Health Savings Administrators' New Custodian

[Felix Mulier]

As you may know, Health Savings Administrators is changing custodian banks from HSA Bank to FPS Trust Company (more here on Bogleheads https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=167420

I just followed the instructions for setting up a new online account and thought I'd share a few "gotchas".

First, beneficiary designations do not carry over to the new custodian. You have to enroll on the new site and name your beneficiary.

Second, you'll get a new account number which you can find under My Profile.

Third, if you want to access your old account, you can do so until September 1 but, the old website address redirects you to the new site Login - Health Savings. You have to use your old account number (or userid, but only if it is different than the one you set up for the new account) to get to the old stuff.

Fourth, you have to electronically sign an agreement to set up the new account. I got timed out while reading it (12 pages long) and then my account got locked. I had to have Customer Service unlock it. (Guess what? They're "experiencing unusually heavy call volume"!)

Finally, please read the above Bogleheads thread regarding admin fees.

 

[pb4uski]

I noticed this in the bogleheads thread:

In waiving the annual $45 fee, they acknowledge that 7% of their customers will see higher fees. Assuming that you currently maintain just one mutual fund in your HSA, the break-even balance is $43,600. Below that amount, lower fees. Above that amount, higher fees.

 

[Sue J]

I just went through the process to get set up for the transition.

A few things I noticed -

You are automatically set up to have the annual $45 fee taken from your HSA. I'd rather pay it outside of the HSA. I saw a notation that this can be changed later but haven't found where to do that yet.

My current HSA funds are in Wellington Admiral VWENX. When I got to the page to select where to invest future contributions VWENX says it's closed to new investors and won't allow me to designate a percentage. I had to pick another fund. I will complete our contribution before the cutoff for the transition so I can put it in VWENX.

I went ahead and said I'd take the debit card but then I had to designate a percentage to the cash account. Instead I opted out of the debit card. We currently have the debit card and don't use it, instead I pay for expenses outside the HSA and reimburse later.

 

[Felix Mulier]

Forgot to mention in the OP, if you want a disbursement in the form of a paper check, there is a $10 fee.

Sue J, you wrote:

You are automatically set up to have the annual $45 fee taken from your HSA. I'd rather pay it outside of the HSA...

I think that the $45 annual fee is waived if you switch to FPS. From the Bogleheads thread:

"HealthSavings Administrators will be absorbing your $45 administrative fee for as long as you have your account with us."

 

[explanade]

I am still confused on why I had to set up an HSA Bank account and an HSA Administrators account.

I transferred funds to the Bank account and then purchased shares which went into the Admin account.

Are all HSAs set up this way?

Yeah I don't like the idea of paying the $45 out of my HSA account. And I only paid in the Admin account.

Have no balance in the Bank account so if they assessed a fee for that, I wouldn't know, I don't log into it any more.

Looked around Optum Bank and it seems they will not charge for maintaining your HSA funds or investments but will assess $3 a month if you don't keep at least $5000 in the bank account.

Do these HSA institutions expect you to maintain money in the bank accounts in addition to the HSA investments?

Maybe when you redeem and withdraw the MF shares, the fees would be lower if you transferred to these set up bank accounts rather than transfer to outside banks or request them to send checks?

 

[Felix Mulier]

I am still confused on why I had to set up an HSA Bank account and an HSA Administrators account.

As I understand it, the bank account is just the mechanism by which your money gets distributed to you. I don't keep a balance there either, but if you use their debit card to pay medical bills, there would have to be sufficient money on the "bank side" to cover those expenses.

 

[MichaelB]

The bank is the custodian of the funds. HSA Bank is subject to banking regulations (OCC) and cash accounts are protected by FDIC. HSA is not a bank and is subject to different regulations. HSA using HSA Bank as custodian is not a bad idea.

 

[explanade]

The bank is the custodian of the funds. HSA Bank is subject to banking regulations (OCC) and cash accounts are protected by FDIC. HSA is not a bank and is subject to different regulations. HSA using HSA Bank as custodian is not a bad idea.

OK that makes sense, it's just that the online setup is so convoluted, having to create two different online accounts and so on.

 

[Sue J]

Sue J, you wrote:

I think that the $45 annual fee is waived if you switch to FPS. From the Bogleheads thread:

I haven't seen that anywhere except on the Bogleheads thread. Could that be for employees doing the HSA through the employer? Ours is not through an employer, just an HSA on our own.

My account says that the $45 annual fee will be deducted from the HSA funds unless I change it. If I can find where.

Found this -

http://healthsavings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FAQs_FINAL.pdf

On page 2, right side -

Will my administrative fee change?

