Health Savings Account (HSA): Helpful for Older People?

The Health Savings Account (HSA) is an amazing tool that a lot of people have been talking about. It is meant to help you save money on insurance and make your life simpler, maybe even help you be healthier.

But do HSAs work just as well for older Americans? The answer depends on your age.

Let's start with someone older than 65. Once you turn 65, you are eligible for Medicare, and that means you can no longer contribute to an HSA. If you had an HSA before you turned 65, a very interesting thing happens.

The HSA, which was basically an account that could only be used for medical expenses, suddenly becomes an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). It instantly changes status when you turn 65.

This is a very intriguing concept for all of us who are younger than 65. You already know that there is no "use it or lose it" condition for an HSA. You keep accumulating that money forever, you do not lose it at the end of each year.

So, if you're not sick very often, you may accumulate a lot of money in the HSA. Then, once you turn 65, you can start pulling money out of it each year as income. Your withdrawals are taxable, but won't it be nice to have another stream of income when you retire. Think of it as your "Healthy Life Reward Account." The healthier you are in your life, the more money you'll have left in your HSA. It could be tens of thousands of dollars!

If you are over 55 but younger than 65, you get even more benefits for your HSA. You are eligible for something called "catch up contributions." This means that you can put more money into this tax-deferred account than those of us under 55.

In 2005, you can put $600 more than you health insurance policy deductible, and the amount of that catch-up contribution increases every year until it hits $1,000 in 2009. If I were you, I'd take good advantage of those catch-up contributions. Tax-deferrals are always nice to have when tax time comes around.

Daryl Kulak is the author of the book "Health Insurance Off the Grid - A Wonderful Way to Use Alternative Medicine and Save Money on Insurance Using the New Health Savings Account (HSA)." The book provides a nine-step plan to get your self-employed or small business health insurance costs under control using a unique approach you won't find anywhere else. The book is available for sale as an e-Book or paperback at the Website http://www.healthoffthegrid.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Concepta Insurance Consolidation Facility Receives DOJ Clearance - MarketWatch

Health insurance sticker shock hits consumers - Chicago Tribune

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2008/12/health-insuranc.htmlcid=1276133500ei=Csg0Sa6rPIPK8ATulrAJusg=AFQjCNF6NFCXNfFgZ_QqBSvxOlbY_MOlogHealth binsurance/b sticker shock hits consumers/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fChicago Tribune,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Health binsurance/b sticker shock overcame Mickey Trznadel when he opened an envelope from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois earlier this year, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Blue-Cross-Blue-Shield-Michigan/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B5379FA18-BBBE-4084-A40A-AB5CFFB0BDAD%257Dcid=1276133500ei=Csg0Sa6rPIPK8ATulrAJusg=AFQjCNFdm5n7s5JtyRd4NfNAVjhChxxi0ABlue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Answers Attorney General/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/news/index.ssf/2008/12/blues_michigan_ag_continue_hea.htmlcid=1276133500ei=Csg0Sa6rPIPK8ATulrAJusg=AFQjCNGrfRMdDOFyN0W3s4qJ-my7u3zePABlues, Michigan AG continue health binsurance/b fight/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMLive.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-3fd=Rurl=http://www.mlive.com/kzgazette/news/index.ssf/2008/12/blue_cross_blue_shield_of_mich.htmlcid=1276133500ei=Csg0Sa6rPIPK8ATulrAJusg=AFQjCNGXrzgyMhzpomE_8Hc6z737Clf-mgBlue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan continues push for health b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-4fd=Rurl=http://www.freep.com/article/20081201/FEATURES08/81201068cid=1276133500ei=Csg0Sa6rPIPK8ATulrAJusg=AFQjCNF9K8tw9-afYO3SShvXgxu1CCLf6gnobrDetroit Free Press/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-5fd=Rurl=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20081201/FREE/812010270/-1cid=1276133500ei=Csg0Sa6rPIPK8ATulrAJusg=AFQjCNHDHCbPdNOYxKZcB9m0YXIpnB46lwnobrCrain's Detroit Business/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276133500hl=ennobrall 23 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Morning Rounds Rising Stress Levels, Limited Health Insurance and ... - New York Times

Premiums for workers#39; comp insurance to rise 3% - Seattle Times

Drivers without insurance will have their vehicles towed after Jan. 1 - Dallas Morning News

Prudential PLC eyes AIG#39;s Taiwanese life insurance unit - MarketWatch

RAM Holdings Announces Commutation of $10.6 Billion Par MBIA ... - MarketWatch

Fabian Nunez Joins Zenith#39;s Board of Directors - MarketWatch

State issues finding in Holyoke Medical Center insurance dealings - The Republican - MassLive.com

Iffco Tokio ventures into vintage cars, musical instruments insurance - Business Standard

Insurance - Google News

RELATED ARTICLES

Accident Insurance Claim Personal Injury Insights
There's nothing that has a greater impact on evaluating a personal injury insurance claim than the damage done to your body, the medical bills that are a direct result of that injury and the "pain and suffering" you were forced to deal with.Besides botching up your body (and sometimes your love life) what else does the injury mean to you? It means a ton of financial expense's, including repairing your motor vehicle, lost wages, a shock to your life style, a tremendous inconvenience and short or long periods of pain and discomfort - - all of it a direct result of your injuries.

