A few tips to choose a health savings account

The HAS or health savings account is a beautiful way to save for medical emergencies in the future. The money you will be putting in a HSA is tax preferred and hence is the best bet for health people with few medical complications. 

The HSA can be used in two ways. Most people will just fund the HSA and then they will use the money from the fund as and when they require it or people will accumulate savings with an intention to withdraw it at a future time when they anticipate medical costs to have gone up further. 

A number of financial institutions offer these accounts. This can include banks, insurance companies, credit unions or other independent institutions. These institutions are called as the custodians or the administrators who offer the accounts. And each one of them will have varying terms and conditions. 

There are several tips that will help you out when you go looking for a HSA, 

• Always find out the accessibility of the financial institution which is offering the account. You need to be able to contact a customer service representative as and when you feel the need and not have to go to the branch for every small problem.
• You will in all probability get a credit card or a debit card along with your account. Older accounts had a cumbersome process of withdrawing money. It involved disbursement and reimbursement forms which were a hassle to deal with. But now, with the plastic cards it is a lot easier.
• A very few accounts have monthly fees. Others have a transaction fee or a combination fee. Always find out what the associated fees are while opening an account. Many accounts will also have what is called a behavioral fee, which is based on the account going negative, or insufficient funds deposit or an over draft.
• To find out about the security concerns of the account, look for a company whose website is secure and also where your Social security numbers are truncated on all the documents.
• Always keep a record of all your transactions. It is common these days to get everything online and not to bother about hard copies. But at least make it a point to copy the records to a soft version on a pen drive or a compact disk for your own reference.
• Many HSA will offer additional investment options and will not function like just another savings account. There are many which have mutual funds and allows their customers to transfer their money from savings accounts to funds without any fees. Some will also give you the option of buying stock like HSA bank which has an agreement with ameri trade to provide online stock brokering facility to you. Each trade through ameritrade will cost you $9.95.
• Many accounts will required that you have a minimum balance. This could rage from $3000 to even $6000. Always ask what the minimum balance is and also the penalties associated with not maintaining the same.