Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

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JustinR
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Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by JustinR »

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Edit: So far, it seems Lively is the best provider. Only $2.50/mo investment fee to invest through TDAmeritrade, and that's it. No minimums.


With HSA Bank, there are the following monthly fees:
  • $3.00 HSA service fee
  • $2.50 investment service fee
TDAmeritrade offers some commission-free ETFs. So after paying the $5.50/mo, you can trade as much as you want with no additional fees.

Now that they've removed all the Vanguard funds from the commission-free list, it's a good time to evaluate whether they're still the best HSA provider. Maybe they still are.

Every other provider I've looked at charges fees per trade, or forces you to keep some balance in cash, or has a mediocre selection of funds.

Are there any providers that have less fees, or better selection than the HSABank/TDA combo?
Last edited by JustinR on Sun Dec 10, 2017 2:46 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Lieutenant.Columbo
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Lieutenant.Columbo »

JustinR wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 10:39 pmAre there any providers that have less fees, or better selection than the HSABank/TDA combo?
with Saturna your cost is only around $25/yr total if you only make one transaction (say you send in your yearly contribution in one installment) and if your fund is Vanguard's.
Last edited by Lieutenant.Columbo on Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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runner3081
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by runner3081 »

We have been happy with ELFCU and TD Ameritrade.

No maintenance fees with a 2.5K cash balance and can trade anything above 2.5K. There is a fee to transfer money to TD Ameritrade for investing though.

Sure, losing VG funds is unfortunate, but there are plenty of fairly equivalent alternatives still there.
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FIREchief
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by FIREchief »

I think that Fidelity is the best HSA choice but, unfortunately, it is only available if your Megacorp chooses to use them for active employees.
I am not a lawyer, accountant or financial advisor. Any advice or suggestions that I may provide shall be considered for entertainment purposes only.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by whodidntante »

Lively+TDA likely the best choice if you are investing every dollar long-term. There is a great deal of whining about the commission free ETF changes, but that there are still good some very good options in the new commission free list.
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JustinR
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by JustinR »

whodidntante wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:35 pm Lively+TDA likely the best choice if you are investing every dollar long-term. There is a great deal of whining about the commission free ETF changes, but that there are still good some very good options in the new commission free list.
According to the site, there's only a $2.50 to invest and that's it? That's pretty good, would save me $3 a month.

Does anyone know that if my HSA investments are already at TDA, do I have to sell TDA -> transfer to current HSA -> transfer to new HSA -> transfer to TDA again? Or can I just sign up with Lively and "assign" the investments that are already at TDA to the new provider?


runner3081 wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:04 pm We have been happy with ELFCU and TD Ameritrade.

No maintenance fees with a 2.5K cash balance and can trade anything above 2.5K. There is a fee to transfer money to TD Ameritrade for investing though.

Sure, losing VG funds is unfortunate, but there are plenty of fairly equivalent alternatives still there.
Hmm. $25 per transfer to investments is a killer.
Lieutenant.Columbo wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:04 pm
JustinR wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 10:39 pmAre there any providers that have less fees, or better selection than the HSABank/TDA combo?
with Saturna your cost is only around $25/yr total if you only make one transaction (say you send in your yearly contribution in one installment) and if your fund is Vanguard's.
Which fee is the $25? And is it the self-directed brokerage mode?
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by tigermilk »

Do you not have a no fee option? I've got HSA Bank and TDA, and if my HSA Bank balance is $5k or higher, there are no monthly fees.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by SpaceCowboy »

SelectAccount and Schwab are $30 / year. You need to keep $1k in cash. With Schwab's no commission low expense ETFs, it's a pretty worthwhile deal. SelectAccount is the rebranding of Falcon National Bank and HSA Resources.
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JustinR
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by JustinR »

tigermilk wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:22 am Do you not have a no fee option? I've got HSA Bank and TDA, and if my HSA Bank balance is $5k or higher, there are no monthly fees.
I don't think it's worth saving $5.50 a month to park $5,000 instead of investing it, right?
tigermilk
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by tigermilk »

