Pub. 7 2017-2018 Issue 4

10 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S Health Savings Accounts and Medicare BY STEVE CHRISTENSON, ASCENSUS EVP A s I travel the country speaking about health savings accounts (HSAs), I am being asked more in-depth questions from financial services personnel on ho w consumers can benefit fromHSAs. Many of our colleagues im - mediately discuss the triple tax benefit of HSAs: tax-deferred contributions, tax-exempt distributions for qualified expenses, and penalty-free distributions for nonqualified expenses be - ginning at age 65. These are key points and should continue to be discussed. But we should also expand the discussion by asking the following question. “Can individuals still contribute to an HSA after age 65 and receive the same benefits?” The answer is… yes! HSA Contributions After Age 65 The rules for contributing to an HSA do not change once an individual turns age 65. Thus, an HSA owner • must be covered only under a qualified high-deductible health care plan,