The Benefits (and the Catch) of Health Savings Accounts<br />You can set aside as much as $3,400 for an individual, or $6,750 for a family, in an H. S.A.<br />You can leave the money in a basic, interest-bearing savings account or, in some cases, invest<br />the money — just as you would with a 401(k) retirement account — for the long term.<br />Fidelity, which offers H. S.A.s, said money invested in a health savings account<br />could help provide cash to cover needed health and medical costs in retirement.<br />Ryan McCostlin, an expert in individual and family health care at the advisory firm Bernard<br />Health, said the tax-free growth available with H. S.A.s made them powerful savings tools.<br />The Employee Benefit Research Institute, which tracks a database of 5.5 million health savings accounts totaling $11.3 billion as of the end of 2016, found<br />that H. S.A.-eligible health insurance plans covered nearly three in 10 employees last year.<br />But there’s a catch: The savings accounts are available only with certain health insurance plans meeting<br />specific criteria, like high deductibles — at least $1,300 for an individual and $2,600 for a family.<br />H. S.A.s, or health savings accounts, are not yet as familiar as their better-known cousin, the F. S.A., flexible spending account.<br />Contributions can be deducted pretax from your paycheck, lowering your taxable income; any interest or investment gains on the money is tax free;<br />and withdrawals from the account are tax free, as long you spend the money on eligible items.