JustinR wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:36 am
tigermilk wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:22 am Do you not have a no fee option? I've got HSA Bank and TDA, and if my HSA Bank balance is $5k or higher, there are no monthly fees.
I don't think it's worth saving $5.50 a month to park $5,000 instead of investing it, right?
If you treat the cash as a bond instrument why not? My TDA account is 100% equity with cash equivalents at HSA Bank. Or put another way, having $5k is like a 1%+ CD.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by danaht »

tigermilk wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 5:13 am
JustinR wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:36 am
tigermilk wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:22 am Do you not have a no fee option? I've got HSA Bank and TDA, and if my HSA Bank balance is $5k or higher, there are no monthly fees.
I don't think it's worth saving $5.50 a month to park $5,000 instead of investing it, right?
If you treat the cash as a bond instrument why not? My TDA account is 100% equity with cash equivalents at HSA Bank. Or put another way, having $5k is like a 1%+ CD.
+1 for HSA Bank. That is exactly what I do to avoid the fees - and how I justify not investing the $5000 (ie part of my overall emergency fund)
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by aristotelian »

I would rather do Lively with TD or use the mutual funds at HSA Authority or Selectaccount. $60 a year is too much IMO.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by knpstr »

I also keep the ~$5,000 cash in my HSA Bank account, not only to avoid fees, but I use my HSA as I go so to have that amount of cash available is necessary for my deductible. Everything else gets transferred over to TD to invest.

Doing this makes the fees incurred $0/year which is just a bonus. :beer
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by jhfenton »

whodidntante wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:35 pm Lively+TDA likely the best choice if you are investing every dollar long-term. There is a great deal of whining about the commission free ETF changes, but that there are still good some very good options in the new commission free list.
+1 I just moved my employer-sponsored HSA to Lively+TD Ameritrade.
JustinR wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:57 pm Does anyone know that if my HSA investments are already at TDA, do I have to sell TDA -> transfer to current HSA -> transfer to new HSA -> transfer to TDA again? Or can I just sign up with Lively and "assign" the investments that are already at TDA to the new provider?
The same question crossed my mind, but I doubt they have any provision for doing so. I'd bet money that you have to liquidate, transfer cash, and repurchase.

But it's a reasonable question to ask Lively customer support. They are very responsive.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by John Laurens »

Plus if you use TDA , instead of commission free Vanguard VTI you can now use the new commission free SPDR Gender Diversity ETF.

Regards,
John
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by jhfenton »

One HSA Bank question, do they take the fees from the HSA or can you pay them from a linked bank account?

Lively takes the HSA fees ($30/year) from a linked bank account, not the HSA itself.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by mervinj7 »

John Laurens wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:37 am Plus if you use TDA , instead of commission free Vanguard VTI you can now use the new commission free SPDR Gender Diversity ETF.

Regards,
John
Nice to know that SHE (SPDR Gender Diversity ETF) will be available commission-free!
https://www.ssga.com/investment-topics/ ... ex-ETF.pdf
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by TylerS7 »

I wish I would have seen this thread before I opened an Optum HSA account this past week to transfer my Alliant CU HSA over. I only have $3400 right now and will add another $3400 in January, I plan on keeping $3000 in savings (I think at 0.10%) to avoid penalty and invest the rest for 0.03% fee. For at least the next year or two it doesn't appear my account will be much different than HSA Bank or Lively + TDA. But in a few years when I have more money in the account I may have to look into making a change.
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JustinR
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by JustinR »

jhfenton wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:26 am
whodidntante wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:35 pm Lively+TDA likely the best choice if you are investing every dollar long-term. There is a great deal of whining about the commission free ETF changes, but that there are still good some very good options in the new commission free list.
+1 I just moved my employer-sponsored HSA to Lively+TD Ameritrade.
JustinR wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:57 pm Does anyone know that if my HSA investments are already at TDA, do I have to sell TDA -> transfer to current HSA -> transfer to new HSA -> transfer to TDA again? Or can I just sign up with Lively and "assign" the investments that are already at TDA to the new provider?
The same question crossed my mind, but I doubt they have any provision for doing so. I'd bet money that you have to liquidate, transfer cash, and repurchase.

But it's a reasonable question to ask Lively customer support. They are very responsive.
Thanks. Lively said you can do an in-kind transfer within TDA without having to transfer out.

jhfenton wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:48 pm One HSA Bank question, do they take the fees from the HSA or can you pay them from a linked bank account?

Lively takes the HSA fees ($30/year) from a linked bank account, not the HSA itself.
My HSA Bank account takes fees from the HSA. Not sure if there's the option to pay through an external bank. Paying through your bank seems way better and that's another plus for Lively.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by jhfenton »

JustinR wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:27 pm Thanks. Lively said you can do an in-kind transfer within TDA without having to transfer out.
That is unexpectedly awesome! Thanks.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by inmymind »

Now that TD will no longer be offering Vanguard ETFs commission free, has anyone done a comparison of the funds that will be available and how to best structure the 3 fund portfolio by using available commission free options?

