[Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.

I say this, because everyone is so panic induced by the $20 dollar fee mentioned several times throughout this thread, it should be mentioned that the fee ONLY EXISTS if you're doing a HSA Full Balance Transfer from HSA Provider A to Fidelity. Again, to do an HSA CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity is FREE. Get investing!
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
index2max
Posts: 514
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by index2max »

drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:22 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork. I can't tell Optum Bank normally to "push" money out from a trustee-to-trustee transfer.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.

I say this, because everyone is so panic induced by the $20 dollar fee mentioned several times throughout this thread, it should be mentioned that the fee ONLY EXISTS if you're doing a HSA Full Balance Transfer from HSA Provider A to Fidelity. Again, to do an HSA CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity is FREE. Get investing!
When I have spoken with Fidelity, they've said HSA providers are set up to send money out for HSA transfers when the recipient account initiates the transfer. So I want money to go from Optum Bank to Fidelity, I would place the trustee-to-trustee transfer request from Fidelity.

Are you saying Optum Bank does not charge $20 for trustee-to-trustee transfers if I initiate them from Fidelity? Optum Bank told me over the phone in the past that any outbound transfer (HSA rollover, trustee-to-trustee transfer) of funds out of Optum Bank will cost me $20. Would you please go into more detail about how you move your money out of an Optum Bank HSA while maintaining the $3000 minimum cash balance on a regular basis?

Thanks!
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

index2max wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:22 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork. I can't tell Optum Bank normally to "push" money out from a trustee-to-trustee transfer.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.

I say this, because everyone is so panic induced by the $20 dollar fee mentioned several times throughout this thread, it should be mentioned that the fee ONLY EXISTS if you're doing a HSA Full Balance Transfer from HSA Provider A to Fidelity. Again, to do an HSA CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity is FREE. Get investing!
When I have spoken with Fidelity, they've said HSA providers are set up to send money out for HSA transfers when the recipient account initiates the transfer. So I want money to go from Optum Bank to Fidelity, I would place the trustee-to-trustee transfer request from Fidelity.

Are you saying Optum Bank does not charge $20 for trustee-to-trustee transfers if I initiate them from Fidelity? Optum Bank told me over the phone in the past that any outbound transfer (HSA rollover, trustee-to-trustee transfer) of funds out of Optum Bank will cost me $20. Would you please go into more detail about how you move your money out of an Optum Bank HSA while maintaining the $3000 minimum cash balance on a regular basis?

Thanks!
Correct--- you're not closing out of the OptumBank HSA at all-- you're simply transferring cash between HSA's. Right now, I transfer twice a month based on my pay schedule and based on the scheduling, invest twice a month on specific days once the cash has transferred over. The scare tactic of the $20 dollar "fee" is when you close out of your OptumBank HSA and transfer all "assets" (including cash) to an external HSA provider.

I always leave exactly $1 dollar every month in my OptumBank account for their accounting fee and invest 100% of my money into equities in my Fidelity HSA. The only cost to me is my time and sanity of having to fill a trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash, uploading a statement and then waiting for the money to hit. Thankfully, I have automated it to an T now so I don't have to think about it. Hope that helps.
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
yobery
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by yobery »

index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
Fidelity is so great, I try not to abuse their generous fee reimbursement if there is any possible way I can just avoid the fee in the first place... Lest they become less generous :thumbsup
SlowMovingInvestor
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by SlowMovingInvestor »

drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:22 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.
if I have investments in my Optum Bank HSA, do I have to liquidate them and let it transfer to the HSA cash balance prior to initiating my transfer?

Or will Optum do it automatically when I initiate the transfer? If so, I'll have to estimate balance since investment value could fluctuate by the time Optum gets around to liquidating.
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

SlowMovingInvestor wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:57 am
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:22 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.
if I have investments in my Optum Bank HSA, do I have to liquidate them and let it transfer to the HSA cash balance prior to initiating my transfer?

