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02-17-2012, 09:11 PM
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#1
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,201
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HSA providers and fees
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?
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02-17-2012, 11:09 PM
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#2
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,934
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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.
__________________
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know.
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02-17-2012, 11:43 PM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,221
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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.
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02-18-2012, 05:52 AM
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#5
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Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,514
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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.
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02-18-2012, 06:50 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,150
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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/me...p/eligibility/.]
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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02-18-2012, 06:58 AM
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#7
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 293
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thefinancebuff
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+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...
__________________
FIREd at 46, 8/31/11
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02-18-2012, 07:14 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,201
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REattempt
....Liked the vanguard option with HS Administrators, but 39$ on an account I only have 1-2k in, that's 2-4% in fees!.....
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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.
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02-18-2012, 07:42 AM
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#9
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 982
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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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.
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02-18-2012, 08:09 AM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
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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.
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02-18-2012, 09:21 AM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,127
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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+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.
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
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02-18-2012, 09:50 AM
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#12
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 299
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
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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/pd..._A417R0811.pdf
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02-18-2012, 11:43 AM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 2,179
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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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.
__________________
Dryer sheets Schmyer sheets
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02-18-2012, 11:54 AM
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#14
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 225
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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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.
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02-18-2012, 04:52 PM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,150
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thefinancebuff
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.
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I stand corrected, I didn't notice how the third bullet worked, wouldn't have guessed it after reading the others. Thanks...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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02-18-2012, 11:27 PM
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#17
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Confused about dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4
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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.
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02-19-2012, 08:33 AM
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#18
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Orlando
Posts: 2,636
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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/me...eligibility/.]
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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.
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02-19-2012, 09:14 AM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,150
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Buckeye
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.
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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...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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02-19-2012, 09:36 AM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Orlando
Posts: 2,636
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
I will look into it tomorrow, but I wonder if someone (former employer?) is paying your admin fee...
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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.
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