The Magic of HSAs: Introducing Our New Partnership with ConnectYourCare

Benefits administration can be enormously time-consuming, and we pride ourselves at Winston Benefits in doing everything we can to improve the benefits administration experience.

That’s why we’re incredibly excited to share news of our new partnership with ConnectYourCare, a national leader in consumer-directed health care account solutions. By joining forces, we’re able to provide a more streamlined experience that doesn’t require administrators to seek outside vendors — all through the convenience of the Winston Benefits platform.

If you’re considering offering an HSA as a benefit, our partnership with ConnectYourCare means there has never been a better time to do so. Here are a few basics on HSAs to get you thinking and to highlight what we can offer.

The Importance of the HSA

HSAs work similar to some retirement plans. In fact, HSAs actually have significant tax advantages over 401(k) plans. HSAs are triple-tax advantaged, meaning contributions allocated to such accounts are tax-free, any investment earnings grow tax-free and any distributions for qualified health expenses are tax-free.

This means employees are able to put more money to use to cover their medical expenses — not just for now, but for years to come, along with taking advantage of the interest their deposits accrue.

Clearing Up HSA Misconceptions

While HSAs are an amazing tool, there’s a bit of confusion surrounding the best ways to use them. One of the most common reasons employees don’t get an HSA is that they believe they won’t have enough saved for an unexpected medical expense at the beginning of the year. This is untrue. HSAs aren’t like flex spending accounts; money in them can carry over for years.

However, should an unfortunate incident arise, ConnectYourCare’s HSA also comes with a feature called HSA On Demand®. This lets account holders access future company contributions to their HSA at any time of the year — even before they’re deposited into the account. The money will simply be subtracted from the organization’s next set of contributions.

Another common misconception is that those nearing retirement age or Medicare eligibility believe an HSA has no value for them. However, they forget that HSAs are great investment tools for retirement savings. We’ll use a 55-year-old as an example. Let’s assume this individual contributes $3,000 a year to their HSA, while spending $1,500 yearly on medical expenses. If they earn 6% a year in interest and investments, while reinvesting all their earnings, their HSA balance could grow to $20,957 in 10 years. And if you account for potential organizational contributions, that number could get a lot bigger … all at a triple-tax advantage!

The Expertise You Expect

We understand that communicating with your employees about the advantages of new benefits can be difficult.

That’s why we’re committed to bringing you the expertise you expect from our new and improved team, and to helping you create the best strategy to communicate with your team. We’ll be providing calculator tools to help your employees visualize just how beneficial HSAs can be, and we’ll also be on hand to answer any questions they — or you — might have.

After all, we only have our health. And we’re committed to making sure that all of us are doing everything we can to get your employees the quality of care they deserve.

Disclaimer:  This content is strictly informational and should not be used as specific advice on insurance products, legal, accounting, and/or tax related matters. Insureds should always contact the appropriate licensed professional for their insurance, legal, accounting, or tax needs.