Or will Optum do it automatically when I initiate the transfer? If so, I'll have to estimate balance since investment value could fluctuate by the time Optum gets around to liquidating.
You have multiple options:
Stock / ETF
Mutual Fund
CASH
Other

I always transfer cash only and have not done a stock / ETF or mutual fund transfer as I did not want to wait to invest at Optum. My guess is that if you transfer your stock/etf/mutual funds over, they keep your cost basis and such for your purchase lots. I would call Fidelity to confirm that.
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
SlowMovingInvestor
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by SlowMovingInvestor »

drumboy256 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 12:17 pm
SlowMovingInvestor wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:57 am
if I have investments in my Optum Bank HSA, do I have to liquidate them and let it transfer to the HSA cash balance prior to initiating my transfer?

Or will Optum do it automatically when I initiate the transfer? If so, I'll have to estimate balance since investment value could fluctuate by the time Optum gets around to liquidating.
You have multiple options:
Stock / ETF
Mutual Fund
CASH
Other

I always transfer cash only and have not done a stock / ETF or mutual fund transfer as I did not want to wait to invest at Optum. My guess is that if you transfer your stock/etf/mutual funds over, they keep your cost basis and such for your purchase lots. I would call Fidelity to confirm that.
Thanks! I'm not concerned about cost basis in an HSA.

I'm just more concerned that the mutual fund might not be available at fidelity, or some other hassles. In such cases, I think Fido finds a close equivalent or liquidates the fund, but I'll probably have to call to verify the exact process.

I just hope I don't have to call Optum, their customer service is horrible.
index2max
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by index2max »

drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:05 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:22 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork. I can't tell Optum Bank normally to "push" money out from a trustee-to-trustee transfer.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.

I say this, because everyone is so panic induced by the $20 dollar fee mentioned several times throughout this thread, it should be mentioned that the fee ONLY EXISTS if you're doing a HSA Full Balance Transfer from HSA Provider A to Fidelity. Again, to do an HSA CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity is FREE. Get investing!
When I have spoken with Fidelity, they've said HSA providers are set up to send money out for HSA transfers when the recipient account initiates the transfer. So I want money to go from Optum Bank to Fidelity, I would place the trustee-to-trustee transfer request from Fidelity.

Are you saying Optum Bank does not charge $20 for trustee-to-trustee transfers if I initiate them from Fidelity? Optum Bank told me over the phone in the past that any outbound transfer (HSA rollover, trustee-to-trustee transfer) of funds out of Optum Bank will cost me $20. Would you please go into more detail about how you move your money out of an Optum Bank HSA while maintaining the $3000 minimum cash balance on a regular basis?

Thanks!
Correct--- you're not closing out of the OptumBank HSA at all-- you're simply transferring cash between HSA's. Right now, I transfer twice a month based on my pay schedule and based on the scheduling, invest twice a month on specific days once the cash has transferred over. The scare tactic of the $20 dollar "fee" is when you close out of your OptumBank HSA and transfer all "assets" (including cash) to an external HSA provider.

I always leave exactly $1 dollar every month in my OptumBank account for their accounting fee and invest 100% of my money into equities in my Fidelity HSA. The only cost to me is my time and sanity of having to fill a trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash, uploading a statement and then waiting for the money to hit. Thankfully, I have automated it to an T now so I don't have to think about it. Hope that helps.
Still not sure I believe your claim that I can just transfer a portion of my HSA cash balance over to Fidelity without Optum Bank's system hitting me with a $20 fee for each outbound trustee-to-trustee transfer to Fidelity.

This is what their fee page states as of Monday, February 28, 2022:

https://www.optumbank.com/health-accoun ... -fees.html

$20 charge to transfer your HSA to another bank or custodian (outbound transfer of your entire HSA or a portion).

I know that the monthly maintenance fees are employer-dependent. For example, my employer will not cover that fee for me. So if my cash balance is less than $3000, Optum Bank charges me $2.75/month. Therefore I leave at least $3000 with them at all times.

You're absolutely sure your case isn't particular to your employer?
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

index2max wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:05 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:22 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:21 pm I was told by a Fidelity rep in two months ago that once per 12-month period, Fidelity is generous enough to reimburse me for the $20 transfer fee Optum Bank charges when moving money over to my Fidelity account.

