I'm in my late 50's, just started a fed gov job about 6 months ago. I have a HDHP [Hi Deductable Health Plan] through FEHBP. Trying to find a good place to start investing my HSA money. I expect to have about $5k by end of year.

Currently tied to HSA Bank, who pays abysmal [like 0.04%] interest on savings accounts. So I saw ads for Lively, and wondered if anyone else is using them?

Any other recommendations, because I don't have any other funds to invest now. Just a small amount comparatively, will be putting aside the max of $8k every year from now on. Hopefully.

I'm not sure of the best option, but I'd pay more attention to fees and investment options. With $5k, the interest rate won't make a huge difference.

I have an HSA but have never used it. So I can just move it to another HSA account anywhere? Who offers the best HSA?

HSA Bank has an investment option with TD Ameritrade. You need to have more than $1K in the savings account before you can invest.

Easy link between the 2 accounts once you get going.

OasisMan said:

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Max 3.5k for individual, 7k for family

Make sure you don't leave HSA in savings account but move to index funds

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I get an extra $1000 'catch-up" since I'm over 55, thus the $8k/yr.

Nice

I ported my HSA over to Fidelity and manage it as I would an IRA. Low fees, easy to use, decent app, and I already had an IRA, 529 and SEP there.

I use Lively for my HSA, and have no complaints. They interface with TD Ameritrade so that you can keep the bulk of your money invested there. I leave a few hundred dollars cash in the Lively debit account for paying routine medical bills, dentist, etc. and leave the rest invested. No reason that I can see to not contribute the max every year. Lively itself is free, and the regular TD Ameritrade fees apply for investments, trades, etc.

Question for some of you who say open the HSA but not use it. Why? Not arguing, just wondering what the thinking is here. If I have a medical expense I need to pay, why not use the pre tax money?

txaggie79 said:

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Question for some of you who say open the HSA but not use it. Why? Not arguing, just wondering what the thinking is here. If I have a medical expense I need to pay, why not use the pre tax money?

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If I have enough cash on hand (that I've already paid taxes on) to pay my medical bills, I might as well leave my pre-tax HSA contributions alone so they can grow undisturbed for as long as possible. I wouldn't touch my HSA funds unless I had no other money available to pay my medical bills. But so far I've been able to cover all my medical expenses with my monthly income. I haven't had to dip into any savings accounts (I just save less in some months that I have higher medical expenses).

At the end of the day, it really is just me moving my own money around to pay myself. But as a standard rule, I don't want to touch any of my investments (including my after-tax ones) because the higher the balance, the more it will grow.

TXTransplant said:

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txaggie79 said:

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Question for some of you who say open the HSA but not use it. Why? Not arguing, just wondering what the thinking is here. If I have a medical expense I need to pay, why not use the pre tax money?

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If I have enough cash on hand (that I've already paid taxes on) to pay my medical bills, I might as well leave my pre-tax HSA contributions alone so they can grow undisturbed for as long as possible. I wouldn't touch my HSA funds unless I had no other money available to pay my medical bills. But so far I've been able to cover all my medical expenses with my monthly income. I haven't had to dip into any savings accounts (I just save less in some months that I have higher medical expenses).

At the end of the day, it really is just me moving my own money around to pay myself. But as a standard rule, I don't want to touch any of my investments (including my after-tax ones) because the higher the balance, the more it will grow.

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That sounds like great advice. My only counter top that is to make sure you maximize all of your other tax advantaged accounts of you do this. Otherwise, why not pull out the expenses from the HSA and use them to fund your IRA, 401k, etc.?

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That sounds like great advice. My only counter top that is to make sure you maximize all of your other tax advantaged accounts of you do this. Otherwise, why not pull out the expenses from the HSA and use them to fund your IRA, 401k, etc.?

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I max out everything - 401k, HSA, Roth. I even opened up a limited purpose FSA to save even more on taxes (but that was use it or lose it, and I used it).

I use my income to pay everything. If I max that out (which really only happens if I make a big purchase, like a car), then I revert to after-tax savings that's in a regular interest-bearing savings account. To date, I have not had to tap into any of my investment accounts, including my personal index funds account. I realize I am very fortunate to be able to do this, and most people would need the money in their HSA to cover a major medical expense.

