Liz Weston

Dear Liz: Can I contribute additional money to my health savings account, above the amount I’m contributing through payroll deduction? Also, I have an HSA account from a previous employer and one from my current employer. Can I combine the two?

Answer: If you have a qualifying high-deductible health insurance plan, you can contribute up to $4,300 this year to an HSA if the plan covers just you or $8,550 if the plan covers your family. If you’re 55 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000. You can make additional contributions if your payroll deductions for the year, plus any employer contributions, fall short of the limit.

Maximizing your contributions can make sense because HSAs offer a rare triple federal tax break. Contributions are pre-tax, the money grows tax deferred and qualifying medical expenses can be paid with tax-free withdrawals. You can invest the money in your HSA for growth, and the balance can be rolled over year after year, making it a powerful potential supplement to other retirement plans. Although HSAs can be used any time to pay for medical costs, many HSA owners pay those expenses out of pocket so their accounts can continue to grow.

Consolidating an old HSA into your current one can be a smart move because combining accounts can reduce account fees and make it easier to manage your investments. You’ll also run less risk of losing track of an account.

The best way to consolidate would be to contact your current HSA provider and ask them to facilitate a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer from the old account. However, not all providers allow “in kind” transfers of investments. It should be no problem to transfer any cash in the account, but you may be required to sell the investments. You won’t owe federal tax on such a sale, but some states, including California, will tax any capital gains that result.