This way, you can move funds over the $3000 no-monthly-fee threshold sitting in Optum Bank to Fidelity to get that invested for free :mrgreen:

To do it twice per year, you could do the HSA rollover disguised as an HSA distribution, then tell Fidelity to code the deposit as a rollover as others have specified here.
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork. I can't tell Optum Bank normally to "push" money out from a trustee-to-trustee transfer.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.

I say this, because everyone is so panic induced by the $20 dollar fee mentioned several times throughout this thread, it should be mentioned that the fee ONLY EXISTS if you're doing a HSA Full Balance Transfer from HSA Provider A to Fidelity. Again, to do an HSA CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity is FREE. Get investing!
When I have spoken with Fidelity, they've said HSA providers are set up to send money out for HSA transfers when the recipient account initiates the transfer. So I want money to go from Optum Bank to Fidelity, I would place the trustee-to-trustee transfer request from Fidelity.

Are you saying Optum Bank does not charge $20 for trustee-to-trustee transfers if I initiate them from Fidelity? Optum Bank told me over the phone in the past that any outbound transfer (HSA rollover, trustee-to-trustee transfer) of funds out of Optum Bank will cost me $20. Would you please go into more detail about how you move your money out of an Optum Bank HSA while maintaining the $3000 minimum cash balance on a regular basis?

Thanks!
Correct--- you're not closing out of the OptumBank HSA at all-- you're simply transferring cash between HSA's. Right now, I transfer twice a month based on my pay schedule and based on the scheduling, invest twice a month on specific days once the cash has transferred over. The scare tactic of the $20 dollar "fee" is when you close out of your OptumBank HSA and transfer all "assets" (including cash) to an external HSA provider.

I always leave exactly $1 dollar every month in my OptumBank account for their accounting fee and invest 100% of my money into equities in my Fidelity HSA. The only cost to me is my time and sanity of having to fill a trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash, uploading a statement and then waiting for the money to hit. Thankfully, I have automated it to an T now so I don't have to think about it. Hope that helps.
Still not sure I believe your claim that I can just transfer a portion of my HSA cash balance over to Fidelity without Optum Bank's system hitting me with a $20 fee for each outbound trustee-to-trustee transfer to Fidelity.

This is what their fee page states as of Monday, February 28, 2022:

https://www.optumbank.com/health-accoun ... -fees.html

$20 charge to transfer your HSA to another bank or custodian (outbound transfer of your entire HSA or a portion).

I know that the monthly maintenance fees are employer-dependent. For example, my employer will not cover that fee for me. So if my cash balance is less than $3000, Optum Bank charges me $2.75/month. Therefore I leave at least $3000 with them at all times.

You're absolutely sure your case isn't particular to your employer?
The $20 dollar portion piece I'm guessing is transferring your entire HSA or portion that is "invested" even tho it doesn't explicitly say that. My "fee" for keeping my Optum account open is $1 dollar per month ($12 a year). As to being employer specific, none that I believe-- I've done 9 transfers thus far of various quantities of cash and never have had a $20 dollar charge on the Optum or Fidelity side.
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
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cos
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by cos »

drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:05 pm I always leave exactly $1 dollar every month in my OptumBank account for their accounting fee and invest 100% of my money into equities in my Fidelity HSA. The only cost to me is my time and sanity of having to fill a trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash, uploading a statement and then waiting for the money to hit. Thankfully, I have automated it to an T now so I don't have to think about it. Hope that helps.
How have you managed to automate the process? As someone with an Optum HSA, I'd love to do it myself!
index2max
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by index2max »

drumboy256 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:50 pm
index2max wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:05 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:22 pm
So I would like to dispel any mystery around this to help folks understand what is happening.

When you have a Fidelity HSA, you initiate a HSA "transfer" from your HSA vendor of choice. Mine, in this case is Optum Bank HSA. You select the option of a CASH ONLY transfer, NOT an account transfer. You then stipulate that you are NOT doing a full cash transfer, confirm the dollar amount, and attach a statement (in this case, from Optum Bank HSA) to do the paperwork. I can't tell Optum Bank normally to "push" money out from a trustee-to-trustee transfer.

