throwaway18000081 t1_jabaivn wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:38 AM

I have a HSA account with Fidelity, it is free meaning no monthly fee no matter the balance.

Once a year, I go to the Fidelity site and initiate a “trustee to trustee” HSA transfer.

Fidelity takes my signed forms, mails them to Health Equity (my employers preferred HSA bank), Health Equity sends Fidelity my money, and I invest in index funds and individual stocks on Fidelity. There are no fees involved in this process.

Every time I switch employers, I do the same transfer into Fidelity. Be aware to leave $25 when doing that final transfer because Health Equity and other HSA banks charge about that much of a fee if you take all of your money out (meaning you are closing the account).

Instead, transfer everything except $25 and then go buy HSA approved OTC medicine and other stuff you may need and pay with the HSA debit card.

[deleted] t1_jabfrvc wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:30 AM

[removed]

throwaway18000081 t1_jabnje2 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 6:59 AM

Not for a HSA. With HSA’s, there is no vesting period for your employer match. The instant your employer puts the match into your HSA, it is 100% yours to spend, invest, or transfer out to your personal HSA.

A HSA is literally a bank account (Health Savings Account) you owe and the money is not in the control on your employer.

Nubiolic t1_jabo7aj wrote on February 28, 2023 at 7:08 AM

Thanks for the excellent, detailed post. I'm going to do this asap.

Question about hsa contributions. Is there any advantage/disadvantage to maxing out your hsa with a single paycheck vs having it maxed out with payments throughout the year?

throwaway18000081 t1_jaco1c6 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 2:12 PM

You’re welcome! There are no advantages of maxing it all at once other than “you can invest your money into the market quicker so your money spends more time invested”.

With a HSA, your employer match does not depend on your contribution meaning you always receive the match whether you contribute or not, so that is not an issue here.

I would advise to contribute to your HSA on a normal per paycheck schedule in case you leave your employer mid-year and decide not to go with a HSA plan with your new employer, this may cause pro-rated contribution issues and having to take some contributions out and stuff.

whisky_in_your_water t1_jacxsbl wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:22 PM

I do it per paycheck so my paychecks are consistent. That's it.

Just make sure to do it through payroll instead of as a separate contribution because you can only avoid FICA taxes if you do it through payroll.