Best I can tell is the SPDRA Total Stock Market (SPTM 0.03% ER) + SPDRA World Ex US (SPDW 0.04% ER) + SPDRA Aggregate Bond (SPAB 0.04% ER).
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by wander »

I also have HSA Bank and TD combo. My employer is nice enough to take care of the monthly fee. Before this, I had HSA account with Wells Fargo, then with Chase, but HSA Bank is my top choice.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by veggivet »

I've used HSA and TDA since I established my HSA over 10 years ago. I don't pay any fees to HSA, and view the cash they have as part of my cash allocation. TDA gives me free trades whenever I ask for them (rarely), but they have tons of low cost, commission-free index ETFs to choose from. If Fidelity offered individual HSA accounts, I would transfer over only because the bulk of my assets are with them at this stage of the game. There have been some negative reports with respect to HSA Bank's customer service, but I can't speak to that personally as I do not use my HSA as a source of funds and have had no reason to contact them....yet.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by jhfenton »

inmymind wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:54 am Now that TD will no longer be offering Vanguard ETFs commission free, has anyone done a comparison of the funds that will be available and how to best structure the 3 fund portfolio by using available commission free options?

Best I can tell is the SPDRA Total Stock Market (SPTM 0.03% ER) + SPDRA World Ex US (SPDW 0.04% ER) + SPDRA Aggregate Bond (SPAB 0.04% ER).
SPDW is developed international only, so to be equivalent to VXUS, you'd need to add some SPEM (emerging markets at 0.11% ER).

But otherwise, those are the three (four) equivalent funds.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by ffuser1 »

I'm with HSA Authority. $36/year. Vanguard Admiral shares. Schwab provides the user interface. No one else uses them? Seems like a good option to me...
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by camillus »

I am surprised to learn that so many HSA custodians use a brokerage window at TD Ameritrade.

My employer just switched to HealthEquity, which offers Vanguard funds with an administrative fee and a $2000 cash minimum.

If you make frequent trades (monthly or per paycheck) or hold a lot of funds, HealthEquity might be among the leaders now.

I suspect that losing the fee free ETFs at TDA will push HSA investors into less frequent / annual trades and simplifying HSA investments to one fund, and carrying complexity in other vehicles.
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JustinR
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by JustinR »

ffuser1 wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 5:31 am I'm with HSA Authority. $36/year. Vanguard Admiral shares. Schwab provides the user interface. No one else uses them? Seems like a good option to me...
No other fees? To trade? Any minimums?
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Thrifty Femme »

JustinR wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:13 am
ffuser1 wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 5:31 am I'm with HSA Authority. $36/year. Vanguard Admiral shares. Schwab provides the user interface. No one else uses them? Seems like a good option to me...
No other fees? To trade? Any minimums?
There is a monthly inactive account fee after 18 months or so. I don't remember the exact amount, but it was under $5.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by ffuser1 »

I don't see anything about an inactivity fee. You're limited to a small list of investments, however. I don't believe there are any charges/fees for trading within those limited investment options. https://hsainvestments.com/fundperformance/?p=TBH
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Thrifty Femme »

ffuser1 wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 5:10 pm I don't see anything about an inactivity fee. You're limited to a small list of investments, however. I don't believe there are any charges/fees for trading within those limited investment options. https://hsainvestments.com/fundperformance/?p=TBH
Search this site for HSA inactivity fee and you'll find it. I would look for you if I weren't on a mobile phone.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by gatsu »

Does TD Ameritrade through Lively offer retirement like index funds (fund of funds that progressively reduces stock exposure)?
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by b4nash »

gatsu wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:21 pm Does TD Ameritrade through Lively offer retirement like index funds (fund of funds that progressively reduces stock exposure)?
"With Lively, it’s simple to invest your HSA funds, plus you can leverage a variety of investment options, including individual stocks, bonds, CDs, over 100 commission-free ETFs, and more than 13,000 mutual funds."

