Frequently asked questions

No. You can keep your account, and the money in it remains yours. If your new employer offers an HSA, you can continue contributing to your Optum Bank account instead of opening a new one.

You do not have to close your account, and you can continue using the money in your HSA even in retirement. If you no longer have a qualifying high deductible health plan (HDHP), you can’t make additional contributions.

Yes. Use the following links if you are having trouble remembering your username or password, or need to register for our site:

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Find out whether your expense is qualified by checking out the qualified medical expense tool. 

2022 limits:

• An individual can contribute up to $3,650 (increase of $50 from 2021) for the year. 
• An individual with family coverage can contribute up to $7,300 (increase of $100 from 2021) for the year. 

If you are age 55 or older, you can contribute an additional catch-up contribution of $1,000 per year. If your spouse is also 55 or older, he or she may establish a separate HSA and make a “catch-up” contribution to that account.

Sign in to your account today and check your contribution limit. 

The IRS sets guidelines for how much you can contribute to an HSA each year. 

2021 limits:

• An individual can contribute up to $3,600 (increase of $50 from 2020) for the year.
• An individual with family coverage can contribute up to $7,200 (increase of $100 from 2020) for the year.

If you are age 55 or older, you can contribute an additional catch-up contribution of $1,000 per year. If your spouse is also 55 or older, he or she may establish a separate HSA and make a “catch-up” contribution to that account.

You can get copies of your most recent tax forms by signing in to your account and viewing the "Statements and Docs" section. Please note tax forms are not available via the Optum Bank app.

To order additional cards for your spouse and eligible dependents, sign in to your account. In the “I want to” section, click “Manage debit cards.”

If you’re a new account holder, you’ll be able to choose a PIN when you first activate your debit card. If you’ve forgotten your PIN or need to change it, call the customer service phone number on the back of your debit card.

If you’ve just opened an Optum Bank HSA, follow our new account holder checklist to get off to a good start

The main requirement for opening an HSA is having a qualifying high deductible health Plan plan (HDHP) that meets IRS guidelines.

You can sign in to your account to set up one-time or recurring deposits. You can mail in a check. Or, if available from your employer, you can set up payroll deductions from every check. You can also contribute with the Optum Bank app.

You can use your Optum Bank debit Mastercard^® on the spot or after you receive a bill. You can pay bills online or using the Optum Bank app. Or you can reimburse yourself for a payment you’ve made.

Call 1-866-610-4839 to cancel your account.

Your Optum Bank Health Savings Account (HSA) is a smart way to pay for qualified medical expenses, with significant tax advantages.  But did you know your HSA can play an even greater role in your overall wealth and retirement strategy? That’s because once your HSA reaches a certain designated balance, you may choose to invest a portion of your HSA dollars in mutual funds.

When you set up your investment account, you'll choose how you want the funds to be allocated among the available mutual funds. Once your account is established, you can change your investment elections, transfer funds and rebalance your account.

Click here to read our investment FAQ.

No. You can open and contribute to an HSA at age 65 or later as long as you meet HSA eligibility requirements, which are:

• You’re covered on an HSA-qualified medical plan.
• You’re not someone’s tax dependent.
• You don’t have any conflicting coverage (including enrollment in Medicare).

Turning age 65 does not, in and of itself, preclude you from remaining HSA-eligible absent any disqualifying coverage.

Yes. Medicare doesn’t offer an HSA qualifying option. You can’t make contributions to your HSA for any months after you enroll in any part of Medicare, even if you’re also covered on an HSA qualifying plan.

No. You’re enrolled in Part A (inpatient services) automatically only if you are age 65 or older and receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits. You’re enrolled in Part A and Part B (outpatient services like doctor visits, lab work and imaging) automatically if you’re collecting Social Security disability HSAs and Medicare benefits or are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Otherwise, you must sign up to receive coverage through Medicare. 

For more information on Medicare enrollment, please refer to Medicare and You or call the Social Security Administration customer service center at 1-800-772-1213.

Yes, you are enrolled in Part A and Part B (outpatient services like doctor visits, lab work and imaging) automatically if you’re collecting Social Security benefits.

For more information on Medicare enrollment, please refer to Medicare & You or call the Social Security Administration customer service center at 1-800-772-1213.

Yes, if your spouse is otherwise HSA-eligible. Individuals don’t have to be the medical plan subscriber to be HSA-eligible. You or your spouse can then make tax-deductible contributions into his HSA, up to the family maximum if you remain covered on a family contract (even if only your spouse is HSA-eligible). For some couples, this provision in the law allows them to continue to contribute to an HSA (and build income tax-free balances for distribution in retirement) for several years after the older spouse enrolls in Medicare.

Yes. HSA eligibility refers to your ability to open and contribute to an HSA, not whether or not you can enroll in a medical plan. As long as you meet your employer’s and the medical insurer’s eligibility requirements, you can enroll in an HSA qualifying medical plan. If you’re not HSA-eligible, though, you can’t open and contribute to an HSA. 

