Health Savings Administrators' New Custodian

[easysurfer]

Are there alternatives which offer VG Admiral funds and has low fees?

That's what keeps me sticking around.

 

[explanade]

OK, I can't log into http://www.hsaadministrators.com at all right now, getting 404 errors.

But in my history, I can get to: https://hsaa.ipx-sys.com/home.aspx

So when I log in, I see no signs of the annual fee bill at all. Oh and last year, I created an account at hsabank.com which is how I initially funded the account and that no longer recognizes my login. Yes they changed their custodian.

So after logging in, I see more shares for my VG funds and so naturally I look around for transactions.

But they have a transactions document that is titled "Transaction History Prior to 9.1.2015." It is in the Document Library -> Private Document Vault.

So I check the statements in View Statement tab and there are only 4 statements:

10/1/15-12/31/15 with a run date of 1/16/16
10/1/15-12/31/15 with a run date of 1/11/16
8/28/15-9/30/15 with a run date of 11/1/15
9/1/15-9/30/15 with a run date of 10/28/15

The statements show the total shares of each fund but no transactions.

The Transaction History Prior to 9.1.2015 document shows the details of the DRIP, such as amount, shares and share price. It also shows fees imposed on March and June, for which they deduct fractional shares of each fund (fund administrative expenses from VG or from HSA Admin?).

Even though it covers the period through 8/31/15, the last transactions are dated 6/25/15.

So I still have questions about the following:

1. Status of the custodian fee? I paid $45 last year and I don't see a bill for it.
2. Transactions after 6/25/15.
3. What the "Fees" transactions are, which party is imposing them.

Anyone else less than impressed by the information that HSA Administrators are providing?

Oh and it says "Free Agent Plan 45" at the top, when you log in. What is that?

 

[explanade]

Well submitted my questions through the "Contact Us" form and they never got back to me.

Tried calling their toll free number. No way to get a live person. Only choices are to play recorded and automated messages or to leave a message.

Tried leaving a message and there's a voice mail error, saying the mailbox can't save any more message. Probably a lot of other customers leaving messages because they can't contact anyone.

 

[audreyh1]

I've been able to more or less reconcile my accounts by viewing the transaction history that's under the profile tab.

But they haven't sent out any more statements since the one that covered August (I think). Where is our Q4 2015 "statement"?

And what about the IRS contribution form for the HSA for 2015? We already got ours from HSA Bank, but not from the new custodian yet. Their web site says the forms will be available in May 2015 - but that can't be right - that should only be for people who make last minute contributions in 2016 for 2015.

 

[explanade]

I called and talked to them. They had to walk me through. I can set up an investment event, which could be an ach transfer for the contribution.

I haven't done it yet though. I imagine they will take a couple of days to set up the ach including dummy transactions.

 

[audreyh1]

The investment events, scheduling, etc., work quite well. We have done both the recurring monthly ACH transfers, and the one time events.

 

[jarts98]

I was with HSA Administrators for years but their fee changes would have increased my costs significantly. I stayed with HSA Bank when HSA Administrators left and now I invest in super low cost Vanguard ETF's through TD Ameritrade. I leave $5k at HSA Bank to avoid the monthly fee, but I consider it part of the bond allocation for the total HSA account, so it's not too painful. And thus far I've had no problems with the two web sites and investing, etc.

jarts98

 

[Accidental Retiree]

I've been able to more or less reconcile my accounts by viewing the transaction history that's under the profile tab.

But they haven't sent out any more statements since the one that covered August (I think). Where is our Q4 2015 "statement"?

And what about the IRS contribution form for the HSA for 2015? We already got ours from HSA Bank, but not from the new custodian yet. Their web site says the forms will be available in May 2015 - but that can't be right - that should only be for people who make last minute contributions in 2016 for 2015.

I got the same info from a customer service rep via email.
She said the new administrator is holding off on sending the forms
because they wait for those potential late contributions (2016 for 2015 tax year).


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Nunthewiser]

This all sounds pretty messy. After they take that $45 admin fee off the top you would be hard pressed to find an investment these days that is going to return anything better than what you can get at a friendly credit union. I just signed up with lake michigan credit union that pays 2 percent over $5k. Conexus also pays something like that. No fees. Anyone can join.

