How To Enroll and Contribute

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is available to Consumer-Directed Health Plan (CDHP) members.

An HSA is an individually owned, tax-advantaged account that puts the retiree in control over how his or her healthcare dollars are spent.

How to enroll

The annual Retiree Medical Plan Election Period for 2010 will be from Oct. 19 through Nov. 6.

Retirees who enroll in the CDHP for 2010 also will be provided the opportunity to open an HSA. There are two options available for retirees to enroll in the HSA.

A retiree can open their HSA by going to https://secure.hsabank.com/tvaenroll (available beginning the week of Oct. 13) and completing the Online Enrollment process.
A retiree can complete the HSA Bank Application Form (PDF, 51 kb). This form will also be included with a retiree’s medical plan election packet. Once a retiree has completed this form, it can be mailed to the address shown on the form, or faxed to HSA Bank at 877-851-7041.

In late December, a Welcome Kit containing important information about the HSA account, including how to designate authorized signers and beneficiaries will be sent to the retiree.

For security purposes, the retiree’s HSA Bank VISA® Debit Card will arrive in a separate package within five to 10 business days after receipt of the Welcome Kit.

Retirees will have a monthly administration fee of $1.75 deducted from their HSA by HSA Bank if their account balance is under $3,000. There is no fee if a retiree maintains a balance of $3,000 or more. Other fees, such as those for checks and account closing, will be highlighted in the Welcome Kit to be received upon enrolling in the HSA.

How to contribute

Retirees decide whether or not to contribute to their HSA. Retirees can contribute to their HSA by:

Mailing contributions using deposit slips from their HSA checkbook or contribution form on the back of their quarterly statement
Automatically transferring monthly contributions from a personal checking or savings account through HSA Bank’s internet banking site.

Retirees that discontinue their enrollment in the CDHP in the future can continue to use the funds in their HSA for qualified medical expenses but can no longer contribute to the account.

Retiree responsibilities

It is important for retirees to remember they own their HSA.

It is the retiree’s (i.e., account owner’s) responsibility to understand how an HSA works and the associated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules and regulations − that is, eligibility requirements, contribution limits, qualified medical expenses, etc.

HSA account owners will receive quarterly statements from HSA Bank similar to a regular checking account showing average balance, closing balance and any debits or credits to the account. Account owners also will have online account access.

Each year a 1099-SA and a 5498-SA statement is issued to assist with income-tax filling.

It is important for retirees to keep copies of medical receipts to verify how they use their HSA funds. An HSA account owner is responsible to the IRS for all types of withdrawals made from their HSA and will be required to pay taxes on and will face a 10-percent tax penalty (if the money is spent before age 65) if any HSA money is used for purposes other than to pay for qualified medical expenses.

For More Information

For more information about HSAs, retirees can call HSA Bank at 1-800-357-6246, Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 10:00 pm ET or visit www.hsabank.com/tva. Questions can be directed to a customer-service representative by phone or e-mail at askus@hsabank.com.