Health Savings Account | University of Colorado

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HSA Basics

Watch the HSA basics course

Administered by Optum Bank, a Health Savings Account (HSA) allows you to pay for qualified health care expensesEligible ExpensePurchases or services received that are allowed by the benefit provider and complies with IRS regulations. now or in the future. HSAs offer three tax benefits: Tax-free saving, growth and spending on qualified health care expensesEligible ExpensePurchases or services received that are allowed by the benefit provider and complies with IRS regulations. any time from today through your retirement.

You contribute to the savings plan through payroll deductions on a pre-tax basis. These contributionsContributionIn reference to Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts, it’s the amount of money that you elect to be deducted from your paycheck to be deposited into your FSA or HSA account. lower your taxable income, and when you spend the money on qualifying expensesEligible ExpensePurchases or services received that are allowed by the benefit provider and complies with IRS regulations., you will not be taxed.

The money you put into an HSA rolls over from year to year – the money is yours to keep saved or spend on qualified health care expensesEligible ExpensePurchases or services received that are allowed by the benefit provider and complies with IRS regulations.. If you leave the university in any capacity, you will keep your HSA through retirement.

Plan details

HSA features and considerations

To contribute to an HSA, IRS regulations apply:

You must be enrolled in CU Health Plan High Deductible
You cannot be enrolled in Medicare or TRICARE
You cannot be claimed as a dependentDependentAn employee’s spouse, common-law spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, children under the age of 27, and qualifying disabled children over age 27 of the employee or of the spouse/partner who are biological, legally adopted or for whom there are parental responsibility documents issued by a court. on someone else’s previous year tax return
You cannot have another active medical plan, that is not an IRS qualified High Deductible Plan
You cannot contribute to an HCFSAHCFSA (Health Care Flexible Spending Account)Used to pay for health care expenses for you and your tax dependents, which your medical, dental and vision insurance plans do not cover such as deductibles, copays, coinsurance, prescriptions and other out-of-pocket expenses. and an HSAHSA (Health Savings Account)A tax-savings account that must be paired with a High-Deductible Health Plan, which can be used to pay for qualified health care expenses now or in the future. An HSA is a savings account that you own. The funds in an HSA carry forward year after year, even if you change employers or retire. at the same time

2024 IRS Contribution Limits:

$4,150 for single coverage
$8,300 for family coverage (2+ members)
$1,000 additional for employee age 55 or older

Additional information:

You own your HSAHSA (Health Savings Account)A tax-savings account that must be paired with a High-Deductible Health Plan, which can be used to pay for qualified health care expenses now or in the future. An HSA is a savings account that you own. The funds in an HSA carry forward year after year, even if you change employers or retire. so funds carry forward year after year, even if you change employers or retire.
HSAHSA (Health Savings Account)A tax-savings account that must be paired with a High-Deductible Health Plan, which can be used to pay for qualified health care expenses now or in the future. An HSA is a savings account that you own. The funds in an HSA carry forward year after year, even if you change employers or retire. runs on a calendar year and changes can be made at any time.

Resources

All the following documents are available in English and Spanish

Videos

Tools

Health Savings Checkup
Prescription Savings
Qualified Medical Expense Search
Health Savings Account Calculators, which include:
- Maximum HSA Contribution
- HSA Contribution Details and Tax Savings
- HSA Future Value

Determine your contributions

How much is deducted each month?

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) run on the calendar year, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31

Update your contributions

You can enroll, cancel or make changes to your contribution at any time.
HSA Open Enrollment: Employee Services offers an HSA Open Enrollment every November where you can go directly to your employee portal to enroll or update your contributions for the following calendar year. Go to the Benefits &Wellness area and select the Benefits Enrollment to enroll. See instructions.
You may also make lump sum contributions by submitting the HSA Authorization Form to Employee Services.

Website

Visit the Optum website for more guides, videos and webinars.