What happens next is where the magic of having a Fidelity HSA comes into play. Optum will then deduct the CASH TRANSFER about 5-7 work days prior to it hitting your Fidelity account. The fee for this is $0.00 in doing a CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity for your HSA Brokerage.

I say this, because everyone is so panic induced by the $20 dollar fee mentioned several times throughout this thread, it should be mentioned that the fee ONLY EXISTS if you're doing a HSA Full Balance Transfer from HSA Provider A to Fidelity. Again, to do an HSA CASH ONLY transfer from Optum Bank HSA to Fidelity is FREE. Get investing!
When I have spoken with Fidelity, they've said HSA providers are set up to send money out for HSA transfers when the recipient account initiates the transfer. So I want money to go from Optum Bank to Fidelity, I would place the trustee-to-trustee transfer request from Fidelity.

Are you saying Optum Bank does not charge $20 for trustee-to-trustee transfers if I initiate them from Fidelity? Optum Bank told me over the phone in the past that any outbound transfer (HSA rollover, trustee-to-trustee transfer) of funds out of Optum Bank will cost me $20. Would you please go into more detail about how you move your money out of an Optum Bank HSA while maintaining the $3000 minimum cash balance on a regular basis?

Thanks!
Correct--- you're not closing out of the OptumBank HSA at all-- you're simply transferring cash between HSA's. Right now, I transfer twice a month based on my pay schedule and based on the scheduling, invest twice a month on specific days once the cash has transferred over. The scare tactic of the $20 dollar "fee" is when you close out of your OptumBank HSA and transfer all "assets" (including cash) to an external HSA provider.

I always leave exactly $1 dollar every month in my OptumBank account for their accounting fee and invest 100% of my money into equities in my Fidelity HSA. The only cost to me is my time and sanity of having to fill a trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash, uploading a statement and then waiting for the money to hit. Thankfully, I have automated it to an T now so I don't have to think about it. Hope that helps.
Still not sure I believe your claim that I can just transfer a portion of my HSA cash balance over to Fidelity without Optum Bank's system hitting me with a $20 fee for each outbound trustee-to-trustee transfer to Fidelity.

This is what their fee page states as of Monday, February 28, 2022:

https://www.optumbank.com/health-accoun ... -fees.html

$20 charge to transfer your HSA to another bank or custodian (outbound transfer of your entire HSA or a portion).

I know that the monthly maintenance fees are employer-dependent. For example, my employer will not cover that fee for me. So if my cash balance is less than $3000, Optum Bank charges me $2.75/month. Therefore I leave at least $3000 with them at all times.

You're absolutely sure your case isn't particular to your employer?
The $20 dollar portion piece I'm guessing is transferring your entire HSA or portion that is "invested" even tho it doesn't explicitly say that. My "fee" for keeping my Optum account open is $1 dollar per month ($12 a year). As to being employer specific, none that I believe-- I've done 9 transfers thus far of various quantities of cash and never have had a $20 dollar charge on the Optum or Fidelity side.
Just want to say that drumboy256 is absolutely right about Optum Bank HSAs! If you initiate a partial cash trustee-to-trustee transfer from your Fidelity HSA to pull over some money from your Optum Bank HSA, Optum Bank will not charge that $20 fee everyone is concerned about.

I just tested this recently myself a week ago. All the money I wanted transferred from Optum Bank arrived at Fidelity. If you need to close out your Optum Bank HSA, I was told by Fidelity that once per 12-month period, they will reimburse clients for transfer fees charged by other HSA providers. Otherwise, the other trick is taking a distribution from your Optum Bank HSA, then depositing it at your Fidelity HSA, making sure to inform Fidelity that the money is an HSA rollover
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

index2max wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:25 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:50 pm
index2max wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:05 pm
index2max wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:59 pm

When I have spoken with Fidelity, they've said HSA providers are set up to send money out for HSA transfers when the recipient account initiates the transfer. So I want money to go from Optum Bank to Fidelity, I would place the trustee-to-trustee transfer request from Fidelity.

