Can 401k Plan Sponsors Continue to Ignore the Benefits of the Health Savings Account? The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU) recently held a Fiduciary Education Program in Orlando, Florida at University of Central Florida. During the Program TPSU Adjunct Lecturer, Jamie Greenleaf spent a considerable amount of time discussing the benefits of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Tax benefits alone are reason enough to add a Health Savings Account to a company’s benefits package.
Pre-tax contributions, tax-deductible contributions, and tax-free withdrawals are all available to those companies who add the Health Savings Account. Also, withdrawals from a Health Savings Account are not subject to federal (and in many instances, state) income taxes if the funds are used are used for qualified medical expenses.
Add to that, the fact that account earnings are tax-free.
Health Savings Accounts also provide intangible-choice to the plan participants when participants face qualified medical expenses which could be paid with either 401k account assets or HSA assets.
At the conclusion of the Program, Steff Chalk, Executive Director of The Plan Sponsor University interviewed Lofton Barnes, Director of Human Resources at a regional agricultural firm. During the interview, Mr. Barnes described his firm’s interest in adding the Health Savings Account benefit to their benefits package.
