Start the New Year with Success

With the start of the new year, many organizations are kicking off a new benefit plan year – and there is a lot for employees to realize, especially when it comes to a health savings account (HSA). Whether they enrolled in a new HSA or continuing to fund an existing account, educating employees on when and how to best use their accounts is key to the setting them up for success. Below are several helpful tips to ensure employees are benefitting from their HSA:

• At the beginning of the plan year, employees will pay toward their deductible again. This is where their HSA can come in handy. When employees use their spending accounts to pay for medical expenses – even if they’re funded by employer contributions - it counts as paying toward their deductible.
• Preventative visits with doctors are often completely covered by health insurance plans before a deductible is met. Encourage your employees to check with their plan and schedule a routine check-up.
• An HSA can be used to pay for other doctors’ visits and prescriptions, so it’s important to ensure employees understand the benefit of having money in their account.
• All sorts of everyday expenses like arch supports, prescription eyeglasses and sunscreen that’s SPF 30 or greater can be purchased with an HSA. View the entire list of eligible expenses on our Learning Center.
• If employees contribute to their HSA but end up not using it during the plan year, they don’t need to worry. Funds in an HSA will remain in the account until they are spent – an HSA is not a “use-it-or-lose-it” account like a flexible spending account.
• Ensure that your employees know HSA contributions are allowed to be changed at any time; this is a good way to ensure that there are dollars available for upcoming expenses. Adding funds can be done via payroll if allowed by the employer, through a post-tax contribution for Further directly, or a one-time IRA to HSA transfer.

Check out the Learning Center to find more tips and information for helping employees be set up for success in the new plan year.