 

[Gone4Good]

After they take that $45 admin fee off the top you would be hard pressed to find an investment these days that is going to return anything better than what you can get at a friendly credit union.

I guess that depends on how much you have in your HSA and whether you expect equities to beat a 2% hurdle rate of return. The $45 fee annual fee constitutes less than 5bp of our HSA assets.

Meanwhile, at the age of 44 I might have another 40 years of tax-free growth in this account that I presume I'll be able to withdraw 100% tax free. I'm gunning for the fences with this money.

 

[Nunthewiser]

I guess that depends on how much you have in your HSA and whether you expect equities to beat a 2% hurdle rate of return. The $45 fee annual fee constitutes less than 5bp of our HSA assets.

Meanwhile, at the age of 44 I might have another 40 years of tax-free growth in this account that I presume I'll be able to withdraw 100% tax free. I'm gunning for the fences with this money.

Might make sense to go for it if you are young but I am almost 62 and there is little time for that small pot of money to grow.

 

[Lakedog]

I guess that depends on how much you have in your HSA and whether you expect equities to beat a 2% hurdle rate of return. The $45 fee annual fee constitutes less than 5bp of our HSA assets.

Meanwhile, at the age of 44 I might have another 40 years of tax-free growth in this account that I presume I'll be able to withdraw 100% tax free. I'm gunning for the fences with this money.

+1
I use HSA Bank and stay 100% equities (TDA linked account) even though I am a bit older at 59. I expect (hope) I have lots of years left for the pot to grow.

 

[simple girl]

Their website is so not user friendly!

I sat on the phone 15 minutes Friday then gave up, and just now spent over 30 minutes on hold - no answer...gave up. How can they stay in business with this kind of customer service?

I finally figured out how to make all of my future contributions go to Wellington (which fortunately I had opened prior to it being closed). However I don't see any way to make an online contribution directly from my bank. Is there a way to do this?

I think I am just going to fill out the contribution form I downloaded and snail mail it in.

 

[audreyh1]

I got the same info from a customer service rep via email.
She said the new administrator is holding off on sending the forms
because they wait for those potential late contributions (2016 for 2015 tax year).


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That's just not right. They are supposed to send forms out in January, then follow up with an updated one for the late contributors.

Otherwise - they are going to force everyone to delay filing! So I can't file my taxes by the April 15 deadline and am forced to file an extension just because they don't send me the form on time. Even though I already know I'm not making any more contributions and we have contributed the max for 2015?

I think they will get an earful about this if they really delay everyone's form until May. That would be a reason to change administrator.

 

[audreyh1]

Their website is so not user friendly!

I sat on the phone 15 minutes Friday then gave up, and just now spent over 30 minutes on hold - no answer...gave up. How can they stay in business with this kind of customer service?

I finally figured out how to make all of my future contributions go to Wellington (which fortunately I had opened prior to it being closed). However I don't see any way to make an online contribution directly from my bank. Is there a way to do this?

I think I am just going to fill out the contribution form I downloaded and snail mail it in.

Yes you can - you can schedule a one time event, or a recurring event like if you want to make automatic monthly contributions.

Once you log in, click on "My Profile". Then you will see several options. You can add banking information under "Banking Information". Then under "Scheduled Events" you can "Add Contribution Event" - and you can select whether to make it recurring or a one time event. The rest should be self-explanatory - just make sure you chose the right contribution year.

 

[audreyh1]

I've been able to more or less reconcile my accounts by viewing the transaction history that's under the profile tab.

But they haven't sent out any more statements since the one that covered August (I think). Where is our Q4 2015 "statement"?

And what about the IRS contribution form for the HSA for 2015? We already got ours from HSA Bank, but not from the new custodian yet. Their web site says the forms will be available in May 2015 - but that can't be right - that should only be for people who make last minute contributions in 2016 for 2015.

Correction - that "transaction history" is under the "investing" tab.

And it's pretty complete - I have been able to figure out what the transactions are for even though they aren't clearly described.

 

[simple girl]

Yes you can - you can schedule a one time event, or a recurring event like if you want to make automatic monthly contributions.

Once you log in, click on "My Profile". Then you will see several options. You can add banking information under "Banking Information". Then under "Scheduled Events" you can "Add Contribution Event" - and you can select whether to make it recurring or a one time event. The rest should be self-explanatory - just make sure you chose the right contribution year.

