# The Catch Up Act: What It Means for Married Couples and Health Savings

This bill makes a change to how married couples can save money in health savings accounts (HSAs). Right now, if you're married and both you and your spouse have a high-deductible health insurance plan with family coverage, there's a limit on how much total money you can put into an HSA each year. The current rule essentially treats the couple as one unit for contribution purposes, which can create complications when both spouses want to save for medical expenses.

The Catch Up Act allows both spouses to each make "catch-up contributions" to the same HSA if they're both age 55 or older. Catch-up contributions are extra amounts that people over 55 are allowed to save beyond the normal yearly limit—it's a way to help older workers boost their retirement medical savings. Under this new rule, if both spouses are 55 or older and have family coverage under a high-deductible health plan, they can each contribute their own catch-up amount to a shared HSA, rather than having to split one catch-up contribution between them.

For couples under 55, or where only one spouse is 55 or older, the bill doesn't change much—they'd still divide their regular contributions however they agree to. But for couples where both are 55 or older, this means potentially more money going into their HSA to cover future medical costs. The change takes effect for tax years starting after December 31, 2025, so it would first apply to the 2026 tax year.