A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged savings account that helps you save for and pay for health care expenses. It is yours to keep, always—even if you change jobs or retire. The HSA is paired with the Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHPs) offered through Anthem and Kaiser. The HSA helps protect you financially from predictable—or unexpected—health care costs.
Advantages of an HSA vs. an FSA
The HSA and Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) are similar—both accounts let you set pretax money aside that you can use to pay eligible health care expenses. But there are some important differences:
- Lam contributes to your HSA: $50 per pay period for individual coverage or $100 per pay period if you cover others.
- With an HSA, you can contribute at any point in the year and change your contribution amount whenever you want to, even after you have a major health expense. For example, if you break your ankle while snowboarding and have unexpected medical expenses, you can add pretax money to your HSA after you get the emergency room bill. To set up or change your contribution, call the Benefits Help Desk at 877-291-9494.
- With the Lam HSA On Demand feature through Optum Financial, you have access to the company’s full-year HSA contribution ($1,300 individual or $2,600 family) beginning January 1. That means you’ll have money available in your account to cover an unexpected expense early in the year. See the HSA On Demand guide for more details.
- You can invest the money in your HSA for the potential to grow your savings.
- All the money in your HSA rolls over at the end of the year. The maximum rollover for an FSA is $570.
- Your HSA is triple tax advantaged. That means you pay no federal taxes on your contributions, withdrawals for qualified medical expenses, or the interest or investment earnings as your savings grow. (Note: If you live in California or New Jersey, your contributions and earnings will be subject to state tax.)
- Your HSA is always yours, even if you leave Lam.
- It’s easy to start or change your contribution any time. Call the Benefits Help Desk at 877-291-9494 or log in to the benefits enrollment website and select “Make a Change to My Benefits.” Choose the Life Event “HSA Election/Changes” and the Event Date. Then click “Continue” and follow the prompts.
Questions?
If you don’t find what you need on this page, try the FAQ.
HSA contribution limits
The IRS sets limits on how much you can contribute to your HSA each year, combined with Lam’s contribution.
2023 limits
| Individual coverage | Individual + 1 or more dependent | |
|---|---|---|
| Lam contribution | $1,300 | $2,600 |
| Your contribution | $2,550 | $5,150 |
| IRS contribution limit | $3,850 | $7,750 |
| IRS contribution limit (employees age 55 or older) | $4,850 | $8,750 |
Using your HSA
When you enroll in a CDHP through Lam Research, your HSA will be opened for you automatically at Optum Financial. Once your HSA is established, contributions from Lam—and from you, if you choose—will start being deposited. You will receive a welcome packet and a debit card from Optum Financial. You will need your 16-digit debit card number to access your Optum Financial account the first time.
To find your HSA balance at any time, sign in to Optum Financial and scroll to select Health savings account.
Accessing your HSA funds
The best way to access your HSA for eligible expenses is to use your Optum Financial payment card at the time of service or purchase. When you use the card, you will not need to do anything else, except save your receipts with your tax records.
You may also request reimbursement from your HSA by signing in to Optum Financial and selecting HSA from the list of accounts on the left.
To avoid any tax penalties, save all of your receipts, and make sure your reimbursements from your HSA are for qualified health care expenses. Any amount you spend from your HSA on nonqualified expenses will be considered part of your taxable income, and you may also owe a 20% penalty on that amount.
Where to learn more
- Optum Financial HSA resources
- CDHP with HSA
- CDHP With HSA Frequently Asked Questions [PDF]
- HSA On Demand Guide [PDF]
- Health Care FSA
- IRS list of eligible expenses
- Benefits Help Desk: benefits@lamresearch.com or 877-291-9494