A health savings account, also known as an HSA, is like a 401(k) account for your health care expenses. If you’re enrolled the National Plan or the Whole Health Plan, you can contribute money on a pre-tax basis to the account each year to pay for eligible health care expenses, such as doctor’s office visits, deductibles, and prescriptions. At WFM, the company also contributes to the account each year on your behalf.

The HSA is flexible and has a number of advantages—many of them tax-related. Here are just a few of them:

• Tax-deductible – Contributions you make to the HSA are 100% tax deductible (up to the annual IRS limits) just like a 401(k) or IRA.
• Tax-free – As long as you use the money in your account to pay for eligible health care expenses, the money you take out of the account is never taxed.
• Tax-deferred – In most states, interest and investment growth earnings on your account are not taxed until you use them. And if you use them to pay for qualifying health care expenses, they are tax-free.

In addition to saving on taxes, the HSA also provides a way for you to set aside money to pay for future health care expenses, such as in retirement.

Yes. The IRS requires you to be enrolled in a high deductible health plan to contribute to an HSA. The National Plan and Whole Health Plan options both qualify as high-deductible plans.

Both of these Health Funding Accounts can be paired with great medical coverage and put you in control of how you spend your health care dollars. And WFM contributes the same amounts to both the HSA and the PWA. But there are a few differences between these two accounts. Here are some of them:

• Ownership - A health savings account (HSA) is an account you own and can take with you if you ever leave WFM. With the PWA, the company owns and manages the account. If you leave WFM, the account is not portable.
• Who Can Contribute – You can contribute to the HSA on a pre-tax basis each year (up to IRS plan limits), similar to a 401(k). WFM will also make a tax-free contribution to your HSA, regardless of whether you contribute. With the PWA, the Company makes all contributions to the account—you cannot add your own savings to the account.
• Account Growth – With an HSA, your account earns interest and, once you have a balance of at least $1,000, you can invest your account to grow your savings to pay for future health care expenses. You can continue to build your PWA by carrying over any unused funds from one year to the next (if you continue to enroll in a PWA-eligible medical plan the next year), but the account doesn’t earn interest and there are no investment features.

The IRS limits the amount you can contribute on a pre-tax basis to an HSA each year. For 2024, the contribution limit is $4,150 if covering yourself only and $8,300 if you cover dependents under either the National Choice Plan or the Whole Health Plan. These amounts INCLUDE the contribution that WFM makes to your account. If you’re age 55 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000 per year to an HSA.

Yes. Much like a 401(k), you have control over how much money you contribute to your account and the flexibility to increase, decrease, or stop your contributions at any time. Keep in mind, there are some limits on how much you can contribute on a pre-tax basis.

Once you’ve enrolled and your account has been set up, you will receive communications letting you know the date funds will be available. The Company’s first contribution to the accounts will be deposited in January and the second contribution in July. You must be a Team Member actively enrolled in medical coverage at the time the contribution is made.

Both accounts are flexible and allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for health care expenses. There are several differences between these two accounts.

Eligibility - You must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan like WFM’s National Plan or Whole Health Plan medical options to take advantage of an HSA. With a health care FSA, you can contribute to the account regardless of the type of medical plan you’re enrolled in—and even if you’re not enrolled in a medical plan. However, you cannot participate in both a Health Care FSA and an HSA at the same time.  

Company Contribution – If you enroll in the HSA, WFM will contribute funds to your account. The Company does not contribute to the Health Care FSA.

Access to Funds - With an HSA, you must have the funds available in your account to pay for eligible health care expenses during the year. If you don’t have the funds to cover an expense, you will need to pay out-of-pocket or wait until the funds are available to pay using the account. A Health Care FSA allows you to use all of your funds at the beginning of the year, if needed, and gradually pay it back through payroll deductions the rest of the year.  

Rollover of Unused Amounts – When you contribute to an HSA, any unused funds in your account continue to roll over from one year to the next until you spend them. If you leave the company, you can take your account with you. If you have unused funds at the end of the year in WFM’s Health Care FSA, you cannot roll over any remaining balances, so what you don’t use each year, you will lose.

Yes, once you have at least $1,000 in your account. Your account will also earn interest.