HSA Opportunities Abound

Art by Ellie Ji Yang

Devenir, a national provider of investment solutions for health savings accounts (HSAs), released the results of its 15th semi-annual HSA survey—once again measuring strong growth in the use of the vehicle both for short- and long-term saving.

Benefiting from workers’ and employers’ increasing understanding of the “triple tax advantage” that HSAs provide, the accounts had collectively grown to an estimated $45.2 billion in assets, in over 22 million accounts, by the end of last year.

Preliminary data further shows that, by the end of this January, assets had reached almost $50 billion. As Devenir explains, the survey data were collected between January and February and primarily consist of the largest 100 HSA providers, “with all data being collected for the December 31, 2017, period as well as a January month-end update, [because] we have historically found it to be such a significant month for the industry.”

Year over year, the increase represents a 22% jump for HSA assets and an 11% boost for accounts for the year just ended. Important for readers to note, a strong equity market had helped to propel HSA investment assets to an estimated $8.3 billion, up 53% year over year.

The average investment account-holder has a $16,457 average total balance, including both deposit and investment accounts, Devenir reports. For advisers in particular, this is an important statistic, given evidence that these accountholders are hungry for guidance about how to best invest and eventually withdraw their dollars.

Even if the health savings accounts are not the most lucrative business to pursue on their own, offering advice about them and health care costs, experts agree, can be a tremendous value add that boosts client loyalty.