Here's Why You Should Fund an HSA Before a Traditional IRA or 401(k)
With a massive enough salary, maxing out an HSA as well as a traditional IRA or 401(k) would perhaps be doable year after year. But if you earn more of an average wage, then you may have to set priorities when it comes to funding these tax-advantaged accounts.
You may be inclined to first try to max out a traditional IRA or 401(k) plan before funding an HSA since that money can be used for any purpose in retirement, whereas an HSA is supposed to be earmarked for healthcare expenses. But here's why you may want to do the opposite.
For the purpose of this discussion, we're going to assume that you're not entitled to any sort of employer 401(k) match to level the playing field. With that in mind, the reason you ought to prioritize an HSA over a traditional IRA or 401(k) is that HSAs offer more tax benefits and more flexibility.
Source Fool.com
