Good HSA providers?

[flagdude]

Does anyone have recommendations for good HSA providers? I'm in the midst of going from employed to self employed and will soon be signing up for a high deductible health plan. I'd like to start depositing into an HSA and am looking for a provider with good investment options. Anyone have a good one to recommend?

Thanks-Joel

[MDM]

If you happen to have $250K invested with Fidelity because they administered your previous employer's 401k, you can have an HSA with them for $0/year and use their Spartan funds and no-fee ETFs to your heart's content.

Otherwise, HSA Bank and SelectAccount are a couple of good options if you want the HSA primarily for investments.

See
http://thefinancebuff.com/best-hsa-provider-for-investing-hsa-money.html and http://20somethingfinance.com/best-hsa-account/ for more discussion.

[Penny Lane]

I like Health Equity.  Very good service.

[Thegoblinchief]

Vanguard recommends HealthSavings.com.

[FiguringItOut]

My current company uses PayFlex Direct. 
I just opened my first HSA account last month, but from what I can see on PayFlex Direct site, they have investment options with American Funds and Vanguard.  You have to have $1000 in the account to start investing.

[flagdude]

Thanks for the replies.

Joel

[Indexmantra]

I may be in a position to transfer my HSA into a better provider next year.

I think that Saturna Capital seems like the "cheapest" choice for HSA Investors. However, I am not sure how legit they are as I have never heard about them before.

The other one is Wells Fargo, where they charge you no fees for balances over $5,000 ( though their index fund costs 0.25%/year).

Has anyone rolled over/transfered over money from one HSA provider to another?

[Thegoblinchief]

Has anyone rolled over/transfered over money from one HSA provider to another?

I haven't, but it works more or less like rolling over other tax-deferred accounts.

Typically it's getting the information required from the new place, then filling out whatever documentation the old place requires, then waiting for the transfer to execute. Some places will wire it directly, others insist on mailing a physical check either to you or to the new custodian.

Be prepared to check on it every 7 days, calling if necessary. There have been some folks around here that have experienced unusually pokey (multi-week) rollovers even with well-regarded companies.

[jorjor]

Has anyone rolled over/transfered over money from one HSA provider to another?

I have. It was a pretty straightforward process. I filled out a form, and talked to someone on the phone. It's as easy as rolling over a 401k, if you've done that. I remember that either the old or new HSA provider asked for more documentation/information, but then processed the transfer anyway.

[Indexmantra]

Which HSA provider did you decide on? (I apologize if I am being nosy)

[Paul der Krake]

We need a goddamn master spreadsheet of every HSA provider and their benefits/features. Who allows mutual funds, under what terms, at what price. Who allows in-kind rollovers in, out, at what price and under what timeline.

[kendallf]

I rolled mine over last year to HSA Bank from Health Equity (Aetna's provider) and it took several weeks but eventually showed up.  Now I've been invested and happily losing money all year!    :-/

I like HSA fairly well; they use TD Ameritrade and after you transfer money into TDA, you can log directly into their site to buy and sell.  They do suck away $5.50 in fees each month if you don't leave $5k (I think) in the base "cash" account.  At the end of this year I plan to transfer $5k over from my current insurance company's HSA provider to them and park it to avoid this; I want to leave some "medical or other emergency" cash in there anyway.

[DavidAnnArbor]

Elements.org formerly Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union:
No fee to open up the hsa - There is a $5 one time membership fee.
$3 monthly fee if your balance is lower than $2500
Annual percentage yield is 0.6% for the HSA.
You can transfer money from the HSA to TD Ameritrade but there is a $24 for each transfer to and from Elements to TD Ameritrade.
Need a minimum of $2500 in the HSA with Elements, above which, you can transfer money over to TD Ameritrade.
At TD Ameritrade you can get Vanguard exchange traded funds at no commission cost. Also, the TD Ameritrade account has no fees associated with it.

