"1. How much can Julia contribute to her HSA for her eligibility Oct-Dec 21 (after I was no longer on the policy, and she went forward with her own. I assume 1/4 of the annual max, correct? what about the catch up contribution, since she is 63, is that also prorated?"
First, she needs to have her own HSA. I say that because the catch-up bonus belongs to the owner of the HSA. That is, just because she is 55+, she could not contribute an extra $1,000 to your HSA, she could do that only to her own HSA.
Since she had a Self-only HDHP policy on December 1, 2021, under the last-month rule, she would be eligible to contribute a full year's worth of HSA contributions ($3,600) plus the entire $1,000 bonus if this is to her HSA and she is 55+.
Furthermore, since she shared your Family plan prior to October, there may be more of a ceiling, unless you used it all (remember that the 7,200 under the Family plan is shared between the wo taxpayers). Well, she is clearly entitled to the $4,600 under the last-month, so perhaps we don't want to complicate things.
The downside is that she must stay under HDHP coverage for all of 2022. Something to consider if she is approaching Medicare.
"so paying a 6% fee to leave it in the HSA would be a smart move"
Probably not, because it's 6% a year, so long as you carry the excess over. And once you went on Medicare, your opportunities to fix this shrink to only the most expensive option.
Yes, an HSA can be considered a good retirement tool, since you are not taxed on the money going in and are not taxed on the money coming out for medical expenses (and everyone has those eventually), AND if the day comes that you need the money otherwise, it's like an IRA, in that you can withdraw money for whatever and pay only the normal income tax on it, once you reached 65. And a lot of HSA custodians allow multiple types of investments (like stocks and mutual funds) once your HSA balance reaches a certain amount. But I would deal with that 6% carryover as soon as possible, or else the 6% a year and bank charges will eat up your remaining HSA balance.
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