Tag: health savings accounts

Investment menu designs have also gotten better, according to a Morningstar analysis.

They also fail to invest the funds or max out contributions, EBRI found.

“We are committed to bringing America’s workers solutions designed to help them gain confidence and take action to efficiently prepare for health care expenses in retirement,” says John Carter, president of Nationwide’s retirement plan business.

Most HSAs do not even have an investment component, but this will change, as health care brokers have been driving plan sponsor adoption of HSAs, but in the future advisers will, Jamie Greenleaf, with Cafaro Greenleaf, told attendees of PLANSPONSOR’s 2018 HSA Conference.

Speakers at PLANSPONSOR's 2018 HSA Conference discussed educating participants about investing health savings account (HSA) assets and planning for retirement health care costs.

Willis Towers Watson suggests portals integrated with financial planning tools can help employees make strategic decisions about where to best save their money based on their unique financial situation.

Speaking at PLANSPONSOR's 2018 HSA Conference, Shad Fagerland, of counsel at Ivins, Phillips & Barker, discussed two bills, passed by the House, that would expand the use and benefits of health savings accounts (HSAs).

Via the new client interface, participants can see their projected health care costs in retirement compared against the projected balance in their HSA.

The report can serve as a primer for those needing more education about HSA rules and benefits.

Devenir estimates that $9.8 billion of HSA assets are invested as of June 30, 2018—an estimated 45% year-over-year increase.

“In this year’s survey, an astounding 85% of respondents paying toward student loans reported that their obligation to repay the funds are impacting their ability to prepare for retirement,” warns Marsha Whitehead, OneAmerica vice president of enterprise marketing.

According to a new survey, 76% of employees say they understand the salient features of health savings accounts, or “HSAs,” yet only 12% could correctly identify the common attributes of an HSA in a simple quiz.

Research from EBRI shows very few employees contribute the maximum statutory limit to HSAs.

“Although budget pressures have put limits on some reforms and the Senate outlook this year is dim, the proposed changes indicate the direction that many Republicans and more than a few Democrats would like to take,” writes Tracy Watts, Mercer’s leader on health care reform.   

The health care plan and the health savings account are not the same thing; while the employer has some administrative responsibilities, the HSA belongs wholly to the employee and is portable.

It would also be good for them to include emerging markets equities, target-date funds, alternatives, international bonds and specialty bonds.

Vanguard has issued a new framework, jointly developed with Mercer, that helps pre-retirees and retirees with planning for annual health care costs and long-term care expenses in retirement.

Sources at the 2018 PLANSPONSOR National Conference discussed financial wellness, choosing between Roth and pre-tax savings and saving for long-term health care expenses.

This is a 50% increase from 2017.

Although an SEC bulletin is directed at employees invested in HSAs, its description of useful HSA features depending on how investors use HSAs can be informative to plan sponsor clients.