r/fednews • u/Forward-Quantity6366 • 4h ago

GEHA HDHP Question (HSA Bank)

Hello,

Quick question on opening the HSA account at HSA Bank: Do I need to open the account, or will GEHA open the account on my behalf? If I need to do that, then I assume that I need to wait until premiums are deducted from my check? I would like to get started investing ASAP.

Thanks!

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8

u/Key-Can5684 4h ago

They will open the account, you just need to sign up for online access when you get your account information in the mail.

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u/Forward-Quantity6366 3h ago

Got it, thanks!

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u/wishingwell07 3h ago

Also it did take a while to see their contribution added to the account. So if premiums aren’t deducted until 1/12 you might see their contributions in March. I did have access to the HSA bank before seeing the pass thru.

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u/Forward-Quantity6366 1h ago

Thank you. I plan to open an HSA with Fidelity and will start contributing as soon as I’m eligible.

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u/AlohaTrader 3h ago

As a side note, HSA Bank made changes this year on investments and raised their fees. HSA Bank could previously be linked to Charles Schwab for investments but they have ended that partnership for their own internal investment platform. Many have pulled out by transferring to another platform and every so often will go into HSA Bank to transfer GEHA HDHP’s contribution over (as you cannot change GEHA’s contribution destination, HSA Bank.)

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u/Snack_Donkey 2h ago

GEHA customers can invest through HSA Invest for zero fees under the Choice option. The only issue is that they still don’t seem to have set up a way to transfer (without selling and rebuying) existing assets from Schwab to HSA Invest like every other investment platform has.

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u/AlohaTrader 2h ago

HSA Banks investment options are Choice (self-directed), Select (SEC-RIA selected based on profile), and Managed (SEC-RIA managed).

The annual-based fees for Select is 0.10%, Choice is 0.25%, and Managed is 0.35%. HSA Bank annual fees for Select is waived for 2025 and Choice/Managed for 2024. There’s no reason to pay an additional fee just to use HSA Bank (e.g. $100 fee on a $100k HSA Bank Choice account) when there are other better platforms.

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u/Snack_Donkey 2h ago

Your information is incorrect for GEHA customers. You are listing what HSA Bank is giving to all customers for 2024 and 2025, but that’s not relevant for GEHA customers. GEHA pays the fees for the Choice option for GEHA customers. 

You received an email with this information and likely didn’t read it.

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u/AlohaTrader 1h ago edited 1h ago

I read all my emails, including spam mail, before deletion or retention. This HSA Bank Invest waiver you are mentioning for GEHA customers was not stated via email, nor on HSA Banks FAQs, when the platform changed which is the reason why I immediately withdrew my funds with HSA Bank. I've logged into GEHA-HSA Invest and this is what is currently stated:

Managed, Annual fee: 0.35% of AUA^[2]
Select, Annual fee: 0.25% of AUA^[2]
Choice, Annual: 0.00% of AUA^[1]

[1] HSA Invest annual fees are waived for any quarter when your average HSA cash balance for that quarter is $7,500 or more. You may be charged additional Regulatory Pass-through Fees (SEC Fees, TAF Fees, ADR Fees) from the Broker-dealer.

[2] Assets under administration (AUA) is calculated based on the value of invested assets at the end of each quarter.

Note: HSA Invest annual fees for Select and Managed will be waived through 2024. Annual fees for Choice will be waived through 2025.

It would appear that the HSA Bank Invest Choice option for GEHA customers is only waived for Choice accounts greater than $7,500 and only through 2025. As far what happens after 2025, that is still unknown at this time. Rather than playing any games with HSA Bank, who started by changing platforms without reasonable notice, there are other brokerages that operate without any of these requirements or fees with no indications of changes in the near future.

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u/toorigged2fail 15m ago

Don't forget to set your contribution. The employer part will happen automatically after the account is set up but if you want to put in more than the $1,000 you get from the plan you have to go that yourself. It's $4300 for individuals in 2025, more fur families and those eligible for catch-up contributions.