HSA providers and fees

[pb4uski]

Now that I am ER, we can continue our HSA with megacorp's HSA provider but the provider will start charging me a $3.95/month fee, or $95 a year for our two accounts (one for me, one for DW).

I guess these fees have been waived or paid for my megacorp up to now. The interest rate we receive is meager.

Any better deals out there?

VG seems to have a relationship with an outfit named Health Savings Administrators whose annual fee is $39, or $78 a year for the two accounts, a bit better. But I would like zero on something close to zero.

Any recommendations?

 

[Onward]

I've had an account with Health Savings Administrators for some years, and I've been happy with them. Their website is rudimentary, but it works. Yes, the cost is $39/yr. At the time, that was very competitive among HSA providers. Not sure about now.

 

[thefinancebuff]

Alliant Credit Union, no fee, pays 1.75% interest. Anybody can join by paying a one-time $10 donation to a charity they support.

Health Savings (HSA) | Deposits & Investments | Alliant Credit Union

 

[zinger1457]

I switched last year to Wells Fargo HSA, no annual fee and they waive the monthly fee as long as your balance is over $5k. They seem to offer a decent selection of investment options.

 

[MichaelB]

We use HSA Bank. There does not seem to be an option that has broad investment options and low fees and is affiliated with a major financial institution.

 

[Midpack]

First Horizon transferred our HSA account to HealthEquity. They charge $2.50/month plus $2.50 for each transaction. There are no investment options, just minimal interest. I don't like it, but I am not aware of a better option. I will have to look into Alliant, thanks. [Edit: Looks like few of us would be eligible http://www.alliantcreditunion.org/membership/eligibility/.]

 

[REattempt]

Alliant Credit Union, no fee, pays 1.75% interest. Anybody can join by paying a one-time $10 donation to a charity they support.

Health Savings (HSA) | Deposits & Investments | Alliant Credit Union

+1 and they actually pay the $10 on your behalf.

Liked the vanguard option with HS Administrators, but 39$ on an account I only have 1-2k in, that's 2-4% in fees!

Alliant was the lowest cost with reasonable returns...

 

[pb4uski]

....Liked the vanguard option with HS Administrators, but 39$ on an account I only have 1-2k in, that's 2-4% in fees!.....

That's my concern. The fees are high in relation to the account value and I don't do many transaction, just more tax deferred money sitting there. If I was doing a lot of transactions then the fee would not seem so onerous.

Thanks all, and keep them coming. I would prefer a VG option because my other accounts are VG. I would have thought that VG would have been able to negotiate a better fee structure for their customers with a HSA provider.

The market for HSA providers seems very immature. It seems like at one point there were significant IRA admin fees but ultimately competition squeezed those out. I'm surprised that Fido, VG, USAA, PenFed or one of the biggies hasn't jumped into this market but perhaps they feel it is more hassle than it is worth.

 

[Lakedog]

We use HSA Bank. There does not seem to be an option that has broad investment options and low fees and is affiliated with a major financial institution.

Although I just started a HSA this year with HSA Bank, I notice they have an option for an investment account via TD Ameritrade so I plan to do that once I have a larger balance. I have other accounts with TDA already -- they do offer quite a few commission free ETFs, including several from Vanguard.

 

[travelover]

I use Patelco CU. Fees used to be $1 a month, now $2 a month. I don't really invest there, just annually run my cash in and out to cover out of pocket medical, dental and eye for tax purposes.

 

[easysurfer]

I've had an account with Health Savings Administrators for some years, and I've been happy with them. Their website is rudimentary, but it works. Yes, the cost is $39/yr. At the time, that was very competitive among HSA providers. Not sure about now.

+2. I agree on both counts about Health Savings Administrators. I like that one can choose to invest in Vanguard first dollar in. Yes, the website doesn't look modern, but works.

 

[thefinancebuff]

I will have to look into Alliant, thanks. [Edit: Looks like few of us would be eligible Membership | Eligibility | Alliant Credit Union.]

As already mentioned, everybody in the country is eligible by paying a one-time $10 donation to the charity they support - Foster Care to Success. If you use their paper form to join, they will even pay the $10 for you.

http://www.alliantcreditunion.org/pdf/membership/MembershipEnrollment_A417R0811.pdf

 

[MooreBonds]

We use HSA Bank. There does not seem to be an option that has broad investment options and low fees and is affiliated with a major financial institution.

I opened an HSA with HSA Bank (with my own individual HDHP) when HSAs first came out. I picked them due to their low fees and ability to have an investment account with TD Ameritrade with with a huge array of investment options. However, last October, in addition to their standard fee of $2.50/month if your bank account balance is under $3,000, they tacked on a new fee of $3.00/month (or so) if you have an investment account w/ TD Ameritrade.

They always had the $2.50/month fee, which I was fine with, as my TD Ameritrade account has grown with my annual contributions - but it's frustrating to get dinged with an additional $3/month. But, given the income from my investments, it's still worth it to keep it there, as my employer just switched HSA providers to HSA Bank (I still maintain my own individual policy, but have my employer deduct my HSA contribution from my paycheck to reduce my SS/Medicare taxes).

