HSA Providers Report Strong Account Growth

By Allison Bell

April 12, 2012 at 09:51 AM

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Fidelity Investments and HealthEquity Inc. are confirming what the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reported earlier this year: Health savings accounts (HSAs) are selling like hot cakes.

Fidelity, Boston, says the number of HSAs it administers for customers increased 61% in 2011, to 119,000.

HealthEquity, Draper, Utah, did not give an exact number, but it says the number of HSAs it administers has grown 300% in the past 3 years.

Earlier, EBRI, Washington, said it found when it conducted consumer surveys that HSA enrollment probably grew to 8.4 million in 2011, from 5.4 million a year earlier.

HSA sellers say sales have been driven by a combination of employers' focus on lower benefits costs and growing familiarity with and acceptance of HSAs.

HSA asset totals also have been growing.

Fidelity, for example, says the total amount of HSA assets it manages has increased to $327 million as of the end of February, up 43% from the total it was managing a year earlier.

In March, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said total HSA deductions increased 11% between 2009 and 2010, to $2.5 billion.

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