Sona's Open Enrollment Newsletter

Articles: 1) Make the most of open enrollment 2) Checklists 3) HRA. vs. HSA vs. FSA 4) Mark in the media, and 5) Healthy & Wealthy YouTube

Oct 07, 2024

Make the Most of Open Enrollment

As we enter one of Minneasota’s best times of the year, fall, we also have to prepare for one of the most important decision-making times of the year, open enrollment. Not enough time is spent on making the most of a large part of your pay; this is especially true if you have a spouse. Most people spend more time on their fantasy football team than making better open enrollment decisions.

57% of employees spend <30 mins. selecting benefits
Many don’t take advantage because of poor decision-making and/or ineffective communication & education
40% don’t feel like they understand their benefits
Over 49% of employees way underestimate employer contributions to benefits

Most employees let inertia take over and use the default choice, or what they did last year, as the choice.

This year, be more proactive. Don’t view your benefits as products; view them as solutions for your unique problems. If you define what solutions the benefits are solving, you will most likely make better choices.

Lastly, in addition to the normal life and health insurance benefits, make sure to take advantage of newer benefits like financial, mental, and career coaching.

Sona’s Open Enrollment Checklist:

Open Enrollment Checklist

Sona’s Medicare Open Enrollment Checklist:

Medicare Checklist

Sona Clients - Need Help with Open Enrollment?

Need help with Open Enrollment? Like whether to choose a high-deductible health plan or invest in a Roth 401k. Sona clients can schedule an open enrollment meeting. Here is a special calendar for Oct 1, 2024, to Dec 1, 2024:

Click To Schedule

Interested in becoming a Sona Client? Click Video Below:

🔗 https://www.videoask.com/fd9svtp2l

HSA vs. FSA vs. HRA

These are all common accounts, but more often than not, when I talk to folks, they don’t understand the difference and often don’t make the best use of these accounts. Below is a comparison chart to help you make better decisions. One important takeaway is that the HSA is yours; you own it. The HRA is owned by the employer and stays with the employer when you leave. The HSA may also be one of the best tax-advantaged accounts — ever. It is triple taxed advantaged, tax-free going in, it grows tax-free, and for qualified distributions, everything is tax-free coming out. If contributions are made through your employer payroll deduction, they are free of FICA taxes. So, in some cases, quadruple tax advantages.

An HSA also turns into an IRA once you reach Medicare age. Mark talks more about the HSAs on his blog page: https://www.sonawealthadvisors.com/blog/