Health Savings Account (HSA)

If you are currently only enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan, you can open a MetLife HSA to pay for qualified out-of-pocket healthcare expenses with pre-tax dollars and save for healthcare costs over the long term, including retirement.

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Getting Started with Your HSA

Your HSA has many benefits. You can use it for out-of-pocket qualified medical, dental, vision and preventive care expenses, which may help you achieve your financial goals now and in the future.

Advantages of an HSA

Triple-tax savings: Employee and employer contributions1 are tax-advantaged, your balances and investments grow tax-free and you can withdraw tax-free funds at any time to pay for or reimburse qualified out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.2

Build a safety net: HSAs are not “use-it-or-lose-it” accounts. Unlike flexible spending accounts (FSAs), unused HSA dollars accumulate and grow tax-free year over year.

Your HSA for life: Your HSA belongs to you, including employer contributions. You can take it with you from job to job and into retirement. It’s never too late to achieve financial security.

Make your HSA work for you: Similar to a 401(k) plan, your HSA can earn interest, and investment options are available.3 Remember, the interest and earnings are not taxed,2 and there is no maximum on the HSA balance you can accumulate. This means every dollar you don’t take out of the HSA today is another dollar you can grow for future needs.

Invest your HSA: The MetLife HSA pays interest on HSA cash deposits—higher than average interest rates6 help employees make the most of their savings. You also have investment flexibility through a variety of mutual fund investment options. Automatically allocate funds from your cash account into your HSA investment account for tax-free investment growth for future needs.7

Additional tax savings at age 55. The more you contribute to your HSA, the more you save on taxes. And, at age 55, you can contribute an additional $1,000 over the IRS annual contribution limit.

My HSA Planner Calculator

Our HSA Planner Tool provides information on how much you may wish to save each year and how those savings may grow over time.

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Expenses covered with your HSA

Use your tax-advantaged HSA to pay for qualified healthcare expenses. Here are some examples of what an HSA covers:4

  • Copays, coinsurance and deductibles
  • Office visits, X-rays and lab work
  • Qualified vision and dental expenses
  • Prescriptions and OTC medications and supplies
  • Items such as blood pressure monitors and diabetic testing supplies

HSA + Retirement

A 65-year-old couple retiring today will need an average of $315,000 for medical expenses.*

Four ways an HSA helps you address healthcare concerns in retirement.

  • An HSA’s growth and withdrawals allow you to save money through tax-advantaged contributions and tax-free withdrawals.2
  • Turning to an HSA to cover your healthcare retirement costs can allow you to focus your retirement savings accounts on other expenses
  • You can invest your HSA funds to maximize the account growth potential.3
  • You can contribute an additional $1,000 each year beginning the year you turn 55.5

Valuable features make it easy

  • Simple enrollment and account setup.
  • Easy payments with a MetLife debit card: a single, smart card with mobile wallet abilities.
  • 24/7 account access through the secure, easy-to-use online portal and mobile app to quickly check your balance, research investments and track activity.
  • Educational resource library, interactive planning tools and one-click answers to your benefits questions.
  • Access your money three ways when you need to pay for expenses—use your debit card, pay providers directly or request a distribution to reimburse yourself.
  • Automatic payroll deduction of your pre-elected HSA contribution amount and automatic tax reporting of all contributions.
  • Convenient receipt organizer to store unreimbursed qualified healthcare receipts that you can use to validate future withdrawals from your HSA.

Shop, choose and purchase eligible items through Health Shopper via Amazon. Make purchases on the site with your MetLife debit card. Plus, Amazon Prime members get free shipping!

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Health Savings Account FAQs

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In order to open and/or contribute to an HSA, you must currently be enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). You can contribute to an HSA if:

  • You are not covered under any other health plan that is not a qualified HDHP, including a general-purpose healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), or if you are not covered under TRICARE.
  • You are not enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid.
  • You cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.
  • You will not contribute to another HSA if your total contributions across your HSA account(s) would cause you to exceed the IRS maximum contribution limits; other restrictions may apply.

Pre-tax dollars are funds from your paycheck that are contributed to your HSA before taxes are deducted. Since you’re not paying taxes on the money you contribute, you end up with more money to use for qualified expenses.

Contributions are automatically transferred from your paycheck to your HSA. Your money starts to earn interest immediately, and—if your balance reaches $2,000—you will have the option of investing in mutual funds or other investment vehicles.

