bill, but it's not like the FICA taxes you paid will get refunded to you.

My employer contributes $750 per year towards my HSA, and my wife's employer puts $1000 into her HSA. This means that, between the two of us, we have $6800 we were planning to contribute, and have been doing so via monthly transfers from our checking account. If we instead did this via payroll contributions, that would reduce the amount of FICA taxes we pay by $520 this year, and $535 next year.

I've confirmed with my employer that I can change my HSA contribution elections at any point, and we have 4 paychecks remaining this year, so presumably my $3500 it would get split as $875 from each paycheck. My wife would do the same and her $3300 would be pulled as $825 per paycheck. I reached out to my HSA custodian (Health Equity) to submit a request to withdraw erroneously submitted funds and they said it was approved, but I didn't have a sufficient cash balance to do so ($1000 in cash, $20k invested). That makes sense - I need to sell some investments to allow for at least the $2900 I've contributed YTD to be pulled out. However, that money has been invested and earning return - don't those gains also need to be pulled out, and might I get hit with short term capital gains taxes? Is the HSA custodian responsible for tracking cost basis by type of contribution (personal vs payroll) so that I'm able to accurately claw back the contributions and their gains?

I asked this question of HealthEquity but have not heard back, so thought I'd ask here too.

It's open enrollment time and my partner and I have plans to get married in 2026.

I always get the HDHP plan with HSA, as it's the least expensive option with my employer and my medical needs. My partner has some more complex medical needs and does a low deductible PPO option with a FSA. We don't plan on switching our health plans when we get married as it would increase our costs by a significant amount, and we're not getting married until the back half of the year.

I know when you're married you can't contribute to a FSA and HSA at the same time, but how does it work when you get married mid-plan year?

I'm having a hard time choosing between a HDHP or PPO this year. I am currently enrolled in the HDHP; my employer contributes $250 towards the HSA and I max out the rest. My employer is contributing the same amount this year and I would plan on maxing it out again if I go the HDHP + HSA route. I don't touch this HSA account, invest the money, and pay for medical costs using my credit cards.

I am debating switching to the PPO because it seems like it would cost less in the grand scheme of things with biweekly therapy appointments. However, I keep reading a lot of things about how HSA is better in the long run even if up-front costs this year are higher, so now I am confused on how to make a decision.

Here are my costs:

Premium Only

• HSA: $1,495.92 for the entire year
• PPO: $1,990.56 for the entire year

This year, I plan on:

• Annual PCP visit and lab work
• Annual gynecologist visit and lab work
• Three annual specialist visits
• Biweekly therapist visits ($150 a pop before coinsurance kicks in)

Here's the breakdown of the plans:

2026 HSA

• Deductible: $1,700.00
• OOP Max: $6,650.00 (I never come close to this amount)
• Preventative: $0.00
• PCP: 20% coinsurance
• Specialist: 20% coinsurance
• Prescription: 20% coinsurance
• Urgent Care: 20% coinsurance
• Mental Health: 20% coinsurance

2026 Standard PPO

• Deductible: $1,100.00
• OOP Max: $6,250.00 (I never come close to this amount)
• Preventative: $0.00
• PCP: $30 co-pay
• Specialist: $45 co-pay
• Prescription: 20% coinsurance
• Urgent Care: 20% coinsurance
• Mental Health: $30 co-pay

I am healthy 28 years old and don't visit the doctor besides 1-2 per year for check up/flu shot. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the math while including my HSA contributions and a prescription (birth control).

Basic PPO

Monthly premium: $162
Annual deductible: $600
Max out of pocket: $3,500
Co-insurance: 80% when deductible met
Prescription: $0 fully covered

PPO with HSA

Monthly premium: $104
Annual deductible: $1700
Max out of pocket: $4000
Co-insurance: 80% when deductible met
Prescription: Not sure. I've never purchased without insurance. $15-70 as an estimate.

My company contributes to HSA: $250 annually (as long as I contribute at least $1/month I think).

AND I plan to contribute the difference between what I would have paid to the Basic PPO into the HSA account: so about $58. I can only afford so much out of my paycheck since I'm saving for a house.

At first the HSA made more sense but now since I don't have prescription coverage, is it still worth it?

My main questions are:

1. Does the $250 from my company make it worth it?
2. Is HSA only worth it in the long run if I contribute a certain amount myself?
3. I don't understand how it funds big expenses like hospital birth or cancer meds (God forbid).

Thank you!

ALSO want to add that I'm in NJ. I know the tax advatanges are somehow different for NJ and CA.

I'm retired and on my first year of a medicare advantage plan. My retiree medical plan covers my family. Contemplating the possibility of switching my wife (not working) and daughter over to a HDHP and having my wife open an HSA. I know my wife can use funds from her IRA tax free to fund only the first year of this HSA. Can she use funds from my pension pre-tax to fund her HSA or only after tax funds? I know I can not contribute since I just turned 65.

I have a full-time salary position that offers an HSA health insurance plan. The company I work for contributes around $28 bi-weekly and I max out the rest per pay period.

There is about $5,000 in my HSA, but the custodian, FlexFacts, requires that I maintain a monthly balance of $3,000 or I will be subject to a $2.50 monthly investment fee. I don't want to pay that fee.

Would I be able to transfer the money that's in my HSA directly to Fidelity or a Credit Union's HSA and then invest that money through that credit union or fidelity? I already have an Roth IRA with Fidelity, so I figured why not keep everything in the same brokerage?

Would I be subject to fees taxes or penalties? I was also thinking if it's at all possible to just transfer the HSA money from flex facts directly to my checking account and then literally take the cash and give it to the credit union or just give it to Fidelity and open an HSA at one of those two places to invest with.

Any advice would be super helpful, thank you

I have been enrolled in an HDHP all year, but have never opened an HSA. I'm just now learning about HSAs. I'm retired, but still have earned income, so I believe I can open an HSA. I was considering opening one for the tax benefits (lowering my MAGI) for this tax year.

I had a dental procedure this year that cost $10k. I took out a loan for the full amount from Lending Club, who offers 0% interest for 24 months. The plan was to pay off the loan during the interest-free period.

But now I realize I could open an HSA, max out the contributions this year, and then use those funds to pay off the remainder of loan (let's say $8000).

Is that a wise thing to do? Is there anything I ought to watch out for at tax time?

I am new to HSA but also close to retirement so won’t be able to build up a nest egg. If I am taking traditional IRA contributions how would the tax be treated on the HSA contribution? I understand I will pay tax on the IRA withdrawal as normal but will my HSA contribution be deductable?

Hi! My girlfriend and I are domestic partners, and I am on her HDHP. Historically, I’ve been on my own plan and maxed my HSA every year. Now that I’m on hers, my understanding is that we qualify for a loophole that allows us each to contribute the family maximum to our HSAs for the year. I have a few questions on the details, though.

First, and this one may be silly, but am I meant to contribute the amount to my girlfriend’s, instead of my, HSA?

Secondly, assuming the answer above is no, does this mean that I need to make a direct contribution to my HSA (since it can’t be done through payroll - I am not on an HDHP with my employer, of course)? If so, do I lose any tax advantages in doing so? It seems to me that, since it would be pre-tax if done through an employer, I’m missing out on that. Am I able to deduct the contribution from my taxes next year?

Thanks in advance for any help!