If I were to leave my employer, I might look at liquidating my TD Ameritrade HSA and moving it to a lower fee provider linked to a Vanguard account.

Just like with 401(k)s, the HSAs are a boon for banks and financial institutions, who get to charge most accounts anywhere from $2-$6/month in various fees. It's simply an exercise in looking at which HSAs offer which investment options, and what fees you're willing to pay.

 

[PaddyMac]

I switched last year to Wells Fargo HSA, no annual fee and they waive the monthly fee as long as your balance is over $5k. They seem to offer a decent selection of investment options.

We are also at Wells Fargo but they only require $2K in our cash account to waive fees, afaik. (We are PMA account holders but I don't know if that is the reason.) The rest we keep in a Target Date fund.

 

[eridanus]

Cattlebank, no fees, 1% interest.

The Cattle National Bank & Trust Co. - Health Savings Accounts


I split my contributions and use HS Administrators for the Vanguard funds.

 

[Midpack]

As already mentioned, everybody in the country is eligible by paying a one-time $10 donation to the charity they support - Foster Care to Success. If you use their paper form to join, they will even pay the $10 for you.

I stand corrected, I didn't notice how the third bullet worked, wouldn't have guessed it after reading the others. Thanks...

 

[Chicken-carbonara]

Here in New Jersey, TD Bank has no fees, no minimum balance but a very low interest rate. If you're in it more for the tax savings than the ability to trade stocks, this might be a good choice.

 

[Buckeye]

First Horizon transferred our HSA account to HealthEquity. They charge $2.50/month plus $2.50 for each transaction. There are no investment options, just minimal interest. I don't like it, but I am not aware of a better option. I will have to look into Alliant, thanks. [Edit: Looks like few of us would be eligible http://www.alliantcreditunion.org/membership/eligibility/.]

I have had a Health Equity HSA as an individual since 2009 and I have never paid a fee. There is no monthly fee if I keep a $1,500 min balance, direct deposit reimbursements are free ($2.00 for a paper check), and electronic monthly statements are free. I am also able to invest balances over $2,000 with no fees in a choice of 11 mutual funds.

 

[Midpack]

I have had a Health Equity HSA as an individual since 2009 and I have never paid a fee. There is no monthly fee if I keep a $1,500 min balance, direct deposit reimbursements are free ($2.00 for a paper check), and electronic monthly statements are free. I am also able to invest balances over $2,000 with no fees in a choice of 11 mutual funds.

That's fascinating, my balance is almost $30K. We don't have checks, only a debit card (though I'm fine with that). HealthEquity Draper UT?

From my HSA transfer letter; "The monthly administration fee will be the same as your current fee (actually that was $1.50/month, so they upped it). The fee for your new HealthEquity account will be debited from your account from HealthEquity at the beginning of the month and will continue to be billed at the beginning of each month thereafter. This is only the case if you have responsibility for monthly administration fees."

I will look into it tomorrow, but I wonder if someone (former employer?) is paying your admin fee...

 

[Buckeye]

I will look into it tomorrow, but I wonder if someone (former employer?) is paying your admin fee...

I never had an employer associated with my HSA at Health Equity. I opened it when I purchased an individual health insurance policy. My HSA does not interface with my high deductible health insurance policy like my Optum Bank one did when I was employed and had United Healtcare.

Does your health insurance and HSA tied together? Maybe that accounts for the extra cost.

 

[Midpack]

I never had an employer associated with my HSA at Health Equity. I opened it when I purchased an individual health insurance policy. My HSA does not interface with my high deductible health insurance policy like my Optum Bank one did when I was employed and had United Healtcare.

Does your health insurance and HSA tied together? Maybe that accounts for the extra cost.

I don't have an employer or (my own) health insurance anymore (on DW's for now), so my HSA isn't tied to anything. I am not making contributions to the account, I wonder if that's another potential explanation. I'll be looking into it this coming week...

 

[Buckeye]

I don't have an employer or (my own) health insurance anymore (on DW's for now), so my HSA isn't tied to anything. I am not making contributions to the account, I wonder if that's another potential explanation. I'll be looking into it this coming week...

I went back and looked at the history of my Health Equity HSA (which is very easy to do online).

I opened the HSA in August 2009 when I initially purchased my individual high deductible policy. I deposited $5950. I was charged a monthly "HSA admin fee" through April 2010. The fee ended in May 2010 which coincides with when I think I cancelled the insurance that was originally tied to the HSA. Claims (EOB's) would be sent directly to my HSA online account so the HSA and the insurance were tied and communicating.

No fees charged since April 2010. No additional deposits made until a week ago when I rolled my Optum Health HSA into my Health Equity HSA.

 

[TromboneAl]

Liked the vanguard option with HS Administrators, but 39$ on an account I only have 1-2k in, that's 2-4% in fees!

But if you're using your HSA to accumulate retirement dough, the fee will soon be negligible. I currently have $18,000 in my HSA Administrators account, so the $39 is only .2%