United Bank of Michigan:
No fee set up. No monthly fee with $200 min balance.
Latest statement says I'm earning 2.24% APY, but this is down from 3.25% so the rates may have changed.
No fee to close this account or to transfer funds out of this HSA into another HSA account.
There is no brokerage account option with an HSA account.

You're allowed to have more than one HSA custodian, or bank.

[jorjor]

Which HSA provider did you decide on? (I apologize if I am being nosy)

HSA Bank. I just rolled over into my new company's HSA when I switched jobs. I think the old one was with OptumBank.

[Spork]

I rolled mine over last year to HSA Bank from Health Equity (Aetna's provider) and it took several weeks but eventually showed up.  Now I've been invested and happily losing money all year!    :-/

I like HSA fairly well; they use TD Ameritrade and after you transfer money into TDA, you can log directly into their site to buy and sell.  They do suck away $5.50 in fees each month if you don't leave $5k (I think) in the base "cash" account.  At the end of this year I plan to transfer $5k over from my current insurance company's HSA provider to them and park it to avoid this; I want to leave some "medical or other emergency" cash in there anyway.

I've been going through several HSAs... trying to sort out the fee structures.   Does HSA Bank charge anything on the TDAmeritrade transfers/trades/maintenance?  (I'm presuming the normal $10 trades apply for TDA.)

I'm not finding it on their fee schedule... but sometimes those sorts of things can be hidden in the mist.

[ijingle]

I've been going through several HSAs... trying to sort out the fee structures.   Does HSA Bank charge anything on the TDAmeritrade transfers/trades/maintenance?  (I'm presuming the normal $10 trades apply for TDA.)

I'm not finding it on their fee schedule... but sometimes those sorts of things can be hidden in the mist.

HSA Bank has a a $3/month "Investment Service Fee" if the bank portion of your account is less than 5,000. There is no fee for transferring or trading (beyond TDA's trading fees)

[jpdcpajd]

If you happen to have $250K invested with Fidelity because they administered your previous employer's 401k, you can have an HSA with them for $0/year and use their Spartan funds and no-fee ETFs to your heart's content.

Otherwise, HSA Bank and SelectAccount are a couple of good options if you want the HSA primarily for investments.

See
http://thefinancebuff.com/best-hsa-provider-for-investing-hsa-money.html and http://20somethingfinance.com/best-hsa-account/ for more discussion.

Just contacted Fidelity and they only offer HSA for Employer sponsered accounts not individuals with prior employer accounts.

[MDM]

Just contacted Fidelity and they only offer HSA for Employer sponsered accounts not individuals with prior employer accounts.

Oh, well, guess they didn't notice that we "weren't eligible." :)

You could try filling this out and sending it in: https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/hsa-application-only.pdf

Sometimes the folks answering the phone don't know all the details....

[jpdcpajd]

Just contacted Fidelity and they only offer HSA for Employer sponsered accounts not individuals with prior employer accounts.

Oh, well, guess they didn't notice that we "weren't eligible." :)

You could try filling this out and sending it in: https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/hsa-application-only.pdf

Sometimes the folks answering the phone don't know all the details....

I'll give it a shot

[gatorfox]

Optum bank.....no fees after 3k, vanguard funds

[N]

https://20somethingfinance.com/best-hsa-account/

[DavidAnnArbor]

What's missing with that graph in that article is that Elements charges you $25 every time you swing the money over to TD Ameritrade.

I think it was Compound Interest who clarified why Saturna was the best choice in terms of fees if you're planning to just let that HSA grow and accumulate over the years.

[TaronM]

If your objective is to use your HSA for investing primarily, and you can't get access to options like Fidelity that only offer workplace plans, Saturna Captial is the best option, because you can invest the entire amount for just a $15/year transaction fee into FSTVX (they charge an extra $10 for Vanguard funds but FSTVX is just as good), and pay no other fees whatsoever.  Downside is you don't get perks like a special credit card, you have to just hang on to your receipts (I keep track of them in a spreadsheet personally).

Here's a place to help you find an HSA provider, and more info on Saturna:

https://www.hsasearch.com/hsa_providers/saturna-capital/