A few years ago, a poll taken by the Associated Press and AOL provided insight into what people are really getting for their money stress. They compared the health conditions of people who felt money stress versus those who said they don’t. Here’s what they found:

Heart attack. People with high stress levels were twice as likely to have a heart attack compared with those who don’t worry about money.

Headaches and migraines. Forty-four percent of people money stressed reported having them versus 4 percent who feel low or no money stress.

Ulcers or digestive problems. Twenty-seven percent of people with money stress reported ulcers or digestive problems. For those who don’t worry about money, it was 8 percent.

Depression. Twenty-three percent of people with financial stress were depressed compared with 4 percent of people who said they weren’t stressed over money issues.

Muscle tension or lower back pain. Highly stressed people were 65 percent more likely to suffer from back pain and muscle tensions than those with low money stress.

When people are in stressful situations, their fight or flight response usually kicks in. But with money stress, there’s really only one productive choice to make. Flight means ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away. Not the best choice to reduce money-related stress. Fight means taking action — even small steps lead to greater control. People who take an active role in planning and learning about their finances are less stressed and more confident in their financial situations.

According to a TIAA-CREF Institute study, people educated about their finances are more likely to save for retirement. Also, according to a MetLife survey, attending a financial-training program increased people's feeling that they were in control of their finances by 25 percent.

Fortunately, with MoneySteps, you have all the resources you need to reduce or avoid money stress. And the more you use them, the sooner you’ll feel good about your financial future, and improve your physical health as well. It may take some small steps and small wins to get on track and build momentum in your favor. But with your financial wellbeing coach, you’ll always have a real person beside you to help along the way.

But, despite the increase in people covered under High-Deductible Plans, participation in the Health Savings Accounts that complement these plans is less than half (45percent) of account owners, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

So what gives? The reasons why more people don’t contribute to HSAs are unclear. One theory is that some people may have built up account balances since HSA funds can rollover from year to year and have been around for a while. For example, someone with a $6,000 HSA balance and a medical plan with a $1,500 deductible may feel comfortable she can cover out-of-pocket costs and therefore not contribute to the HSA this year. Unlike Flexible Spending Account (FSA) balances, where money is generally lost if unused at year end, aka “use it or lose it,” HSA balances can accumulate and can be used in future years.

The Triple Benefits of HSAs

So, does it make sense to keep adding money to an HSA even if you have enough to cover your medical plan’s out-of-pocket maximum? For many, the answer is yes, due to the triple benefits of HSAs.

Benefit #1: Your paid income taxes will be lower. Employee contributions to HSAs occur “pre-tax,” this means the contributions are made before your income is taxed. In essence, your income taxes are computed on a lower amount of income than you actually make — just like 401(k)s.

Benefit #2: The earnings on your HSA contributions build-up tax free — just like 401(k)s. HSAs can be invested in the same investment options that have been approved for individual retirement accounts (IRAs) — i.e. bank accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. While an estimated 3 percent of HSAs are invested outside of bank accounts, recent financial automation has reduced the barriers to investing HSA funds outside of bank accounts.

Benefit #3: There’s one way HSAs are different and “better” than 401(k)s. Distributions from HSAs spent on “qualified expenses” are tax free. Because of this, an HSA could prove to be more advantageous from a tax perspective than saving in a 401(k) plan or other retirement savings plan.

Building up a healthcare nest egg for retirement is a growing priority for many. According to the ConnectYourCare Consumer-Driven Health Plan Enrollment & Usage Trends Survey, more than 40 percent of HSA participants interviewed said they enrolled in their HSA to use it as savings vehicles for future health care needs. If you’d like to explore HSAs further and start planning for retirement healthcare needs, connect with your financial coach to learn more about creating a strategy for the future.