“Where I work, everyone with an HSA is scrambling to “use it” because in the past they have “lost it””
That’s an FSA not an HSA.
FSA = Flexible Spending Account. Section 125 healthcare or dependent care account is an annual election where you can pay pretax monies in to an account to be used to pay for unreimbursed healthcare or dependent care expenses. Yes its annual and use it or lose it.
HSA = Health Savings Account. Again an annual election in which you decide how much on a pre tax basis you wish to contribute to the account. It is used to pay deductibles or other expenses associated with a High Deductible medical plan. However, the difference it is is portable and never goes away. So you it doesn’t end on 12/31 and you can take it with you should you leave your employer.
If you are good at managing your expenses and reasonably healthy an HSA plan is a good idea.
Thanks for the clarification. So where I work, FSA is the one that is available. Do you know who takes possession of the worker’s unused income that sits in an FSA at the end of the year? Is it the employer, the insurance company, or the government? I’ve never understood why it wouldn’t go to the Joe or Jane who worked and earned it.