While I am fairly sure you could find lifecycle/target retirement/glide path investment choices from the 13,000 mutual funds, the consensus is to choose from the 6 lowest expense (0.03-0.05%) commission-free ETFs from this [sortable] list:
https://research.tdameritrade.com/grid/ ... onfree.asp
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Nate79 »

Every time I read these threads I'm more and more happy with my Payflex HSA. No monthly fee to invest and access to Vanguard funds. Only requirement is to keep a certain amount of cash which I would do anyways.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by jhfenton »

Nate79 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:02 pm Every time I read these threads I'm more and more happy with my Payflex HSA. No monthly fee to invest and access to Vanguard funds. Only requirement is to keep a certain amount of cash which I would do anyways.
Your monthly fee is being paid by your employer. Payflex is not a cost-effective option otherwise.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Nate79 »

jhfenton wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:20 pm
Nate79 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:02 pm Every time I read these threads I'm more and more happy with my Payflex HSA. No monthly fee to invest and access to Vanguard funds. Only requirement is to keep a certain amount of cash which I would do anyways.
Your monthly fee is being paid by your employer. Payflex is not a cost-effective option otherwise.
No, it is not. Fees were removed and confirmed employer is not paying them. (If you knew my employer they would never pay these fees anyways)
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by jhfenton »

Nate79 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:21 pm
jhfenton wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:20 pm
Nate79 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:02 pm Every time I read these threads I'm more and more happy with my Payflex HSA. No monthly fee to invest and access to Vanguard funds. Only requirement is to keep a certain amount of cash which I would do anyways.
Your monthly fee is being paid by your employer. Payflex is not a cost-effective option otherwise.
No, it is not. Fees were removed and confirmed employer is not paying them. (If you knew my employer they would never pay these fees anyways)
Paychex's public website in the HSA FAQ, under "Can I invest my HSA funds?", says "Once you open an investment account, a monthly investment fee will be taken out of your HSA cash account. You can view your account fees in the Financial Center of your online account. Select your Health Savings Account from the drop down menu. Click on Fee Schedule on the left side."

It would be very strange for them not to advertise their fee-free status if they are now truly fee-free. (Of course, the $1,000 cash requirement means they're not cost free.)
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Nate79 »

jhfenton wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:31 pm
Nate79 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:21 pm
jhfenton wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:20 pm
Nate79 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:02 pm Every time I read these threads I'm more and more happy with my Payflex HSA. No monthly fee to invest and access to Vanguard funds. Only requirement is to keep a certain amount of cash which I would do anyways.
Your monthly fee is being paid by your employer. Payflex is not a cost-effective option otherwise.
No, it is not. Fees were removed and confirmed employer is not paying them. (If you knew my employer they would never pay these fees anyways)
Paychex's public website in the HSA FAQ, under "Can I invest my HSA funds?", says "Once you open an investment account, a monthly investment fee will be taken out of your HSA cash account. You can view your account fees in the Financial Center of your online account. Select your Health Savings Account from the drop down menu. Click on Fee Schedule on the left side."

It would be very strange for them not to advertise their fee-free status if they are now truly fee-free. (Of course, the $1,000 cash requirement means they're not cost free.)
There was an announcement in September that the monthly fee was eliminated. In the announcement was a new fee schedule. It may not be available to all plans but I did find by searching on the web that my company is not the only one with this fee elimination. Are they a publically available HSA?
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by skylar »

camillus wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:00 am I am surprised to learn that so many HSA custodians use a brokerage window at TD Ameritrade.

My employer just switched to HealthEquity, which offers Vanguard funds with an administrative fee and a $2000 cash minimum.

If you make frequent trades (monthly or per paycheck) or hold a lot of funds, HealthEquity might be among the leaders now.

I suspect that losing the fee free ETFs at TDA will push HSA investors into less frequent / annual trades and simplifying HSA investments to one fund, and carrying complexity in other vehicles.
The problem with HealthEquity is that it becomes more expensive than HSA Bank + TDA with higher balances, since it has an AUM fee rather than just a flat monthly fee. Once you get past ~$20k HSA Bank+ TDA is cheaper than HE.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by lynneny »

Re Payflex/fees, the fee was $2.50 a month while I was at megacorp. Now that I'm no longer working there, I can keep my HSA at Payflex for a $5/month fee. And you are always required to keep $1,000 in cash, so that's a small drag on returns. I'm considering whether to do that, or move to HSA Authority, which has annual fee of $36, and access to Vanguard index funds, no charge for trades.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by nalor511 »

This website is cool, and lively looks like a good option https://thehsareportcard.com/lively/
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Small Law Survivor »

I have HSA Bank + Ameritrade. I have to say that I find the Ameritrade website incredibly cluttered and confusing. The hassle of transferring money from HSA to Ameritrade, and then playing around on the Ameritrade site, has been a disincentive for me to really get on top of my investments in my HSA.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by ajw360 »

Lively for sure. $2.50 per month fee for a TD Ameritrade account and it comes out of a seperate (checking) account. No other fees or minimums. Can invest the first dollar. Very nice website. Easy to use. Easy to transfer money.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Impromptu »

There are many moving parts to consider.