Oh geez I see that now! Thank you so much! They need to pay you for doing their customer service work for them!

That is so NOT intuitive. They need a "make a contribution" link directly visible somewhere on the main page. It should not be nested underneath your profile information, IMO.

Thanks again!!!!

 

[Gone4Good]

Otherwise - they are going to force everyone to delay filing! So I can't file my taxes by the April 15 deadline and am forced to file an extension just because they don't send me the form on time. Even though I already know I'm not making any more contributions and we have contributed the max for 2015?

Why delay filing? If you know what you contributed (the max) why not just file your returns with the right information? The IRS will get the documents they need eventually.

HSA sent the wrong info to the IRS once for me. I got a notice from the IRS asking for back taxes . . . two years later. I forwarded the IRS the corrected form and all was well. And that's with HSA sending the wrong info, not just late info.

I'm planning to just file my taxes whether I hear from HSA or not. Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead!

 

[audreyh1]

Why delay filing? If you know what you contributed (the max) why not just file your returns with the right information? The IRS will get the documents they need eventually.

HSA sent the wrong info to the IRS once for me. I got a notice from the IRS asking for back taxes . . . two years later. I forwarded the IRS the corrected form and all was well. And that's with HSA sending the wrong info, not just late info.

I'm planning to just file my taxes whether I hear from HSA or not. Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead!

I didn't know if I could file without having received the form.

 

[audreyh1]

Oh geez I see that now! Thank you so much! They need to pay you for doing their customer service work for them!

That is so NOT intuitive. They need a "make a contribution" link directly visible somewhere on the main page. It should not be nested underneath your profile information, IMO.

Thanks again!!!!

Yes - the website is horrible, as are their "statements".

 

[Gone4Good]

I didn't know if I could file without having received the form.

Well, don't take tax advice from me.

But I'm pretty sure you don't need to file the HSA form with your taxes so you shouldn't need to be in possession of the form to file your taxes. As long as what you file is accurate and you can back up your claims with documentation, I don't see any reason to delay.

There are other times when you might not know how to file - like with certain dividends from REITs or MLPs that take forever to receive. In those instances you probably want to delay because you want to file your return correctly and need the information. But because I know the right number for my HSA deduction, I don't think I need to wait for HSA Admin to get on the stick and confirm what I already know with 100% certainty.

If after I file I learn that they fouled it up this year and reported a bad number, then I'll have to get them to make it right. But that's true whether I file now or wait. Either way my tax obligation is exactly same.

 

[Gone4Good]

Yes - the website is horrible, as are their "statements".

Everything about them is awful, except compared to the competition.

But I can't be too hard on them because they're crappy system actually saved me $ this year.

I had scheduled an "event" to make 100% of my 2016 contribution early in January. Well nothing ever happened. After a week of not getting a response from HSA, I deleted the original contribution "event" and tried again.

The second time everything seemed to go through on the HSA website. It showed the contribution and even bought shares in the appropriate fund. Except the money never got withdrawn from my checking account.

Turns out, somehow the wiring instructions got fouled up. So they reversed the trade.

I finally got it to go through correctly the third time. In the time it took to get this all sorted, the market was down about 7%. So I ended up buying cheaper shares than if they had done it the first time. It's all good.

Except.

When they reversed the second failed trade, the website shows it as a "distribution." I'm half convinced I'm going to get a tax form next years saying that I withdrew nearly $7k from the HSA.

Emails to them have gotten no response.

 

[audreyh1]

Comparing to before the custodian change. I found the HSA Administrators statements clear and timely - much better than now. Got the IRS forms in a timely fashion too - but I guess those were coming from HSA Bank.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

A few years ago I got a Bank of America Benefits Solutions HSA through my then-insurer, Aetna.
I find that website, claims process, everything, VERY easy to use.

I opened an account with HSA Administrators because I wanted to try out the competition and bag some Wellington, but I am thinking I'll take this year's contribution back to B of A. They do have a few VG funds, last I checked.


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[zinger1457]

Everything about them is awful, except compared to the competition.

What competition have you compared them to? My HSA account is set up with Wells Fargo and don't have any complaints.