eyup. had this twice. so annoying that jobs don't let you choose an hsa for it to be deposited into.
this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2025
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Mildly Infuriating
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Drain it to zero and then let them auto close it for inactivity. Or keep it open forever since there’s no admin fee.
I've had one open for years that is empty. I think they're hoping I eventually put money in it so they can drain it for the years it sat unused.
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The admin fee is $0. Can you just transfer all of the money out and keep the account empty?
I had this happen a couple jobs ago - I successfully spent it down to $1, but the they wouldn’t transfer that little. I suppose I may still legally have this amount somewhere
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Does it benefit the company in some way to have empty accounts on their books?
It’s that someone has to do work and they want things to be automated. Everything with a fee is to cover salaries.
This is exactly what I do. Spend all the money out of the account and delete my login. Done this at least a couple times and I’ve never had an issue. What are they gunna do? File a bullshit claim on my credit?
Honest question: why? I’ve only been able to use an HSA once, and I thought the big advantage is that it’s your money you can keep and use whenever. Can’t you just keep using it normally, ideally save some of it?
In my case, my ex got it put in our divorce judgement that I would carry “traditional” insurance, so I knew that my HSA had no future
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The fact that you get charged for a paper statement and that is not an opt in is more infuriating.
You don’t get it. It’s a health savings account.
They charitably contribute a whopping 0.05% APY to an account that drains to zero every year.
That's FSAs.
HSA funds continue growing so long as you aren't using them. If you're healthy and actually middle class or better they act as a 3rd retirement vehicle, since after 65 you can use it for whatever and they don't penalize you.
Exactly this, they're best used as a tax free investment account rather than anything health related. If you're on a plan with high enough a deductable to be eligible for an HSA and can afford it you should max out your HSA contributions before even a penny of unmatched 401k contributions. Personally I'd argue that you're better off maxing out the HSA and using post-tax money to pay medical expenses unless close to the end of your career. It's one of it not the single most easily taken advantage of ways to not pay tax at all on a long term investment.
The system is indeed stupid but the least you can do is take advantage of it where possible and for the middle class the HSA is one of the best ways.
Why is it better than unmatched 401k?
Once you hit 65, you can withdraw HSA funds for any purpose, tax free, like a Roth IRA. 401k withdrawals will be taxed as ordinary income, so an HSA dollar is worth about $1.20 in a 401k.
401k money is taxable as regular income on withdrawal. The expectation is you will be in a lower tax bracket after retiring, so you win.
HSA is not taxable, although I don’t know if that’s just when used for medical expenses
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You know, I can look up the definitions of HSA and FSA and things like that, and I can have the definitions right there in a document on my screen, but they still don't make any sense to me in terms of how they relate to me specifically. A lot of times they seem like they depend on me predicting things in the future that are unknowable, like my future health or how and where I will be billed for something. And that's assuming I also look up related terms like APY and deductible and figure out what those mean. If I ask any HR people they're like "just contact the provider for an explanation" and I'm like yeah, I totally want to deal with the phone menus and hold times of some faceless corporation, just to have them pull some BS like OP's talking about.
Sorry about the rant. I guess that's what I find mildly infuriating.
The main difference is FSA is use it or lose it. I got Lasik many years ago because I had 1 month to use $2000 in my FSA.
HSA is like a 401k that you can deduct from immediately for medical needs.
FSAs do depend on you kinda predicting or hedging bets against your own health since they only last the year. You can also use them to buy certain health/exercise equipment though.
HSAs can often be invested (in stock market) thus act like an IRA with extra tax avoidance if you manage not to use it for long enough. It's counter to the stated purpose but it's basically better to not withdraw or reimburse from it unless you need to.
Deductibles are Deductibles. How much you have to pay before insurance "kicks in". There are per visit deductibles and yearly deductibles which are as they sound. HSAs are only available to plans with high deductibles. FSAs are available to plans that aren't just high deductible.
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I switched off of the family HSA plan after two years of paying out of pocket at the end of the term. It depends on the customer.
Regardless, the interest rates are abysmal.
But now you're paying your bills with post tax dollars instead of pretax.
Yes, but most HSAs let you invest in index funds so it becomes like another IRA.
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You're thinking of an FSA.
HSAs are a misdirect to get you to ignore how shitty high deductible plans are. Never take the high deductible plan.
HSAs are also a way to get healthy people away from wanting universal health care by catering to their self interest, just like how IRAs were intended to let people with money invest in retirement which eroded support for social security.
I save money with the HSA/high deductible. I always plan around using 100% of deductible. Premium plus HSA contribution is less than the PPO option.
I'll never pick an 80/20 plan. They generally charge more and cover less.
And I'm an old hag and have recently got cataract surgery in both eyes, hearing aids, etc.
It depends though. If you are relatively healthy with no chronic issues (yet) and have enough saved for an emergency, it can save you a good amount of tax-free money that you can use for when you get older and sicker. That and the monthly premium is much lower than a PPO. Obviously universal healthcare is still the best option.
My company has high deductible plan with $1800 deductible and another with $3600 deductible. I just divide those by 12 and add to monthly premium when comparing against HMO/PPO plans.
I'm single and old.
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Reminds me of when my ISP who was "no contract" had a cancellation fee. Like I have to pay money to stop being billed? Something about that feels very backwards.
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When I was looking for a non-employer HSA, there's a lot of providers out there with not-exactly-predatory terms. All kind of fees or restrictions that you wouldn't find on other types of checking/saving/brokerage accounts. I ended up a Lively, but they added some investment/transfer fees when Schwab bought Lively's investment partner TDA.
I suspect it's partly because most HSA are determined by the employer, so someone in HR can be induced to choose a fee-laden plan if it's easier for them, and partly because the tax benefits are so great that it still makes sense even after paying a $20 junk fee here and there.
CFPB is aware of the issue. I'm guessing that the incoming administration is not going to care about fees.
And thank GOD! if a Business wants to Steal ALL my Money that just makes them GOOD BUSINESSMEN! If I wanted Rights I would Lift up my Bootstraps!
No no see the problem is that you have money, and you need to give them that money otherwise they can't get more money
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This is because you are not the customer. Your employer is the customer, they are the ones who get to choose the HSA provider for their employees. You are the goods to be sold. The HSA provider is simply harvesting profits.
Thanks, I hate it
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