HSA accounts

[explanade]

For people using HSA Administrators, how did you set up your accounts?

It appears like I have to register an account for the Vanguard funds part of the site at hsaadministrators.com.

Then set up a Internet bank account at hsabank.com?

Then you fund the debit card/checking account with an ACH transfer or mail in a check, then transfer those funds somehow to the Vanguard side so that the proceeds are used to buy the VG funds you designated in the percentages you designated?

But the hsaadministrators.com account is showing a $45 annual administrators fee to be paid by PayPal while it seems there are a variety of fees, like ATM fees, fees for getting a check mailed to you. You can avoid some of these fees by setting up direct deposit it appears.

But is the mechanics right, you fund the Internet bank account and that account will be used to fund the purchase of the funds?

When you redeem any of the funds for expenses, the proceeds go to the bank account and then that would somehow transfer to your institution unless you used the debit card?

[easysurfer]

I set up my account with HSA Administrators back in 2008, before HSA Bank came into the picture. When I set it up, that was a transfer from the HSA account I had at megacorp.

At HSA Administrators, I only care about investing in the Vanguard funds. So, the only time I use HSA Bank is to get the tax document online for filing my taxes.

For deposits, I go the old fashioned route of writing a check each month and sending that in with a printed contribution form. For January, I added the $45 admin fee to the check as there is a line for the fee on the contribution form.

For reimbursments, my account is set up for direct deposit to my checking account and I like to redeem my qualified expenses instead of accumulating them. I do that online at HSA by just specifying the reimbursement amount.

My method is just one way. For me, less is more manageable, which I don't mind.

I don't have a debit card for my HSA.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade For people using HSA Administrators, how did you set up your accounts? It appears like I have to register an account for the Vanguard funds part of the site at hsaadministrators.com. Then set up a Internet bank account at hsabank.com? Then you fund the debit card/checking account with an ACH transfer or mail in a check, then transfer those funds somehow to the Vanguard side so that the proceeds are used to buy the VG funds you designated in the percentages you designated? But the hsaadministrators.com account is showing a $45 annual administrators fee to be paid by PayPal while it seems there are a variety of fees, like ATM fees, fees for getting a check mailed to you. You can avoid some of these fees by setting up direct deposit it appears. But is the mechanics right, you fund the Internet bank account and that account will be used to fund the purchase of the funds? When you redeem any of the funds for expenses, the proceeds go to the bank account and then that would somehow transfer to your institution unless you used the debit card?

HSA Administrators set up the HSA Bank account for me when we applied on-line last year.

Then I filled out an ACH deposit agreement and mailed it in. This let me direct funds to the account from my bank. I think on the HSA site I specified what % of any deposit goes to the debit card (i.e. HSA Bank) and what % goes to which Vanguard funds.

I think it's the opposite of what you are imagining.

[explanade]

I'm going to call in on Monday. After I enrolled, I didn't hear anything from them until I got 3 mailings from them about a week to two weeks later.

I guess I kind of expected it to be like a VG account, direct ACH transfers to buy funds and then transfer out any that I redeem. Maybe there would be some intermediary cash account to hold before and after purchases and redemptions but this setup seems unnecessarily complex.

[Sue J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade For people using HSA Administrators, how did you set up your accounts? It appears like I have to register an account for the Vanguard funds part of the site at hsaadministrators.com. Then set up a Internet bank account at hsabank.com? Then you fund the debit card/checking account with an ACH transfer or mail in a check, then transfer those funds somehow to the Vanguard side so that the proceeds are used to buy the VG funds you designated in the percentages you designated? But the hsaadministrators.com account is showing a $45 annual administrators fee to be paid by PayPal while it seems there are a variety of fees, like ATM fees, fees for getting a check mailed to you. You can avoid some of these fees by setting up direct deposit it appears. But is the mechanics right, you fund the Internet bank account and that account will be used to fund the purchase of the funds? When you redeem any of the funds for expenses, the proceeds go to the bank account and then that would somehow transfer to your institution unless you used the debit card?

I did mine last year and I opened the account at hsaadministrators.com and they did the set up including the HSA Bank account. I think I got info in the mail and with that info set up the online access and password etc. My first contribution was by paper check but after that I got all set up to do it all online with ACH transfers and direct deposits. I got an HSA bank debit card but we haven't used it.

To make a contribution you go to the HSABank site -
http://www.hsabank.com/medialibrary/...n_instructions

To manage the investments at Vanguard you go to the hsaadministrators.com site and you can exchange funds, reallocate your percentages or transfer to the debit card. This is where you also initiate a transfer to your own bank account to reimburse yourself for previous expenses that you paid.

It was all a little confusing at first, but after it was all set up I explored around the site and figured it out.

We keep all the finds in the Vanguard accounts and I initiate all the transfers there.

Last year the bill for the fee came in the mail, but they now have the payment info posted when you log on.

I avoided all the fees (except for the $45 annual fee) by doing all the activity online. The 0.0008 fee on the investment came to a total of $12.36 for the year and they deduct that from the investment accounts.

[explanade]

OK I'm in the course of setting up my 2015 contribution by ACH. They have to make trial deposits to establish the ACH link.

But Anthem Blue Cross has been sending me mailings to establish an HSA account with BenefitWallet.com, where they use the Bank of New York Mellon.

These documents make it sound like I have to use this setup for my HSA if I use the Anthem Blue Cross policy.

I'm assuming this is not the case, that as long as I have an HSA eligible policy, I can go with any HSA account provider?

