Welcome to NueSynergy! After months of hard work from our team and partners, NueSynergy is proud to announce the launch of our updated website. NueSynergy’s fresh and innovative look features everything you want to know about our financial services. This includes information and instructions on Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), Communications Portal, Commuter Benefits, COBRA, Direct Billing, and so much more.

Our cutting-edge graphics, designs and tables are now available for you to familiarize and manage your benefits and expenses. Please take a look around! We are so glad to make you part of our community. As we like to say, let’s build long-term relationships together.

What does retirement have to do with health care? A lot. And there’s an investment vehicle out there that can help with it.

Most people aren’t thinking about Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as an investment option for retirement, but an HSA is one of the best options on the market. As the name implies, HSAs are designed to help individuals sock away cash for medical expenditures. HSAs offer several other benefits, such as:

100% of unused funds roll over year-after-year,
funds go with you even if you switch employers,
they can pay for the eligible expenses of your legal spouse and tax dependents regardless of their insurance, and
be used for Medicare premiums as well as qualified long-term care premiums.

Most employees use HSAs for short-term costs; however, building those funds long term is just as important. A recent study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that more Americans are turning to HSAs to cover medical expenses, but very few use them for retirement planning. The study also found that few people are investing their HSA funds for the long term, and even fewer are maxing out their HSA contributions. The research was based on nearly 6 million HSAs with $13 billion in combined assets. And regardless of any findings, most people will incur substantial health costs in retirement, for which HSAs can help.

It’s important for participants to understand the best way to use the HSA is by treating it as an investment tool, primarily because of the triple-tax advantage. As of just a few years ago, 4% of accounts had investments other than cash. Understanding the HSA’s investment potential won’t occur overnight for most people. It’s also unreasonable to expect everyone to have the wherewithal to use their account solely for investing.

However, by educating participants and employers on the long-term value of the HSA, it’s realistic to expect a behavioral shift and an uptick in participants using the HSA as an investment tool for retirement. A key point here is to start using and funding HSAs now, while contributing close to the annual limits if possible.

The IRS has announced the 2019 contribution maximums for Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans in the newly released Revenue Procedure 2018-57. Contribution limits increased for the Health FSA, Commuter Benefits and Adoption Assistance program, while limits for the Dependent Care FSA remained unchanged.

Health Flexible Spending Account
The Health FSA, which provides employees the ability to set aside money on pre-tax basis to pay for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses will have an increase to its contribution maximum from $2,650 to $2,700 for 2019. The new contribution limit will also apply to the Limited Purpose FSA which reimburses eligible dental and vision expenses.

Commuter Benefits
Commuter Benefits help employees pay for certain parking, mass transit and/or vanpooling expenses with pre-tax dollars. The contribution limits for this account will increase from $260 to $265 for 2019.

Adoption Assistance
The Adoption Assistance FSA helps employees pay eligible adoption expenses such as agency fees and court costs by contributing to the account with pre-tax money from their paycheck. The contribution limits for this account will increase from $13,840 to $14,080 for 2019.

2018 and 2019 Contribution Amounts

Benefit 2018 | 2019
Health FSA $2,650 | $2,700
Limited Purpose FSA $2,650 | $2,700
Dependent Care $5,000 | $5,000
Parking/Transportation $260 / $260 | $265 / $265
Adoption Assistance $13,840 | $14,080

Questions? Contact us at 855.890.7239 or send an email to customerservice@nuesynergy.com.