By Juan Godina | October 15, 2019
at 10:27 AM
There are about 77 million baby
boomers in the United States, and approximately 10,000 individuals representing
this generation turn 65 each day. As more people move toward retirement age, that means more people will opt in for
Social Security and Medicare.
So what does that mean for baby
boomers with a health savings account (HSA)?
Navigating the nuances of Medicare
and Social Security can be tricky, and when you throw an HSA into the mix, the
rules and regulations become even more confusing.
If you’re a broker or Registered
Investment Advisor (RIA), you may be fielding a variety of questions from your
clients who are thinking about retirement. To assist your clients, it’s
important to have a basic knowledge of Social Security, Medicare, AND HSAs. (A
small task, I know.)
A crash course on
Social Security and Medicare
Starting at age 61 years and 9
months, a person can apply for retirement benefits, otherwise known as Social
Security. Those who are already age 62 may be able to start collecting those
benefits within the month they apply.
When a person signs up for Social
Security benefits, it automatically triggers Medicare Parts A and B when they turn 65. Part A
covers hospital care and typically doesn’t require a monthly premium since most
people pay into it while they worked (if they worked 10 years or more). It’s
common for people to receive Part A for this reason. Medicare Part B is
considered “medical insurance” and covers doctor’s visits, and typically has a
monthly premium. It’s possible for a person to opt out of receiving Part B,
even if they’re enrolled in Social Security or Part A.
Adding HSAs into the
mix
Here’s where it starts to get tricky:
A client does not actually have to be retired to collect Social Security and
Medicare Parts A and B; in fact, they can be covered by an employer health care
plan and still receive Medicare if they choose. However, if a person has a
high-deductible health plan (HDHP) and an HSA with their employer, the IRS says
they can no longer contribute to their HSA if that person is enrolled in any
part of Medicare.
This is where clients really start to
ask questions: “Is there a way for me to keep my HSA after age 65?” “Can I
collect Social Security without collecting Medicare Part A?” In short, it’s
complicated. But, those questions are answered below.
For those nearing retirement age, but
haven’t signed up for Social Security or Medicare:
If an employee decides they want to
keep contributing to their HSA before they become eligible for Social Security
and Medicare, they probably don’t need to do anything (depending on their age).
In many cases, they could simply hold off on applying for both types of
benefits until they no longer want to contribute to an HSA (or until they lose
their employer-based health care).
Keep in mind: Delaying enrollment in
Medicare may result in a lifetime Medicare premium penalty unless the client is
covered by their employer or their spouse’s employer’s health plan. This
coverage is due to the fact that the client or their spouse is an active
employee, and the employer has 20 or more employees.
For those who have applied for, or
already receive, Social Security:
This person cannot contribute to
their HSA because signing up for Social Security automatically enrolls them in
Medicare Part A. (Yep, bummer.) In this case, the only way to opt out of Part A
and keep contributing to an HSA is to pay back the government the money
received from Social Security, as well as the money spent on medical claims
though Medicare. Your client’s application to drop out of Part A won’t be
processed until they repay these amounts.
For those who applied to Part A at
age 65 or later, but who have not applied for Social Security benefits:
This person can simply withdraw their
application for Part A.
Best-case scenario for
those who want to keep working and contributing to an HSA
Everyone’s circumstances are
different, so it’s important for current employees nearing retirement age to
talk to their financial, tax, and benefits advisors to see if it makes sense
for them to delay Medicare Parts A and B. If an employee is looking to keep
contributing to their HSA as they work, it’s possible for them to delay
enrolling in Social Security and Medicare altogether until they’re no longer
covered under their employer’s HDHP and HSA.
If an employee is really ahead of the
game, they could also take advantage of the $1,000 catch-up contribution that
they can add to their HSA each year once they turn 55, on top of the
IRS-mandated limits.
While there are more rules and
regulations around Medicare, Social Security, and HSAs, this should give you a
jump start when it comes to helping clients make educated decisions around
their HSAs after retirement. If you’d like more information about HSAs and
Medicare, check out this ConnectYourCare blog post that digs deeper on this
topic.
Remember, every situation is
different. It is advisable that each employer, and employee, should consult a
tax advisor or legal counsel for advice and information concerning each
particular situation before making any decisions.
Juan Godina (Juan.Godina@connectyourcare.com)
is the director of distribution partnerships at ConnectYourCare,
a leading provider of consumer-directed health care account solutions.
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