However, I would discourage anyone from using it to reimburse expenses that are less than your deductible/OOP max. If you have an HSA, you're on an HDHP and ~should~ have enough in regular savings to cover the deductible/OOP max. If you don't, then you really can't afford to be on an HDHP (assuming there is another option, although I know sometimes there isn't).

TXTransplant said:

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Quote:

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That sounds like great advice. My only counter top that is to make sure you maximize all of your other tax advantaged accounts of you do this. Otherwise, why not pull out the expenses from the HSA and use them to fund your IRA, 401k, etc.?

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I max out everything - 401k, HSA, Roth. I even opened up a limited purpose FSA to save even more on taxes (but that was use it or lose it, and I used it).

I use my income to pay everything. If I max that out (which really only happens if I make a big purchase, like a car), then I revert to after-tax savings that's in a regular interest-bearing savings account. To date, I have not had to tap into any of my investment accounts, including my personal index funds account. I realize I am very fortunate to be able to do this, and most people would need the money in their HSA to cover a major medical expense.

However, I would discourage anyone from using it to reimburse expenses that are less than your deductible/OOP max. If you have an HSA, you're on an HDHP and ~should~ have enough in regular savings to cover the deductible/OOP max. If you don't, then you really can't afford to be on an HDHP (assuming there is another option, although I know sometimes there isn't).

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That makes sense since you're maxing out everything available to you. I just hear people say that they don't touch the HSA and only use savings when their other accounts aren't maxed out. If they can't max out their other tax advantaged accounts after maxing out their HSA, it seems beneficial to reimburse yourself through your HSA and apply that money towards those other accounts.

I'm ready to open a Lively account. Anybody have a referral for me?

My wife and I are on separate health insurance plans through our work and I plan to add my newborn son under my plan during upcoming open enrollment. If I do an HSA for me and my son, can I still max out out the full $7000 for a family? My wife will be contributing to the dependent care FSA under her plan; does this affect HSA contributions?

Since I've never had an HSA, at any point would y'all not recommend one, like with upcoming childcare costs or pregnancy/labor/delivery costs?

My goal would be to max out, pay cash, and save receipts.

JR2007 said:

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My wife and I are on separate health insurance plans through our work and I plan to add my newborn son under my plan during upcoming open enrollment. If I do an HSA for me and my son, can I still max out out the full $7000 for a family? My wife will be contributing to the dependent care FSA under her plan; does this affect HSA contributions?

Since I've never had an HSA, at any point would y'all not recommend one, like with upcoming childcare costs or pregnancy/labor/delivery costs?

My goal would be to max out, pay cash, and save receipts.

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HSA has nothing to do with child CARE costs. You will still qualify for a dependent care FSA, which is a reimbursement account for child care expenses (you contribute to the account, pay your child care expenses, and then request reimbursement from the account; some companies may offer a direct pay to the provider or a credit/debit card option, but for most, it's a reimbursement program). Also, the entire balance isn't available like the health care FSA. You can only get reimbursed based on how much you've already contributed. Funds are use it or lose it.

Limited purpose FSA is good for dental and vision expenses. You can only use it for medical AFTER you've met your deductible (and if your employer allows it). It's also use it or lose it, like a traditional FSA. LPFSA is also use it or lose it.

Will I be able to able to contribute the full amount since there is more than one person on my plan even though my wife has a separate plan?

JR2007 said:

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Will I be able to able to contribute the full amount since there is more than one person on my plan even though my wife has a separate plan?

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You should. It's only myself and my son on my plan (no spouse) and the "family" limits apply to us.

I opened a lively account earlier this month.

If anyone is interested, I have a referral link, I'd appreciate it.
https://secure.livelyme.com/referral/invite/?referrersOwnerId=ba0ebd99-df96-4dac-bc11-f7d8ff0dcb4f

From now through January 31st, spread the word about Lively and get an extra $25 bonus! For each friend that signs up and contributes $1000 to their Health Savings Account, you will receive a $25 referral bonus, and your friend will also receive $25 to welcome them to Lively.

I am just starting, but I have set up my TD Ameritrade account with them. Still working on transferring from HSA Bank.