Health & Wellness

Health Savings Account

The University of Alaska offers a Health Savings Account (HSA) to employees enrolled in the UA Choice CDHP. The HSA allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to cover medical expenses as long as you are eligible to contribute to the account. It is your responsibility to ensure you are eligible to contribute to an HSA.

The HSA is only available to those in a qualifying health care plan. At the university, our qualifying plan is the CDHP. If you are covered by any of the following, you are not eligible to participate in the HSA:

  • Medicare
  • Tricare
  • Retiree health coverage, or
  • A health plan that is not qualified as HSA compatible by the IRS

New benefit-eligible employees are eligible to enroll in an HSA within the first 30 days of hire. HSA's will be effective on the 1st of the following calendar month after your 31st day. If your 31st day is on the first of the month, your HSA will be effective on that day. 

You may enroll in an HSA if you are covered by the CDHP. You may also enroll in the HSA if you have coverage outside of the university as long as you are enrolled in an HSA-eligible plan. It is your responsibility to ensure you are eligible to enroll in an HSA. 

You may not have a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HC FSA) with your HSA. You may have a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DC FSA) along with your HSA as long as you are otherwise eligible for an HSA. 

Benefit-eligible employees working at least 20 hours per week may enroll in the HSA.

Sikuliaq employees have special enrollment requirements. Please check with your HR Coordinator.

Temporary employees are not eligible to participate in the HSA. 

New benefit-eligible employees are eligible to enroll in an HSA within the first 30 days of hire. HSA's will be effective on the 1st of the following calendar month after your 31st day. If your 31st day is on the first of the month, your HSA will be effective on that day. 

You may enroll in an HSA if you are covered by the CDHP. You may also enroll in the HSA if you have coverage outside of the university as long as you are enrolled in an HSA-eligible plan. It is your responsibility to ensure you are eligible to enroll in an HSA. 

You may not have a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HC FSA) with your HSA. You may have a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DC FSA) along with your HSA as long as you are otherwise eligible for an HSA. 

How to Enroll

  1. Attend a Benefits Overview (held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month). Register to attend by contacting your HR Coordinator. 
  2.  Submit your New Employee Health Care Form within 30 days of hire.
    • A form must be submitted within 30 days of hire, even if you are opting out.
    • If no form is submitted, you will be defaulted into the HDHP for employee only and will be ineligible to participate in the HSA.
    • If enrolling dependents, you must provide supporting documentation at the time of enrollment.

Current employees can update their HSA at any time.

How to Make Changes

  1. Complete the HSA Enrollment/Change Form to update your benefits within the appropriate timeline.
    • If you are enrolling dependents for the first time, you must provide supporting documentation at time of enrollment. ​

Sikuliaq employees have special enrollment requirements. Please check with your HR Coordinator.

Temporary employees are not eligible to participate in the HSA. 

An HSA account allows you to:

  • Set aside a portion of your income pre-tax
  • Request tax-free withdrawals from your account to reimburse yourself when you experience a qualified expense 

An HSA is a valuable addition to your CDHP because:

  • The HSA has a higher pre-tax contribution limit compared to the Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HC FSA)
  • Unused funds remain in your account and can accrue interest, allowing you to save for the future
  • Funds can be invested in various mutual funds for greater growth opportunities​​ 

The university has partnered with Bank of America to offer the HSA. 

Contribution limits are based on the calendar year and are set by the IRS.

The 2023 annual maximum contributions are:

  • $3,850 for an individual
  • $7,750 for family coverage regardless of family size
  • Additional catch-up amount of $1,000 if you are 55 or older

While the university provides convenient payroll deductions for the HSA, all aspects of managing and maintaining the account as well as complying with IRS guidelines remain the responsibility of the employee. 

Unused Funds

The HSA is a savings account. Funds contributed to an HSA are yours. Unused funds rollover every year, can accrue interest, and can be invested. The funds remain with you when you separate from the university. 

Another way to maximize your HSA is to take advantage of the investment option. This feature of your HSA allows you the opportunity to invest in a wide variety of mutual funds to help your balance grow over time and save for health care expenses down the road. There are two ways to invest your HSA funds: recurring and one time transfers. 

Recurring Automatic Transfers: You establish a cash threshold that suites your needs. As you make contributions and withdrawals, money will automatically be transferred between your investment and cash accounts.

One Time Manual Transfers: Once your HSA balance reaches $1,000, you can make transactions between your cash and investment accounts whenever you want .

For more information on investing your HSA funds, visit Bank of America's HSA Learn Site or view the HSA for Life flyer.


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