Are you saying Optum Bank does not charge $20 for trustee-to-trustee transfers if I initiate them from Fidelity? Optum Bank told me over the phone in the past that any outbound transfer (HSA rollover, trustee-to-trustee transfer) of funds out of Optum Bank will cost me $20. Would you please go into more detail about how you move your money out of an Optum Bank HSA while maintaining the $3000 minimum cash balance on a regular basis?

Thanks!
Correct--- you're not closing out of the OptumBank HSA at all-- you're simply transferring cash between HSA's. Right now, I transfer twice a month based on my pay schedule and based on the scheduling, invest twice a month on specific days once the cash has transferred over. The scare tactic of the $20 dollar "fee" is when you close out of your OptumBank HSA and transfer all "assets" (including cash) to an external HSA provider.

I always leave exactly $1 dollar every month in my OptumBank account for their accounting fee and invest 100% of my money into equities in my Fidelity HSA. The only cost to me is my time and sanity of having to fill a trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash, uploading a statement and then waiting for the money to hit. Thankfully, I have automated it to an T now so I don't have to think about it. Hope that helps.
Still not sure I believe your claim that I can just transfer a portion of my HSA cash balance over to Fidelity without Optum Bank's system hitting me with a $20 fee for each outbound trustee-to-trustee transfer to Fidelity.

This is what their fee page states as of Monday, February 28, 2022:

https://www.optumbank.com/health-accoun ... -fees.html

$20 charge to transfer your HSA to another bank or custodian (outbound transfer of your entire HSA or a portion).

I know that the monthly maintenance fees are employer-dependent. For example, my employer will not cover that fee for me. So if my cash balance is less than $3000, Optum Bank charges me $2.75/month. Therefore I leave at least $3000 with them at all times.

You're absolutely sure your case isn't particular to your employer?
The $20 dollar portion piece I'm guessing is transferring your entire HSA or portion that is "invested" even tho it doesn't explicitly say that. My "fee" for keeping my Optum account open is $1 dollar per month ($12 a year). As to being employer specific, none that I believe-- I've done 9 transfers thus far of various quantities of cash and never have had a $20 dollar charge on the Optum or Fidelity side.
Just want to say that drumboy256 is absolutely right about Optum Bank HSAs! If you initiate a partial cash trustee-to-trustee transfer from your Fidelity HSA to pull over some money from your Optum Bank HSA, Optum Bank will not charge that $20 fee everyone is concerned about.

I just tested this recently myself a week ago. All the money I wanted transferred from Optum Bank arrived at Fidelity. If you need to close out your Optum Bank HSA, I was told by Fidelity that once per 12-month period, they will reimburse clients for transfer fees charged by other HSA providers. Otherwise, the other trick is taking a distribution from your Optum Bank HSA, then depositing it at your Fidelity HSA, making sure to inform Fidelity that the money is an HSA rollover
Thanks for confirming I’m not crazy! I’m actually transferring more this morning! :sharebeer
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
Cruz
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Cruz »

[edited for clarity] For those with HSA Bank via GEHA. From my understanding there are no fees imposed on investments in Devenir and TD Ameritrade via HSA Bank and I can maintain any balance in the cash account but can only invest/transfer when I have a cash account balance of $1000 or more. Is that what others have found?
Last edited by Cruz on Sat May 14, 2022 2:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
tj
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by tj »

Cruz wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 7:22 pm For those with HSA Bank via GEHA. From my understanding there are no fees imposed on investments via HSA Bank and I can maintain any balance in the cash account but can only invest/transfer in increments over $1000 or more. Is that what you have found? If the minimum $1000 transfer balance is true, then seems moving to Fidelity would not have much of an advantage then as the funds at TD via HSA Bank seem sufficient
The minimum is $100 not $1000. Actually I think the minimum is $0, but $100 for the auto sweep.
Cruz
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Cruz »

tj wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 9:59 pm
Cruz wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 7:22 pm For those with HSA Bank via GEHA. From my understanding there are no fees imposed on investments via HSA Bank and I can maintain any balance in the cash account but can only invest/transfer in increments over $1000 or more. Is that what you have found? If the minimum $1000 transfer balance is true, then seems moving to Fidelity would not have much of an advantage then as the funds at TD via HSA Bank seem sufficient
The minimum is $100 not $1000. Actually I think the minimum is $0, but $100 for the auto sweep.
Edited my original post to be more accurate.

