How Much Do You think You Need to Retire? What Age Will You/Spouse Retire? General Retirement Issues (Part 2)

Obviously, one has to know how the will is worded in order to make an informed decision.

Just so you know you’re not the only one who thinks like that, we are doing the same thing. I figured of all the things we could buy with that money, I couldn’t think of a better thing to spend it on. That said, due to a couple TA positions, we haven’t actually had to pay anything yet. Win win.

5 Likes

HSA question. We have a high deductible plan with a HSA.

My husband retires January 1 at 61. We will have the same health care until we are eligible for Medicare. We can continue to fund our HSA until we turn 65 and go on Medicare.

Should we continue to fund the HSA with retirement dollars?

Yes I know how incredibly privileged this benefit is. Also once Medicare starts, we will receive an amount of money to purchase our supplements. The company started that once they stopped keeping retirees on the company plan.

1 Like

@Hoggirl and others who want to gift higher ed tuition $$
 I’m sure you are aware of this but posting just in case - if you pay the school’s tuition bill directly without giving $$ to the student, that money does not count towards either your $15k a year gift exclusion or lifetime gift exemption. Ditto medical bills. See, for example:

10 Likes

Yes, I get that. I thought that was implied in my post above about not needing to file a 709.

But, your statement is more direct and clear, and I am sure that linked article will help others!

3 Likes

It’s not a bad idea to keep funding the HSA. We stopped, but we did so because we don’t have a pension. It doesn’t make sense for us to use IRA withdrawals to fund an HSA. If you have enough with pension to fund it, it’s a good thing to do. If you’ll be collecting SS, you can’t contribute to an HSA.

2 Likes

Once enrolled in Medicare, you can’t contribute to HSA. If are under 65, and collecting social security, you can still contribute.

Using IRA withdrawal to fund HSA will let you deduct HSA contribution on your taxes.

4 Likes

I apologize. I read an article that said you can’t contribute to an HSA if collecting SS 
 but when I went back to reread it after seeing your post, the article was misleading. I had to read on to see that they were discussing a 65 year old. Medicare is the reason you can’t contribute, not SS.

2 Likes

if you have the extra cash, definitely continue to fund your HSA with the after-tax dollars in your bank account and then claim that amount on your tax return.

Fidelity has a great HSA program, with zero fees. You can transfer the balance from your employer plan.

2 Likes

Thanks so much. We have our other accounts with fidelity but the HSA is with Health Equity. I think I’ll keep it there until Medicare and then transfer with the rest of our money to Fidelity

1 Like

check into the fees that Health Equity will/is charging for the HSA
again, Fido is zero fees.

1 Like

My HSA account is with Fidelity, and their online setup etc seems good. One mistake I made was to not look at it til after retirement
 I should have created id/password and picked investments since all was in the default (cash-like acct, almost zero interest).

I had intended to use HSA for non-covered health expenses after retirement. Our financial advisor convinced me to let it ride because of the tax exempt earnings.

Clearly the financial advisor gave you incomplete advice

Agree, terrible advice.

btw: California adn New Jersey don’t like HSA’s. California treats them like any taxable investment/bank account. NJ doesn’t given one a tax break going in, but does allow a tax break on the state tax return for distribution for medical expenses.

I suppose it is terrible advise in some situations, but I think it makes sense in us. (At first I was using the HRA debit card for copays etc but no longer do so - we have plenty of income to cover that. Maybe my “let it ride” phrase was not clear on that.) There will be future years where we have bigger medical needs and/or the need to keep taxable income low, a better time to use HSA which has untaxed growth in the meantime.

This article is a bit old, but it has some of the reasoning. For those with different advise
 please post more so we can all learn together.

In my state disclaimer is considered to be the same as if you predeceased the decedent. In every will I have been involved with at work the deceased child’s share goes to his children or if they have none to the siblings. But of course you would want to know for sure. You often have several months to make the decision after the death of the will maker.

1 Like

My comment was linking your two sentences together: ‘cash account’ and ‘let it ride’. I agree with the latter, but not the former. But perhaps I misinterpreted?

Yes, don’t spend the HSA while you are working unless you need the money, i.e. let-it-ride. But, not in a cash-style account. Instead, invest the balance similar as you would your 401k or similar retirement account. By waiting as long as possible to tap the HSA, you can maximize your triple tax-free earnings.

btw: that cnbc article forgot to mention that HSA’s can be used to pay for Medicare Premiums, such as Part B and Part D. (But it does correctly point out that Medigap policies don’t count.)

1 Like

We are also hanging onto our HSA money for the future. We plan to hang onto it for future medical costs
 plus, I have amassed thousands of dollars in medical receipts over the years. We can use those receipts to justify withdrawals, even if we actually use those funds for other reasons (like reducing taxable income).

4 Likes

Ah, I can see why the confusion from my post. My “cash like” HSA investment default was in the years before retirement, before we were discussing these things with a financial advisor.

In my last few work years I put money into HSA (along with high-deductible medical plan, thus qualifying for some by nice employer contribution). I just never saw the need to mess with the Fidelity HSA account when I was not intending to tap the balance until retirement (only did a one-time test of associated debit card.) Oops, it could have been making better earnings. Even so, I’m still glad I did HSA.

Yes, exactly.