Can we open a Health Savings Account (HSA)?

My job has a HDHP option; I signed up because I wanted to use it as nice investment vehicle after I maxed out my 401k and Roth IRA. Now i've received letters that lead me to belief that DACA recipients may not be qualified for an HSA. I'm going to look into this issue this weekend and try to resolve it early next week.

Has anyone run into this? Anyone have any information/sources? It does not make sense to me. This is not publicly funded program. Heck, it's called a HIGH DEDUCTIBLE health plan. I'm not asking for a dumb government handout; I want to use money from my paycheck to pay for my health insurance. This will not shortchange any US citizen and I will be pumping money into the economy. Everybody wins.

Thanks for any help or guidance.

Read through this URL.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p969...link1000204025

Qualifying for an HSA

To be an eligible individual and qualify for an HSA, you must meet the following requirements.

You must be covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP), described later, on the first day of the month.

You have no other health coverage except what is permitted under Other health coverage , later.

You are not enrolled in Medicare.

You cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2014 tax return.

I don't see why not. I work at a pharmacy and have had insurance for 2 years. They sent me a paper to verify my identity/legal status, and one of the options is the work permit. I think that applies to everyone though. After I did it I had no issues at all. For this year, we have a new HSA company so I had to send out my info again, but after I did its all good.

Yes we can.

I have one.

I've had mine for almost a year now, and they recently switched companies and had no problem with either of them.

You can have/open one, if you're employer offers it.

Yes you can!! I work at a bank, wells Fargo offers them.

You can. But there are two types. There are FSAs and HSAs. Here you go for some background http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/11/18/fsa-vs-hsa/

HDHP is not an investment. What does health insurance have to do with 401K and an IRA?

You have a lot of reading to do my friend.

Thanks a lot for all of the responses. I have figured it out and will address a couple of things I ran into.

Completely wrong, misleading and dangerous information. The HSA is one of the best investment vehicles depending on the situation. In my case the priority goes:
1. Up to employer 401k match
2. Max out HSA
3. Max out Roth IRA
4. Max out 401k
The HSA offers a triple tax-free benefit. You cannot get that anywhere else and is only trumped by the "free" money of an employer match. The only issue is that a HDHP has to be right for you. You can simply google "HSA as an investments", "HSA vs 401k vs IRA" or "taxes on HSA investments" to learn more about the differences and benefits of an HSA.

http://www.ebri.org/pdf/FF.292.HSA-Tax.31July14.pdf
https://www.jpmorgan.com/tss/Blank/C.../1159325994007
https://www.betterment.com/resources...nd-retirement/
http://moneyover55.about.com/od/heal...ra-Or-401k.htm

Let me know if you need/want more information on the subject.


Correct, and FSA is an alternative to an HSA. In my case an HSA works better for me. Thanks for the link.

Yes, I found this out as well. My provider is Discovery Benefits and they had a few loopholes for me to jump through before they opened the account.

I have opened mine now as well. They just needed to ask me a few more questions and it took a little bit longer to process after I got them the information.


It is important to meet all of those requirements. However for DACA recipientsyou may to call an clarify a few things depending on the provider. It has to do with the Patriot Act, legal status and such.