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.

Health Savings Account were created specifically to be BETTER thantheir predecessors, Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA) and Medical SavingsAccounts (MSA).

Your HSA does not have to be used up within the year.  In fact,the money can just build and build each year if you don't need it. Itwill be there for your health crisis if that ever happens.

If you never have that health crisis (and I hope that's the case foryou!) then you will have a nice little nest egg built up ofyear-after-year of health savings plus the interest earned.

I really like the term "Health Savings Account."  I like itbecause it says that you can save by being healthy. The healthier you are, the more money you'll have left in that accountwhen you retire.

And speaking of retirement, your HSA will act like a nice IndividualRetirement Account (IRA) as soon as you reach age 65. You'll be able towithdraw money without penalty for any reason you wish.  (Butyou'll still have to pay tax on withdrawal, just like with atraditional IRA).

My advice to you is put the maximum amount into your HSA everyyear.  The money will be there for you if you have a healthcrisis, and it will be there for you in retirement if you manage tostay healthy year-after-year.

Good luck with your healthcare, your health insurance and your HSA!

Daryl Kulak is the author of the book Health Insurance Offthe Grid.   This easy-to-read book provides a simple,detailed plan to reduce health insurance expenses by thousands ofdollars for people who are self-employed, unemployed orunderinsured.  The book is available at the Website:   http://www.healthoffthegrid.com