It seems like you must hold a $1000 balance in the HSA Bank cash account and can invest any amount over that. Seems reasonable to hold $1000 in cash for times of use of the HSA.

From the FAQ booklet https://www.geha.com/~/media93/project/ ... a-faqs.pdf it says "HSA Bank provides account holders with two investment options through its partnerships with Devenir and TD Ameritrade. With both options, you may begin investing once you have a minimum of $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account. Only HSA funds above $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account can be transferred to your investment account."
tj
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by tj »

Cruz wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 2:41 pm
tj wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 9:59 pm
Cruz wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 7:22 pm For those with HSA Bank via GEHA. From my understanding there are no fees imposed on investments via HSA Bank and I can maintain any balance in the cash account but can only invest/transfer in increments over $1000 or more. Is that what you have found? If the minimum $1000 transfer balance is true, then seems moving to Fidelity would not have much of an advantage then as the funds at TD via HSA Bank seem sufficient
The minimum is $100 not $1000. Actually I think the minimum is $0, but $100 for the auto sweep.
Edited my original post to be more accurate.

It seems like you must hold a $1000 balance in the HSA Bank cash account and can invest any amount over that. Seems reasonable to hold $1000 in cash for times of use of the HSA.

From the FAQ booklet https://www.geha.com/~/media93/project/ ... a-faqs.pdf it says "HSA Bank provides account holders with two investment options through its partnerships with Devenir and TD Ameritrade. With both options, you may begin investing once you have a minimum of $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account. Only HSA funds above $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account can be transferred to your investment account."
That is old information. GEHA has apparently been successful in getting the $1000 minimum to be waived. There was a period of time when the waiver was removed and there was a 1k minimum. They probably havent bothered to update their website

An email that GEHA sent on 8/9/2021:
You spoke. We listened.

As your trusted health partner, we're continually seeking opportunities to enhance your experience and the value that we provide you. Effective August 9, the Health Savings Account (HSA) — through your GEHA HDHP —maximizes your ability to use your dollars as you choose to. The current $1,000 minimum cash balance requirement will be removed.

When we say the HSA is your money with no restrictions, we mean it.

The no-minimum balance feature is an uncommon benefit provided to GEHA members — people with other HSAs may still have a minimum. GEHA is small enough to be responsive and easy to work with, yet big enough to give you everything you need to take care of yourself and your family. All while charging competitive premiums.

Remember, pairing your HDHP with a HSA provides a triple-tax advantage.
Tax-free contributions from both you and GEHA
Tax-free interest or investment gains
Tax-free withdrawals for qualified expenses
No use-it-or-lose-it penalties
Cruz
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Cruz »

tj wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 3:08 pm
Cruz wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 2:41 pm
tj wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 9:59 pm
Cruz wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 7:22 pm For those with HSA Bank via GEHA. From my understanding there are no fees imposed on investments via HSA Bank and I can maintain any balance in the cash account but can only invest/transfer in increments over $1000 or more. Is that what you have found? If the minimum $1000 transfer balance is true, then seems moving to Fidelity would not have much of an advantage then as the funds at TD via HSA Bank seem sufficient
The minimum is $100 not $1000. Actually I think the minimum is $0, but $100 for the auto sweep.
Edited my original post to be more accurate.

It seems like you must hold a $1000 balance in the HSA Bank cash account and can invest any amount over that. Seems reasonable to hold $1000 in cash for times of use of the HSA.

From the FAQ booklet https://www.geha.com/~/media93/project/ ... a-faqs.pdf it says "HSA Bank provides account holders with two investment options through its partnerships with Devenir and TD Ameritrade. With both options, you may begin investing once you have a minimum of $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account. Only HSA funds above $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account can be transferred to your investment account."
That is old information. GEHA has apparently been successful in getting the $1000 minimum to be waived. There was a period of time when the waiver was removed and there was a 1k minimum. They probably havent bothered to update their website

An email that GEHA sent on 8/9/2021:
You spoke. We listened.