SPTM, SPAB, and SPDW are commission free and a good basis for a 3 fund portfolio. Their expense ratios are less than Vanguard's expense ratios, so you will save money there.

To avoid the monthly fees you need to have $5,000 in cash. I believe you will earn 0.15% on that $5000 held, or $7.50/year.

There is a cash drag to holding $5,000 in cash to avoid the monthly fees. How much investment gains are you losing from holding that much cash? $50 for every 1% your investments would have made. So if you make 5% in a year, then you are losing out on $250 in gains when you save $60 in fees, but you lose $7.50 in interest. The cash drag is a reason some people will hold only enough cash in their HSA Bank accounts to cover the fees and invest the rest.

This isn't a big enough deal for me to switch away from HSA Bank. They are well established. I like their user interface. I like the user interface of TD Ameritrade, too, which I have linked to my other TD Ameritrade accounts.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by mpsz »

I'm moving my HSA Bank + TDA to Lively + TDA. The $2.50 comes from your checking account as posters above have mentioned -- $2.50/mo in regular dollars is substantially better than $5.50 in tax-advantaged dollars. This isn't highlighted anywhere near enough!
deltaneutral83
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by deltaneutral83 »

Small Law Survivor wrote: Tue Mar 13, 2018 10:28 am I have HSA Bank + Ameritrade. I have to say that I find the Ameritrade website incredibly cluttered and confusing. The hassle of transferring money from HSA to Ameritrade, and then playing around on the Ameritrade site, has been a disincentive for me to really get on top of my investments in my HSA.
I think this is why most people do it once or twice a year, maybe once in the summer and once at the end of the year. I don't front load my HSA for the obvious reason that you have to have an HDHP all 365 days to max out the contributions. The TDA part is really easy but I've used TDA for years, in fact, I make all investments on the TDA app. Getting it from HSABank to TDA is a few mouse clicks, not something I'd want to do every month especially since it's just a few bucks, but once/twice a year is fine.
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hoppy08520
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by hoppy08520 »

Small Law Survivor wrote: Tue Mar 13, 2018 10:28 am I have HSA Bank + Ameritrade. I have to say that I find the Ameritrade website incredibly cluttered and confusing. The hassle of transferring money from HSA to Ameritrade, and then playing around on the Ameritrade site, has been a disincentive for me to really get on top of my investments in my HSA.
Same here. I have HSA Bank + TDA through my employer and there's no auto-invest option like I had with my former HSA. So twice a month I need to do a manual ETF trade in TDA in order to keep my ongoing contributions invested in a DCA manner. Not the worst problem in the world but I wish my HSA could be more set-it-and-forget-it, just like my twice-monthly 401(k) contributions are.
Matt Y.
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by Matt Y. »

I don't have any major complaints about our HSA Bank + linked Ameritrade brokerage. We keep the minimum at HSA Bank - something like $5,000 - to avoid fees and all the rest is in the linked Ameritrade account in equities. January each year we make our annual contribution. A week later move it to Amritrade. Then a week later allocate into existing ETF per allocation targets. This is a 3 step process we do each year. Over the past 10-years with contributions and equity growth the account has done quite well. On the few occasions I have had to call or communicate via secure e-mail with HSA Bank or Amritrade, they have been straight forward interactions.
E5797
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by E5797 »

Is there a way to pay the HSA Bank fees without having them come out of your tax protected account? Like sending in a check or paying from another account?
TropikThunder
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by TropikThunder »

E5797 wrote: Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:50 pm Is there a way to pay the HSA Bank fees without having them come out of your tax protected account? Like sending in a check or paying from another account?
That's an excellent question, but I don't know the answer. If there is no way to avoid the fee coming from the HSA balance, then that's another big point in favor of Lively.
mpsz wrote: Tue Mar 13, 2018 11:46 am I'm moving my HSA Bank + TDA to Lively + TDA. The $2.50 comes from your checking account as posters above have mentioned -- $2.50/mo in regular dollars is substantially better than $5.50 in tax-advantaged dollars. This isn't highlighted anywhere near enough!
I could not agree more. Originally, I didn't think it was significant, but you're correct.
broslami
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Re: Is HSA Bank + TD Ameritrade still the best HSA choice?

Post by broslami »

mpsz wrote: Tue Mar 13, 2018 11:46 am I'm moving my HSA Bank + TDA to Lively + TDA. The $2.50 comes from your checking account as posters above have mentioned -- $2.50/mo in regular dollars is substantially better than $5.50 in tax-advantaged dollars. This isn't highlighted anywhere near enough!
I'm trying to do the same thing but after a month and a half the transfer is still pending......
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