2020 Top HSA Plan Providers Evaluated

HSA, retirement, health care, Morningstar

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Morningstar is out with its annual assessment of the most prominent Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) available to individuals.

Morningstar evaluated the providers’ success from two different use cases:

New to this year’s study, Morningstar tracked total assets for 14 of the largest and most prominent Health Savings Accounts available to employers and individuals, highlighting asset growth trends and changes in market share among these providers.

Overall, the study found that HSA providers improved in quality over the last year, with a number of plans cutting fees, enhancing the design of their investment menus, and lowering investment thresholds.

However, there’s room for improvement, as fees generally remain high and many providers require participants to maintain a minimum checking account balance before they can invest. Transparency also remains a hurdle, as investors have limited resources to help them navigate the young and frequently changing HSA landscape.

“Despite market volatility earlier this year, investors continued to place money into their HSA accounts,” Leo Acheson, director of multi-asset ratings at Morningstar, said in a statement. “There’s a wide divergence in the quality of HSAs available to individuals, though providers have continued to improve their offerings by cutting fees and streamlining their investment menus.”

It found that Fidelity continues to offer the most attractive HSA for both spenders and investors, and noted that as HSAs continue to mature and evolve, “it’s important that providers promote greater fee transparency, maintain strong investment line-ups, and simplify and improve plan features.”

Highlights from the study include:

Overall assessment for each HSA provider:

HSA ProviderOverall Assessment as Investing AccountOverall Assessment as Spending Account
Bank of AmericaAbove AverageBelow Average
BendAverageAverage
FidelityHighHigh
Fifth ThirdAverageAverage
FurtherAverageBelow Average
HealthEquityAbove AverageHigh
HealthSavingsAverageBelow Average
HSA Bank*Below AverageAverage
LivelyAverageHigh
OptumBelow AverageAverage
The HSA AuthorityAbove AverageHigh
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