Health Savings Accounts
Most people with health insurance, especially employer paid health insurance, really don't know what their health care costs are. Furthermore, in many cases, they are limited in which health providers (doctors, hospitals, pharmacies etc) they can use.

Insurance For The Self Employed And Those Seeking Health Insurance
First of all, congratulations on deciding to go out and make it on your own. The rewards and excitement of making it on your own can not be found anywhere else.

Can I Get Affordable Dental Care?
In the United States most companies offer their employees dental insurance, but yet many do not. They slip through the holes of the system - the in-betweeners - that have to pay, but struggle to pay the out-of-pocket expenses.

Car Insurance Quotes Online - Why You Should Use the Internet to Find a New Insurance Company
Before the internet, you picked a neighborhood car insurance agent, and you stayed with the insurance company for years. Now car and truck drivers are finding reasons to shop online for their car insurance company.

Health Savings Account (HSA): Do I Lose It At the End of Each Year?
The Health Savings Account (HSA) is an amazing tool to reducehealthcare expenses and insurance costs. But do you lose it atthe end of each year, like with a Flexible Savings Account (FSA)?Thank goodness, no! You do not lose your HSA money at the end ofeach year.

Japanese Overseas Travel Insurance
If you are an expatriate planning on long-term residence in Japan you can, after a one-year stay, become a part of Japan's national health program. Until that time, however, you're going to need Japanese overseas travel insurance.

Group Term Life Insurance and the Options Available
Group term life insurance is more affordable than individual life insurance policies because the costs to the insurer are lower. They have less paperwork to handle, and are guaranteed multiple accounts from one sale - which is their incentive for offering this type of policy.

Insurance or Assurance - Do You Need Reassurance?
Insurance versus assurance: what is the difference?Should you care?Yes!!The world of finance is extremely complicated and there are many factors to consider when choosing any financial protection product.When looking for a policy you need to know what you are looking for and what is on offer in order that you get the right cover for your needs.

Term Life Insurance Quotes for Singles
Term life insurance quotes are rarely a concern of single people, but they should be. Unfortunately, there is a misconception that term life is something owned only by families in the event that the chief breadwinner dies.

Tips For Lowering Your Auto Insurance Quote
Do you have many claims? If so, you should do all you can to reduce them or even endeavor to file no claims at all. Why do I bring this issue up in an article about lowering your auto insurance quote? Because the number of claims is the single factor that to the highest degree influences the cost of your insurance premium.

What Is Homeowners Insurance Coverage?
Before attempting to find the best homeowners insurance coverage you should make sure that you are familiar with what homeowners insurance is and what it can do for you. A standard policy provides financial coverage to your house and the property within the house.

How To Negotiate A Settlement With An Insurance Claims Adjuster
You and I. M.

Dont Just Accept Your Car Insurance Renewal Quote
UK car insurance companies make substantial profits every year because a large number of existing customers just accept the renewal quote from their car insurance provider.Many people assume that because their first years premium was competitive they will continue to get good value for money from the same insurer.

Affordable Health Insurance - Health Insurance For The Self Employed
One of the things that is important to consider when you leave corporate America for the freedom of your own business is affordable health insurance. In fact, the reason most often cited for NOT taking the plunge into self-employment is the lack of cheap health insurance alternatives for people who are not employed by a company that can offer more affordable rates on health insurance through a group health insurance plan.

Online Insurance Quotes California Auto
Finding insurance quotes for California auto is now pretty easy. There was a time where finding auto insurance at a price we were willing to pay took a lot of driving and calling around.

Is Life Insurance Comparison Really Necessary?
When you want to purchase a life insurance policy, you really do need to do a life insurance comparison. This is to ensure that you get the best possible rates and the best possible life insurance for your needs.

Is Your Auto Insurance Company Rated?
Several national rating institutions rate insurance companies. Do coverages, rates, and service vary from company to company? Why can you pay less with one company than another can for the same coverages? Choosing the best insurance company for you is a crucial financial decision.

Insure Your House
When we talk about insurance the thing you have to remember is that always the price of your house must be higher then the value of the mortgage. This is not a hard thing to take care of if you like your house and care about the quality of your life.

Disaster Decision - Do You Need Insurance?
The expenses involved with owning a home can be overwhelming at times - routine maintenance, repairs, seasonal preparations, improvements. Not to mention taxes, fees, and all those monthly bills.