This is probably my carrier trying to nudge me towards a partner with whom they have some special arrangement?

[Accidental Retiree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade OK I'm in the course of setting up my 2015 contribution by ACH. They have to make trial deposits to establish the ACH link. But Anthem Blue Cross has been sending me mailings to establish an HSA account with BenefitWallet.com, where they use the Bank of New York Mellon. These documents make it sound like I have to use this setup for my HSA if I use the Anthem Blue Cross policy. I'm assuming this is not the case, that as long as I have an HSA eligible policy, I can go with any HSA account provider? This is probably my carrier trying to nudge me towards a partner with whom they have some special arrangement?

I don't know about any special arrangement, but I got the same stuff last year when I enrolled with Anthem and ignored it, using my older, already established HSA.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade ........... This is probably my carrier trying to nudge me towards a partner with whom they have some special arrangement?

When I was w*rking, my employer paid my HSA fees and sent us to a specific HSA provider, but once I retired (and continued on with the same health insurance) the now ex-employer did not pay the HSA fee, so I switched to a different provider. The new one was actually much better and did not constantly nanny me. I keep my own receipts and just get a yearly statement from them.

[imoldernu]

An alternate plan:

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade I'm assuming this is not the case, that as long as I have an HSA eligible policy, I can go with any HSA account provider? This is probably my carrier trying to nudge me towards a partner with whom they have some special arrangement?

This. You are free to set up your HSA account with anyone offering that service.

[explanade]

OK my transfer to the bank and then the purchase of the VG shares are complete.

When I log into HSA Administrators, I can see the balances.

However, I don't see the number of shares or the actual fund symbols?

Or a way to download the data into Quicken or some other kind of export data to keep running totals?

I'm assuming they'll just reinvest dividends and cap distributions?

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade OK my transfer to the bank and then the purchase of the VG shares are complete. When I log into HSA Administrators, I can see the balances. However, I don't see the number of shares or the actual fund symbols? Or a way to download the data into Quicken or some other kind of export data to keep running totals? I'm assuming they'll just reinvest dividends and cap distributions?

You can easily look up the fund symbols online from the fund names, then you'll be able to download them into Quicken. I do that, no problem.

You might have to wait until you get your first monthly or quarterly statement to see the number of shares, etc. You will eventually see it.

Yes - dividends are automatically reinvested.

[explanade]

Are you actually downloading the data or just manually entering the fund symbols and number of shares?

I didn't see any way to export data. Web site is pretty bare bones.

Wary about them in light of the Anthem hack.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade Are you actually downloading the data or just manually entering the fund symbols and number of shares? I didn't see any way to export data. Web site is pretty bare bones. Wary about them in light of the Anthem hack.

When I talked about downloading, I was actually referring to downloading the Quicken quotes for the fund prices.

Yes, I manually enter the transactions, but then Quicken can update the mutual fund price.

I haven't found any way to get a QFX file from HSA Administrators either.

[explanade]

OK, that's what I thought you meant, updating prices.

[Theseus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mod edit Hello, I am looking at retiring early and going with a HSA and a HDHP (high-deductible health plan), but I have never purchased my own insurance has always been provide by the employer. Are you able to pay for the insurance with funds from the HSA or just the uncovered medical expenses?

If you were to continue employer coverage with COBRA, yes; otherwise pretty much a no.

From IRS Publication 969, regarding distributions from an HSA:

Quote:

Insurance premiums. You cannot treat insurance premiums as qualified medical expenses unless the premiums are for: Long-term care insurance. Health care continuation coverage (such as coverage under COBRA). Health care coverage while receiving unemployment compensation under federal or state law. Medicare and other health care coverage if you were 65 or older (other than premiums for a Medicare supplemental policy, such as Medigap).

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mod edit ...but I have never purchased my own insurance has always been provide by the employer.

Welcome to the forum. You might consider putting an item in the Hi, I am... - Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community forum.

As you are new to buying your own insurance and are interested in HDHP, make sure you don't get burned by the "family deductible" scam. That's where you are lead to believe that if one person hits the, say, $6,000 deductible, insurance will kick-in, but really if you buy a policy that qualifies as an HDHP, the law lets them honor a famliy deductible of (probably) $12,000. So they simply ignore the individual deductible if there is more than one person on the policy. The solution is simple: buy two identical policies with one person per policy. I found that the pricing was exactly the same (two people on one policy, or two people on two policies).

[explanade]

OK, logged into my HSA Administrators account, see some dividends but also see fees for each of the VG accounts.

For 3 funds, they total $3-4.

Are these in addition to the $45 fee that HSA Administrators charge or could that be VG which is assessing these fees?

Dividends total about $20-21 since my 2015 contribution in early February.

In addition I see this disclaimer:

"You are currently set up to receive Vanguard reimbursements via paper check. There is a $10 per check processing fee. To receive your funds via electronic transfer, complete this form."

Is this only in reference to redeeming shares?

However, I set up an ACH link in order to fund the contribution in the first place. So I need to set up another ACH link to get any disbursements?

The HSA Bank and HSA Administrators accounts set up is very confusing.

[audreyh1]

Yes the withdrawals from the vanguard funds are in addition to the $45 annual fee.

I think you need to either set up an ACH transfer to do a disbursement or use the ATM card.

[explanade]

But you first would sell shares, move them to the HSA Bank account, then ACH transfers or use the Debit card?

Or does the Debit card draw directly from the HSA Administrators accounts?