• $200.00 minimum balance required to earn interest and to avoid service charge

A Health Savings Account is tax-exempt account designed to help individuals save for qualified medical expenses and also gives businesses the ability to provide affordable health insurance plans with income tax benefits to their employees.

Any adult can contribute to an HSA if they:

1. Have coverage under an HSA-qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP)
2. Have no other first-dollar medical coverage (other specific types of insurance are permitted)
3. Are not enrolled in Medicare
4. Are not claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return

Advantages of HSAs

Security – Your high deductible insurance and HSA protect you against high or unexpected medical bills.

Affordability – You should be able to lower your health insurance premiums by switching to health insurance coverage with a higher deductible.

Flexibility – you can use the funds in your account to pay for current medical expenses, including expenses that your insurance may not cover, or save the money in your account for future needs, such as:

• Health insurance or medical expenses if unemployed
• Medical expenses after retirement (before Medicare)
• Out-of-pocket expenses when covered by Medicare
• Long-term care expenses and insurance

Savings – You can save the money in your account for future medical expenses and grow your account through investment earnings.

Control – You make all the decisions about:

• How much money to put into the account
• Whether to save the account for future expenses or pay current medical expenses
• Which medical expenses to pay from the account
• Which company will hold the account
• Whether to invest any of the money in the account
• Which investments to make

Ownership – Funds remain in the account from year to year, just like an IRA. There are no “use it or lose it” rules for HSAs.

Tax Savings – An HSA provides you triple tax savings:

1. Tax deductions when you contribute to your account;
2. Tax-free earnings through investment; and,
3. Tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.

To obtain more information about HSAs you can contact your local branch office or read “All About HSAs” from the U.S. Treasury Department.