What
if I didn't find a provider in my state?
Unfortunately, we were not able to find a HSA provider in
all states. This does not mean one does not exist! However,
with online banking, it is no longer necessary to live in
the same state as your bank.
The
fees for the HSA providers in my state are extremely high,
what are the typical fees for HSAs?
Sadly, high fees have become the norm. However, thanks to
our provider map, you can quickly find lower fee alternatives
in neighboring states. Great Lakes Tip - Focus on
Fees, Not Interest Rates!
What
exactly are First Year Fees?
First Year Fees were calculated using
the following: Setup fee, Annual fee, Monthly
fee, Transaction fees related to simple withdrawals
or deposits, debit card fee or other
fees that the typical account holder would pay
in the first year of the account. Fees for traditional paper
checks were not included unless online banking was not available.
We assumed 12 withdrawals a year equal to 20% of the total
deposits, traditional bank statements and a monthly deposit
of $100. This deposit was not considered a monthly, automatic
contribution. The fees were tabulated during the month of
April, 2005 and will be updated in the first week of January,
2007. We believe this is the fairest way to compare the
HSA providers. However, we recommend you perform your own
analysis to find the HSA that best meets your needs and
goals.
Why
aren't the fees listed for every company?
The fees were not listed for a company if our team
could not find the fees listed on the website. Those who
did not list fees were called and emailed - most would not
disclose their fees or respond to our request for the information
necessary to calculate the first year fees. We would avoid
those banks!
What
is more important, a high rate of return or low monthly
fees?
We asked the same question, and designed a program to analyze
the variables. In most cases the accounts with the lowest
monthly and annual fees had the highest Future Value. The
accounts with higher interest rates typically had higher
fees.
What
type of services are provided with HSA accounts that might
justify these fees?
Most banks do not provide technical or product knowledge
related to HSAs. They act primarily as a custodian, or holder
of your account. Banks do not want to get in the business
of providing tax advice! To get expert advice related to
HSAs, you need to talk to a third-party administrator that
specializes in HSAs or a bank that is dedicated to HSA accounts.
Examples are First HSA, HSA Bank and of course, Great Lakes
HSA! This is a very important service if you are not familiar
with the rules and regulations of HSAs. We recommend everyone
go to a provider that specializes in HSAs. We will be listing
the full service HSA providers in the next few weeks!
Why
is Great Lakes HSA on states other then Ohio? I thought
this was an independent website?
If our research team could not locate a HSA provider
in your state or if the lowest fee provider in your state
is above $50, we included Great Lakes on the list.
Are
you saying these are the only companies where I can open
a HSA?
Not at all! Almost every insurance company that
offers high-deductible health plans that qualify for HSA
accounts do offer or suggest an HSA account that is integrated
within the Health Plan. In addition, we know there are other
HSA providers across the country we may have missed. However,
after a team of five, google searching experts searched
the internet for 6 weeks, we feel fairly confident that
this database contains a majority of the HSA providers across
the country.