Loyola University Chicago

Human Resources

Health Savings Account

This account is available to those who are currently enrolled in the PPO 3 HSA medical plan, or were enrolled in PPO 3 HSA medical plan in a prior year.

 

*BenefitWallet HSA Accounts Transitioning to HealthEquity on April 11, 2024*

BenefitWallet, the current Health Savings Account (HSA) custodian, has been acquired by HealthEquity. All Loyola BenefitWallet HSA's will transfer to HealthEquity on April 11, 2024. Information will be mailed to HSA account holders with details specific to the transfer of their HSA account to HealthEquity. The information being mailed will also include specifics about a blackout period from April 2 -12, 2024. During this period, HSA funds cannot be used. Watch for information in the mail between January 25 and the end of March 2024.

HealthEquity has also made an information portal available at:   https://www2.healthequity.com/benefitwallet2/members/

 

Loyola University Chicago offers a Health Savings Account, or HSA, to complement the PPO 3 HSA medical plan option. An HSA is a bank account that allows you to save and pay for your share of everyday qualified health care expenses tax-free. You can pay for qualified expenses for you, your spouse, and any tax dependent (including LDAs) with your HSA–even if they are not covered by your health plan. 

If you are enrolled in PPO 3, you can start, stop, or change your HSA contributions any time during the year. Contact benefits@luc.edu if you would like to adjust your contributions. 

The Health Savings Account (HSA) Vendor is BenefitWallet (until April 11, 2024)*
Phone: 877.472.4200
Member portal: www.mybenefitwallet.com 

Learn more about HSAs at Loyola’s BenefitWallet site. Here you will find articles, videos, and several calculators to help you determine how an HSA can help your financial future. You can also access your account through the BenefitWallet member portal

Annual Contributions
Loyola will make a contribution into your HSA in January if you are re-enrolling. If you are a new hire the HSA employer contribution will be prorated based off of your date of hire within the current calendar year.

  • Employee Only: $600*
  • Employee + 1 or More: $1,200*

You can contribute up to the following amounts tax free (less Loyola's contribution):

Total Annual Contribution Limit for 2023

Your Max $3,250 + Loyola Contribution $600.00 = $3,850.00 total

You + 1 Max $6,550.00 + Loyola Contribution $1,200.00 = $7,750.00 total

If you are 55 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000 in catch-up contributions, too. Contributions are not subject to federal income tax, Social Security tax or Medicare tax.

*If you are a new hire or switch to PPO 3 HSA due to a life event, Loyola’s HSA contribution will be prorated based on your plan eligibility date. 

HSA Advantages

  • Spend up to 35% less on health care costs with a triple-tax advantage
  • Your savings never expire
  • You can invest your funds
  • You can use funds for health care costs for you or your family

Qualified Health Care Eligible Expenses and Limitations
Many different health care expenses are eligible for reimbursement. Eligible health care expenses are expenses incurred by you, your spouse or your eligible dependents for “medical care” as defined by IRS code. Generally, this means an item or service for which you could have claimed a medical care expense deduction on an itemized federal income tax return, for which you have not otherwise been reimbursed or could be reimbursed from insurance or some other source. 

For example, you may claim reimbursement for the following expenses:

  • Health care deductibles
  • Copays
  • Expenses not covered by other plans
  • Routine physical or dental examinations
  • Infertility treatments
  • Braces and other orthodontia
  • Vision expenses
  • Hearing care expenses
  • This IRS notice was issued clarifying that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) qualify as a 213(d) medical expense.  This means the purchase of PPE, such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, are qualified medical expenses if used for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of coronavirus.

You may not use your HSA to reimburse yourself for over‐the‐counter (OTC) medications unless you have a prescription from a doctor. Be sure to include the prescription with your receipt when requesting reimbursement. For a complete listing of eligible expenses, consult IRS Publication 502

You must be enrolled in an HSA qualified health plan which is the PPO 3 HSA option. If addition, you cannot be covered by another health plan (including Medicare or Tricare) or be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.

You can contribute to your account with payroll deductions, online by making deposits from your checking account, or by mailing a personal check.

