Health Savings Account (HSA)

The University of Richmond's Health Savings Account (HSA) is provided by Health Equity.

If you enroll in one of the High Deductible Health Plans, you can open a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help pay for eligible medical expenses. Money is deposited in your HSA on a pre-tax basis. You must enroll in the Workday portal to receive the employer contribution. If you are new hire, you will receive a prorated employer portion each of your remaining pay periods. You may receive notifications from Health Equity requesting additional information required to establish your account. You must enroll in your HSA every year to contribute.

High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) participants may participate in the HSA. HDHP participants may not participate in the medical flexible spending account (FSA).

The University's current health savings account custodian is HealthEquity, one of the country’s largest health savings account administrators. Please contact Health Equity with any questions you may have regarding your account. The University does not have access to any information regarding investments in your health savings account.

How does an HSA work?

• You can make tax-free contributions via payroll deduction
  • You can use HSA funds to pay eligible out-of-pocket medical, vision, and dental expenses for yourself and your eligible dependents

Advantages of an HSA

• You decide how much to set aside for health care costs
• You control how to spend the money
• You receive tax benefits, including maximizing your tax savings and carrying over your money tax-free each year
• Any unused money stays in your account
• The account balance rolls over from year to year
• You own the account and the money is yours even if you change jobs
• You can grow your money by saving or investing

Eligibility

To be eligible for an HSA, you must be covered under an HSA-qualified health plan. Also, you must not be:

• You cannot be covered under a non-HDHP plan (yours or your spouse’s)
• You cannot be enrolled in Medicare Part A and/or Part B
• You do not receive health benefits under TRICARE
• You cannot have received medical benefits from Veteran’s Administration (VA) for any non-service-connected disabilities at any time during the previous three months
• You cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return
• You are not covered by a general purpose health care flexible spending account (FSA); a limited-purpose FSA is permitted

2025 Annual Federal HSA Contribution Limits

• Invidual - $4,300
• Family - $8,550
• Catch up (age 55 and older) - additional $1,000

 

2025 University of Richmond Contributions to Employee HSAs
	Base High Deductible Health Plan
Base Salary	Employee only	Employee + child(ren)	Employee + spouse	Employee + family
≥ $40,000	$1,000	$1,500	$1,500	$2,000
< $40,000	$1,500	$2,500	$2,500	$3,000
	Value High Deductible Health Plan
Base Salary	Employee only	Employee + child(ren)	Employee + spouse	Employee + family
≥ $40,000	$500	$750	$750	$1,000
< $40,000	$500	$750	$750	$1,000

Investing in an HSA

Contributions to the HSA can be made via payroll deduction and/or directly to the account. Participants are immediately vested in their HSA, and there is no "use it or lose it" stipulation. It's the participant's account; it's portable and can be built on over the years.

Learn more about HSAs here.

Enrolling in a Health Savings Account

You may receive notification from Health Equity requesting additional information required to establish your account. 

Contact Health Equity with any questions.

Accessing Your Online Account

Your HSA is managed by Health Equity. You can access your online account through the Health Equity website.

Visit my.healthequity.com

• You will receive information in the mail from Health Equity on how to register online along with a debit card to use your account for eligible expenses.

Making Changes to Your Account

• To change your HSA contribution, please visit the WEX Benefits Portal at benefitexpress.richmond.edu.
• To update the email attached to your online HSA account, log in to your Health Equity account and select "My Account".

Managing Your Finances

• HSAs stay with you for life, so even if you terminate your employment or retire, you can continue to use your account.
• You can use HSA funds to pay COBRA premiums or any other health insurance premiums if you are receiving federal or state unemployment benefits. If you need cash, you can reimburse yourself tax-free from your HSA for previous medical expenses that you paid for out-of-pocket.
• You can continue to contribute as long as you still have an HSA-qualified plan and meet HSA eligibility requirements.
• View examples of HSA-eligible items here.

How Medicare Impacts Your HSA

Download the guide: HSA Guide to Medicare

When you turn 65, you become eligible for Medicare. You can keep your HSA after you enroll in Medicare, but you and the University can no longer make contributions. Everything else stays the same — the funds are still yours, you can still invest them or use them for eligible medical expenses, and you can still use your account as a way to transfer your wealth to your beneficiary(ies).

If you enroll in Medicare mid-year, you’re still eligible to contribute, but only for the months you are not enrolled in Medicare.

For example, if you have a single high deductible health plan (HDHP) and enroll in Medicare on July 1, 2021, you may contribute up to 6/12th of the annual contribution limit for the 6 months you weren't enrolled in Medicare ($3,850 x 6 / 12 = $1,925). If you wish to contribute the $1,000 catch-up contribution since you are over age 55, this should be prorated as well ([$3,850 + $1,000] x 6 / 12 = $2,425). If applicable, be sure to stop or adjust employer contributions or any other automatic contributions.

Medicare enrollment, not eligibility, is what disqualifies you from being eligible to contribute to your HSA.

If you wait to enroll in Medicare Part A, B or D, you can still contribute to your HSA just like normal. Please note that if you are currently receiving Social Security monthly benefits, you cannot opt out of Medicare Part A. When you do enroll in Medicare, your coverage will retroactively cover you from when you turned 65.

So, if you plan to wait to enroll in Medicare, make sure to follow the guidelines below for stopping your HSA contributions:

• If you plan to enroll in Medicare less than 6 months after you turn 65, stop making contributions when you turn 65.
• If you plan to enroll in Medicare more than 6 months after turning 65, stop making contributions 6 months before you plan to enroll in Medicare.
• If you know you have already mistakenly over-contributed, complete and submit an Excess Contribution Removal Form prior to filing your taxes and you will not be penalized by the IRS.

After Medicare enrollment, you can use your existing HSA funds to pay for Medicare and IRS-approved health insurance premiums.

Once enrolled in Medicare, your premiums for Part A, B, D, and Medicare Advantage Plans are considered eligible medical expenses that can be paid with your existing HSA funds for both you and your spouse. However, you cannot use HSA funds to pay for Medicare supplement (Medigap) premiums. If you are eligible for any employer-sponsored health insurance, these premiums are also considered eligible medical expenses.

You may find complete IRS guidelines about Medicare and HSAs on pages 6, 8 and 9 of IRS Publication 969.

Leaving the University - Next steps with your HSA

When you leave the University, the money in your health savings account is yours to keep, and rolls over year after year. You can continue to use it for qualified medical expenses for you, your spouse, and your tax dependents, and your account will remain open until you choose to close it. Just note that UR has been paying the monthly $3 administrative fee for your account, so you'll be charged with the fee each month once you leave.

If you remain enrolled in the high deductible health plan (HDHP), either through a new employer, COBRA, or an individually-purchased insurance policy, then you'll be eligible to contribute to your HSA.

If you have a HDHP through a new employer with an HSA administrator other than Health Equity, you can:

1. Have two health savings accounts
2. Ask your new employer to contribute to your current health savings account
3. Roll over money from your current HSA to a new one

If you have a HDHP through an individually-purchased insurance policy or via COBRA, you may continue to contribute money to your HSA online, through payroll deduction, or via check. Your account will not change -- the account number and the debit card(s) will remain the same, and your online access will remain the same. When you login to your account, you'll see your former account, as well as your new individual account.