Contribution maximums for 2025 are $4,300 for individuals and $8,550 for families, plus a catch-up contribution of up to $1,000 for accountholders age 55 and over.5 Your contribution should be determined by how much you anticipate in out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for this and future years and how much you can afford to have deducted from your paycheck. You may also want to consider contributions for longer-term investments when deciding on the amount of your deduction.

You can use HSA funds for a range of out-of-pocket expenses without incurring any taxes or penalties. These include copays, coinsurance and deductibles, office visits, hospital bills, prescriptions and OTC medications and supplies, qualified dental and vision care, plus diagnostic items like diabetic testing supplies and more.4

HSA funds used for non-qualified expenses are taxed and subject to a 20% penalty if you are less than 65 years of age. Beginning at age 65, HSA funds for non-qualified medical expenses are taxed but do not incur any penalty.

There are three ways to pay for expenses: use a smart debit card connected to your account, pay providers directly or request to receive disbursements through the HSA online portal.

You’ll have 24/7/365 online access to account information through the online portal and mobile app. You’ll be able to view details on contributions, balance, spending and interest income. Plus, if you opt to invest your funds, you’ll be able to track results. You can download the MetLife HS&SA app for your device from the Apple app store or Google Play and log in with the password you use to access the online portal.

You don’t have to invest. When your balance reaches $2,000, you’ll have the option of investing. But you are not required to do so. You can continue to earn interest at a rate more than 3x higher than the industry average.6

You will have a range of investment options, which will include access to a standard set of mutual funds and may include access to a self-directed brokerage account via Charles Schwab.8

Unused funds simply remain in your HSA and can be used year to year on qualified expenses without penalty.

You will always retain your unused funds regardless of your employment status. If you change jobs or lose your job and are still enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), you can retain your HSA or roll the funds into a new HSA (if offered by your new employer) and continue to make contributions. If you are no longer enrolled in an HDHP, you can retain your HSA and access the funds, but you won’t be able to make additional contributions to your account. If you retire and are enrolled in Medicare, you can retain your HSA and access your funds; however, you cannot make additional contributions to your account.

Use a calculator to determine the possible savings with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and Health Savings Account (HSA) compared to a traditional health plan. By using an HDHP/HSA solution, you can often realize significant savings on your insurance premiums and receive a deduction on your income taxes.

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1 You can contribute to an HSA if: (1) you are not covered under any other health plan that is not a qualified HDHP, including a general purpose healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), or if you are not covered under TRICARE; (2) you are not enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid and (3) you cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.

2 HSA funds used for non-qualified expenses are taxed and subject to a 20% penalty for accountholders less than 65 years of age. Beginning at age 65, HSA funds for non-qualified expenses are taxed but do not incur any penalty.

3 All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

4 See IRS publication 15-B available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15b.pdf for a list of qualified expenses. In addition, there may be legislation or additional publications that may modify or expand available qualified expenses. Please refer to your employer’s plan document for the latest list of qualified expenses under your plan.

5 Contribution limits are subject to change and should be checked on an annual basis on the IRS website.

6 MetLife Internal Analysis (last updated October 2023). Cash savings balances in an HSA earn interest through a funding agreement issued to the custodian bank, are not FDIC insured and are subject to the financial strength and claims-paying ability of Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company. The interest rate earned on the assets allocated to the funding agreement option is declared to the custodian and is guaranteed for at least 12 months from the date the interest rate is declared. There may be different interest rates applicable to different allocations depending on when the allocation was made to the funding agreement option. The funding agreement option provides the investor with a stable rate of return over time. Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company may earn a spread from assets allocated to the funding agreement option available under HSAs.

7 Investing in mutual funds is available for HSA balances above the threshold amount required in a cash account.

8 It is the employee who determines whether to invest funds, and the employee selects those investments from the platform made available through MetLife.

* How to plan for rising health care costs, https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/plan-for-rising-health-care-costs, Accessed August 2024

Like most group benefit programs, benefit programs offered by MetLife and its affiliates contain certain exclusions, exceptions, waiting periods, reductions of benefits, limitations and terms for keeping them in force. Nothing in these materials is intended to be, nor should be construed as, advice or a recommendation for a particular situation or individual. Participants should consult with their own advisors for such advice. Federal and state laws and regulations are subject to change.