No. Going forward, the administrative fee will be
deducted from your account, and we will no longer mail
invoices for the administrative fee.

If you are enrolled with an employer group,
please note that this fee may be
paid in full, or in part, by your employer.

 

[easysurfer]

...

My current HSA funds are in Wellington Admiral VWENX. When I got to the page to select where to invest future contributions VWENX says it's closed to new investors and won't allow me to designate a percentage. I had to pick another fund. I will complete our contribution before the cutoff for the transition so I can put it in VWENX.

....

I also have Wellington for my HSA funds. When I went through the process, I remember seeing the indication of VWENX closed to new investors. But then say by default I was already 100% in Wellington so assumed that the switch over shouldn't impact existing holders.

Of course, there is no way to verify my selections right now as when I try to get back in, I get a message saying can't access my account info at the moment. I'm just going to wait until the dust settles, hopefully by Sept 1. Otherwise this seem an exercise in frustration .

 

[Accidental Retiree]

I also have Wellington for my HSA funds. When I went through the process, I remember seeing the indication of VWENX closed to new investors. But then say by default I was already 100% in Wellington so assumed that the switch over shouldn't impact existing holders.

:.

I went through the re-enrollment yesterday. Everything went smoothly,
including my election to Wellington.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Sue J]

I went back into the new profile (Investment direction/Elections) to see the investment options. Wellington still says "Fund closed to new investors" but it did allow me to change my investment election to Wellington at 100%.

There are now 25 Vanguard choices, where the old custodian had 22, but 3 of them (Wellington, Explorer and Convertible Securities) say they are closed to new investors. Hmmm, we'll have to wait and see how this goes.

 

[easysurfer]

Sept 1st is already here so I went ahead and tried signing in with my new login. No go. Site still under maintenance. Guess I'll give a few more days before trying again .

 

[MichaelB]

Sept 1st is already here so I went ahead and tried signing in with my new login. No go. Site still under maintenance. Guess I'll give a few more days before trying again .

Trouble logging in to HSABank or HSAdministrators? My experience with HSA Bank is that it's online systems are not so robust and access is often difficult, especially outside of banking hours.

 

[easysurfer]

Trouble logging in to HSABank or HSAdministrators? My experience with HSA Bank is that it's online systems are not so robust and access is often difficult, especially outside of banking hours.

Yes, HSAdministrators site still under maintenance, at least as of today. The good news is my password didn't get flagged as invalid like previously. Unless of course, the site never got that far to check .

 

[easysurfer]

So, I get an email saying HSAadministrator's conversion to the new system is done. I try to log in but my account is locked. I try to call their number but all I get is about 5 rings then a busy signal. Somehow, that doesn't surprise me .

 

[Sue J]

I was able to log in this morning. Everything looked fine, including my funds being in Wellington Admiral VWENX, like I wanted.

 

[easysurfer]

I was able to log in this morning. Everything looked fine, including my funds being in Wellington Admiral VWENX, like I wanted.

I'm glad you were able to log in.

I'm still on hold on the phone. Been already over 10 minutes. At least I get a recording instead of just a busy signal, so that is progress

 

[easysurfer]

I finally was able to get back in after talking to someone and going through the various screens and to get my password reset. Now, I'm kind of afraid to try again.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm about to give it a try. We got our ATM cards. We need to set up new transfers.

 

[easysurfer]

I'm about to give it a try. We got our ATM cards. We need to set up new transfers.

I think I know what was causing my problem. I had adblocker plus on which suppressed a page to do my password reset. So, instead of having the page with the challenge questions, that made me try again, but after three incorrect attempts my account was locked.

In otherwords, when you try, might be a good idea to turn off any ad/pop up blockers beforehand.

 

[audreyh1]

I think I know what was causing my problem. I had adblocker plus on which suppressed a page to do my password reset. So, instead of having the page with the challenge questions, that made me try again, but after three incorrect attempts my account was locked.

In otherwords, when you try, might be a good idea to turn off any ad/pop up blockers beforehand.

I've had problems with their site and a popup blocker before, so I'll be sure to temporarily turn that off. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[pb4uski]

I was able to log in this morning. Everything looked fine, including my funds being in Wellington Admiral VWENX, like I wanted.

+1 this morning. Did both my and DW's accounts and all is fine.

 

[explanade]

I logged in, looks okay, just different.

I guess when I make another contribution or pay the annual fee, the changes will be more apparent.

 

[audreyh1]

Everything looks OK except that they keep moving out the dates when we can see our transaction history. Should be resolved anyway by the next quarterly statement, I expect.

New auto withdrawals worked correctly.