Your HSA funds never expire. Any funds you don’t spend roll over year after year and can be saved for retirement. Although there is an annual limit for contributions, there is no limit to the total amount saved in your account.

The total annual contribution limit for 2023 is $3,850.00 if you cover just yourself, and  $7,750.00 if you have coverage for yourself plus your spouse/LDA and/or your child(ren). 

These limits include both your contributions and Loyola’s contributions. If you are age 55 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000 annually as a catch-up contribution.

Funds in your HSA can be used to pay for any out-of-pocket expenses that you owe as part of your health plan – doctor’s visits, prescriptions, lab tests, and hospitalizations. Additionally, dental, vision, acupuncture, and chiropractic expenses can also be paid with your HSA. For a complete list of qualified expenses, visit https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf.

You may designate beneficiaries by logging in to the BenefitWallet member portal and clicking Beneficiaries in the secondary navigation bar.

Both HSAs and FSAs allow you to pay for qualified medical expenses with pre-tax dollars. View the HSA and FSA Account Comparison to learn how the accounts differ.

You can contribute to a Dependent Day Care FSA but you cannot contribute to a Health Care FSA. You can enroll in a Limited Flexible Spending Account (LFSA), which can only be used toward eligible dental and vision expenses. 

If you and your spouse are both HSA-eligible (enrolled in PPO 3 HSA, or a different high-deductible plan outside of Loyola), you must share one family HSA contribution limit, as the IRS treats married couples as a single tax unit. You have three options:

  • Split the family contribution evenly between the spouses
  • Allocate the funds to a division you both agree on
  • Contribute the limit to just one's spouse's account

Yes, you may both open an HSA. However, the total amount that may be contributed to your HSAs is still the contribution limit.

If you do not enroll in Medicare and remain in an HSA-qualified health plan, you can continue to contribute to your HSA as you did before age 65. If you choose to enroll in Medicare, you are no longer eligible to contribute to your HSA, but you can continue to use it for qualified expenses. Additional expenses qualify at age 65, including certain Medicare premiums. At age 65 you are also no longer subject to the HSA excise tax, allowing you to use your HSA for nonqualified expenses and just pay regular income tax – similar to how you can use funds from the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (DCRP 403(b) plan) in retirement.

Once you enroll in Medicare, you are no longer eligible to make contributions to an HSA, but you can continue to pay for qualified health care expenses with your HSA. If your spouse is enrolled in Medicare but you are not, you can still contribute to an HSA and use the account to pay for qualified health care expenses.

Loyola offers a special Health Reimbursement Account to allow for those enrolled in PPO 3 to have access to employer-provided funds that would otherwise fund your HSA. Visit the BenefitWallet site for more information on Medicare and your HSA.

You can request to have your account canceled by calling the BenefitWallet Service Center at 877.635.5472. All contributions that have posted to your account will be returned to you as a distribution. Please note that unless you transfer or roll over the distributed amount to another HSA, these funds are subject to income tax and may also be subject to a penalty tax.  

You will receive a personalized, chip-enabled debit card from BenefitWallet. Activate your debit card upon receipt by following the instructions provided on the sticker on the front of the card. Your debit card can be used at an automated teller machine (ATM), provided you create a PIN. You may obtain additional debit cards for you and/or your dependent(s) through the member portal or by contacting the BenefitWallet Service Center at 877.635.5472.

The monthly maintenance fee is employer paid by Loyola as long as you are enrolled in PPO 3. This fee is $1.90 per employee per month if the monthly average balance is $3,000 or less. No fees apply if the monthly average balance is $3,000 or higher.

You own your HSA. If you change jobs or health plans, you continue to own your account. If you enroll in another HSA-qualified health plan, you can continue to contribute to your HSA up to age 65. If you choose another type of health plan, you are still eligible to spend the funds in your HSA on qualified medical expenses — for you, your spouse, and your tax dependents — up to age 65. At age 65 or older, you may use the funds for ANY expenses on a tax-free basis. 

*Note: The monthly maintenance fee is employer paid by Loyola as long as you are enrolled in the PPO 3 HSA plan. This fee is $1.90 per employee per month if the monthly average balance is $3,000 or less. No fees apply if the monthly average balance is $3,000 or higher.