Author Topic: HSA account question  (Read 11827 times)

frugaldrummer

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HSA account question
« on: April 23, 2014, 11:05:08 AM »
I need to set up an HSA account after switching to a new high-deductible individual health insurance policy.  I seldom go to the doctor but do take regular medications and visit some holistic practitioners from time to time, and I'm in a relatively high tax bracket, so this will be a good thing.

But my question for you all is - where to open the HSA account?  I have a Scottrade account for my individual IRA and I like them, but they don't appear to offer HSAs.  I could open one through my regular bank, Bank of America, which might be convenient, but I rather suspect their mutual fund offerings will suck and be full of fees.

Where do you have your HSA accounts?  Any recommendations?

mbl

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2014, 11:27:37 AM »
I've used an HSA account at www.hsabank.com for a number of years now.   

Remember to check here first before you take withdrawals:    http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf
« Last Edit: April 23, 2014, 11:30:36 AM by mbl »

squatman

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2014, 11:49:45 AM »
There's a decent list of good providers here: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Health_savings_account

I'm switching jobs soon and I plan on rolling over my HSA to Eli Lilly to avoid monthly service fees.

frugaldrummer

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2014, 02:33:16 PM »
Wow, that HSA bank account has a boatload of fees unless my balance is over $5k.  It's likely that a BofA account for me would have low fees because they would take into account the large balance in my other accounts with them.  I'll have to check.

There is a large local credit union here, I could check into their deals for HSAs also.

TheDude

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2014, 04:01:31 PM »
squatman, I have and ELFCU account. The just instituted a $24 fee to wire to the td ameritrade account. Probably still one of the better deals out there but a little sad.

squatman

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2014, 06:06:37 PM »
squatman, I have and ELFCU account. The just instituted a $24 fee to wire to the td ameritrade account. Probably still one of the better deals out there but a little sad.

:( Maybe back to the drawing board then.

TheDude

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2014, 09:26:09 PM »
Yeah I am pretty disappointed but I don't see any better options. I only rollover once a year so once a year I will suck it up and pay it.

Rural

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #7 on: April 24, 2014, 05:22:27 AM »
I'm posting largely to follow this.


I'm looking to rollover some funds from my employer-sponsored HSA soon. I shouldn't need regular access, but I'm not sure which will be best for me in terms of fees. Vanguard recommends Health Savings Administrators. Does anyone have experience with that one? I don't like the looks of their annual fee, but I wonder if overall it would come out less for what's primarily a holding account.

Nissykins2

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2014, 07:21:46 AM »
If you're looking for an account to actually use (i.e. pay doctor bills out of it) I can highly recommend Alliant Credit Union. They've got great customer service, no fees, easy online transfer from my main bank, etc.  That said, the money is just sitting in a savings account and not earning much in terms of interest. This works for us right now as we are in the having babies phase of life and I easily hit my $5000 deductible the last couple of years.  Once I am back (hopefully) to not having to doctor much anymore, I'm planning to keep a few thousand in this account and to set up a new account in which to invest/eventually fund retirement.

Badass by 41

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2014, 02:14:30 PM »
Any reason one wouldn't also go with Vanguard as their HSA custodian? (besides the obvious tinfoil hat reasons)

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/whatweoffer/overview/healthsavings

Badass by 41

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2014, 04:13:18 PM »
Is that high for the industry?  And if that's a flat fee it's 1.5% for the first $5000 in the account, but quickly diminishes once you have a sizable 'stash in there.  Am I thinking about that wrong?

Rural

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2014, 04:19:41 PM »
Vanguard does not offer an HSA directly. Your link above is to the Vanguard recommendation of health savings administrators, who do offer health savings accounts which only carry Vanguard funds. That's the one I'm considering for my investment portion of my HSA, not the regular use portion. For use, I have to keep some money in the account with the company chosen by my employer, anyway, so I'll just use that. It doesn't look like there's a good option for debit card use with health savings administrators. That doesn't bother me, but I'm not yet sure that the $45 annual fee is the best I can do. There are still fund fees attached, just low ones.

Badass by 41

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2014, 04:27:06 PM »
Ah, I obviously didn't read that far.  My apologies.

Rural

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #13 on: April 25, 2014, 04:53:25 PM »
Ah, I obviously didn't read that far.  My apologies.


No worries. Vanguard is pushing it, after all.

MayDay

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Re: HSA account question
« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2014, 05:48:21 PM »
Ours is through Fidelity, no fixed fees, just whatever fees are associated with the fund you choose, but it is employer sponsored, so the employer may have negotiated on the fees. Worth checking out. We have it all in a total market fund similar to the vanguard one that everyone recommends, with a comparably low fees.