Hello Opus17 and Dmertz,
Here are further clarifications, as well as missing pieces of information which may help me consolidating my understanding and preparing for my upcoming decisions:
- Opus 17 March 17, 2025 11:17 AM
Receiving SSA benefits does not make you ineligible to contribute, it's Medicare enrollment that does it.
If you had HSA-eligible insurance for 2026, you could contribute to an HSA as well, because you would have 3 months eligibility.
-- I believe I am not yet actively enrolled into Medicare (not paying any premium) as I have been on my employer' group health plan for over 10 years.
Now becoming 70 y/o, I will receive SSA benefits in 2026, and am thinking of getting a family plan HDHP and HSA in Jan 2026.
Even should I not be longer allowed my own HSA, I plan to continue working, to be able to stay off Medicare, on HDHP. My wish is to fund my wife's an HSA for at least a few as her workplace does not offer any HDHP plan.
2. Opus 17 November 19, 2025 8:36 AM:
It would be best, in most cases, for her to contribute to her HSA from your work income (if you can afford it)
-- We each have separate existing Salary Deferred plans. My upcoming SSA deposit needs a tax-savings strategy, so I could fund her HSA (with fungible money) and now hoping that my work payroll allows such funding to my wife's HSA a pre-tax allocation instead.
3. @dmertz Nov 19, 2025, 9:33 AM
If the employer puts money in the spouse's HSA, it does not count as pre-tax contributions for the employee. It would be fully taxable to the employee, and the spouse would have to take the deduction on form 8889 just as if they had taken money from the spouse's paycheck after it was deposited in their bank account.
I could be wrong, but I can't see a legal way for the employee's deferred salary to be deposited to a spouse unless it was taxable income to the spouse.
---If I actually can have my own HSA, perhaps I can just fund half of it, and find ways to fund my wife's half outside of my work payroll, may be from her work's payroll for the possible pre-tax advantages ?
I would like to thank both you, as well BillM223, BSch4477, so much, for giving me all this late learning, but valuable advices!!
-W16va