No. You lose HSA eligibility once you enroll in Medicare, so you can’t make additional contributions. You can contribute for months that you were eligible before you enrolled in Medicare. For example, if your 65th birthday is May 6 and you enroll in Medicare immediately, your effective date of Medicare coverage is May 1. You can make contributions for the months of January, February, March and April at any point up to the date that you file your personal income tax returns for that year, even though you may not be HSA-eligible at the time that you make your retroactive contribution for those months.

Yes, if your spouse is HSA-eligible and has an HSA, you — or anyone else — can contribute to her HSA. Your enrollment in Medicare doesn’t disqualify her from contributing to (or accepting contribution from others into) her HSA. You can contribute personal funds, either through post-tax payroll (you can set up a payroll deduction to send money directly to your spouse’s HSA) or with personal funds. Your spouse then deducts these contributions on her (or if you’re filing jointly, your joint) personal income tax return.

Yes. HSA eligibility relates to your ability to make contributions. Once you open an HSA, you can make income tax-free distributions for qualified medical expenses for the rest of your life, as long as you still have a balance in your account.

You can still reimburse, income tax-free, all qualified medical out-of-pocket expenses not reimbursed by other insurance or other sources, including:

• Medical plan deductibles
• Copay and coinsurance
• Dental and vision expenses
• Insulin and diabetic supplies
• Over-the-counter drugs and medicine with a prescription

In addition, you can reimburse certain insurance premiums, including premiums for:

• Medicare Parts B and D
• Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage — plans offered by private insurers that replace Medicare coverage)
• Some Medicare supplement plans

You can reimburse your own, your spouse’s and any tax dependents’ (such as an adult disabled child’s) expenses income tax-free from your HSA. These other family members don’t need to be HSA-eligible themselves or covered on your medical plan for you to make income tax-free distributions from your HSA to reimburse their qualified medical expenses tax-free. Note: You can’t reimburse your own or anyone else’s Medicare premiums income tax-free until you, the account owner, turn age 65. If you have an older spouse and want to reimburse their Medicare premiums income tax-free, they must open an HSA before they enroll in Medicare and contribute at least the $1,000 annual catch-up contribution. They can use this to cover their Medicare premiums until you turn age 65 and can reimburse their premiums income tax-free from your HSA. In addition, when both of you are HSA-eligible and covered on a family HSA-qualifying or compatible medical plan, you can split the family maximum contribution between your two HSAs as you wish.

No. You can reimburse each other’s expenses from your respective HSAs as long as you remain married. You can’t combine accounts, but you may choose to reimburse both your and your spouse’s expenses from one HSA to exhaust the balance in that account. Then, you have to manage (and perhaps pay monthly administration/ maintenance fees) on only one account without losing the ability to reimburse an expense that either of you incurs (as long as you remain married).

No. Distributions for non-eligible expenses are always included in your taxable income, putting these withdrawals on par with taxes on distributions from a traditional 401(k) or traditional IRA. Once you turn 65 or meet Social Security’s definition of disabled, you can make distributions for items that aren’t HSA-qualified without incurring the 20 percent additional tax (penalty) otherwise assessed to non-qualified medical expenses.

You name a beneficiary when you enroll in your HSA, and you can change the designation at any time. If you name your spouse as beneficiary (the most common situation), upon your death your HSA passes to your spouse with balances and tax advantages intact. Your spouse can then reimburse their own eligible expenses income tax-free. In addition, if your spouse remarries, they can reimburse their new spouse’s qualified medical expenses income tax-free. If you name any other person or entity as the beneficiary, the HSA is liquidated and the assets pass to that person or entity, who may incur a tax liability. That beneficiary doesn’t enjoy the tax benefits and isn’t constrained by the rules of an HSA.

Possibly. Here are the potential tax consequences if you delay enrolling in Medicare around your 65th birthday when you’re entitled to an Initial Enrollment Period:

• Part A (inpatient and home health care): If you (or your spouse) worked 40 employment quarters with income above the Medicare threshold, you receive Part A premium-free. You face no penalties for delaying enrollment past your Initial Enrollment Period.
• Part B (physician and outpatient services): If you don’t enroll during the Initial Enrollment Period, you must maintain group coverage from your 65th birthday until you do enroll in Part B. For every 12 months past your 65th birthday that you don’t maintain group coverage, you pay a 10% surcharge on your monthly Part B premium for the rest of your life. In addition, you may face a gap in coverage when you do want to enroll, since you’ll have to wait until the next General Enrollment Period to enroll in benefits effective the following July 1.
• Part D (prescription drug coverage): If you don’t enroll during the Initial Enrollment Period, you must maintain group or nongroup coverage that offers prescription drug benefits at least as rich as Part D. If you don’t, you're assessed a permanent surcharge of 1% of the national base beneficiary premium for every month since your 65th birthday that your coverage isn’t what’s called Medicare Creditable Coverage (MCC). In addition, you may face a gap in coverage when you want to enroll. You’ll have to wait for the next General Enrollment Period to enroll in benefits.

That’s a personal decision that you should discuss with your financial advisor. While your initial reaction might be to avoid penalties at all costs, note that (1) the penalties aren’t a punishment for doing something illegal or immoral and (2) you may be better off financially by remaining in your HSA program, building HSA balances to cover future expenses, enjoying tax savings and later facing penalties.