As your trusted health partner, we're continually seeking opportunities to enhance your experience and the value that we provide you. Effective August 9, the Health Savings Account (HSA) — through your GEHA HDHP —maximizes your ability to use your dollars as you choose to. The current $1,000 minimum cash balance requirement will be removed.

When we say the HSA is your money with no restrictions, we mean it.

The no-minimum balance feature is an uncommon benefit provided to GEHA members — people with other HSAs may still have a minimum. GEHA is small enough to be responsive and easy to work with, yet big enough to give you everything you need to take care of yourself and your family. All while charging competitive premiums.

Remember, pairing your HDHP with a HSA provides a triple-tax advantage.
Tax-free contributions from both you and GEHA
Tax-free interest or investment gains
Tax-free withdrawals for qualified expenses
No use-it-or-lose-it penalties
Thanks - I chatted with HSA bank and they said "There is no minimum balance that you need to keep in your HSA, but you can't transfer an amount to investments that would bring your HSA under$1,000. You're welcome to use the $1,000 for your expenses or to save it, but if it is under $1,000 then you won't be able to transfer until you have more than $1,000 and at that point you can only transfer what is over $1,000."

They call it a threshold instead of a minimum. I asked if it had been waived by GEHA and they said they don't see that to be the case...seems curious. I guess I could try to see if I can invest with a cash account balance less than $1000.
tj
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by tj »

Cruz wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:45 am
tj wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 3:08 pm
Cruz wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 2:41 pm
tj wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 9:59 pm
Cruz wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 7:22 pm For those with HSA Bank via GEHA. From my understanding there are no fees imposed on investments via HSA Bank and I can maintain any balance in the cash account but can only invest/transfer in increments over $1000 or more. Is that what you have found? If the minimum $1000 transfer balance is true, then seems moving to Fidelity would not have much of an advantage then as the funds at TD via HSA Bank seem sufficient
The minimum is $100 not $1000. Actually I think the minimum is $0, but $100 for the auto sweep.
Edited my original post to be more accurate.

It seems like you must hold a $1000 balance in the HSA Bank cash account and can invest any amount over that. Seems reasonable to hold $1000 in cash for times of use of the HSA.

From the FAQ booklet https://www.geha.com/~/media93/project/ ... a-faqs.pdf it says "HSA Bank provides account holders with two investment options through its partnerships with Devenir and TD Ameritrade. With both options, you may begin investing once you have a minimum of $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account. Only HSA funds above $1,000 in your HSA Bank cash account can be transferred to your investment account."
That is old information. GEHA has apparently been successful in getting the $1000 minimum to be waived. There was a period of time when the waiver was removed and there was a 1k minimum. They probably havent bothered to update their website

An email that GEHA sent on 8/9/2021:
You spoke. We listened.

As your trusted health partner, we're continually seeking opportunities to enhance your experience and the value that we provide you. Effective August 9, the Health Savings Account (HSA) — through your GEHA HDHP —maximizes your ability to use your dollars as you choose to. The current $1,000 minimum cash balance requirement will be removed.

When we say the HSA is your money with no restrictions, we mean it.

The no-minimum balance feature is an uncommon benefit provided to GEHA members — people with other HSAs may still have a minimum. GEHA is small enough to be responsive and easy to work with, yet big enough to give you everything you need to take care of yourself and your family. All while charging competitive premiums.

Remember, pairing your HDHP with a HSA provides a triple-tax advantage.
Tax-free contributions from both you and GEHA
Tax-free interest or investment gains
Tax-free withdrawals for qualified expenses
No use-it-or-lose-it penalties
Thanks - I chatted with HSA bank and they said "There is no minimum balance that you need to keep in your HSA, but you can't transfer an amount to investments that would bring your HSA under$1,000. You're welcome to use the $1,000 for your expenses or to save it, but if it is under $1,000 then you won't be able to transfer until you have more than $1,000 and at that point you can only transfer what is over $1,000."

They call it a threshold instead of a minimum. I asked if it had been waived by GEHA and they said they don't see that to be the case...seems curious. I guess I could try to see if I can invest with a cash account balance less than $1000.
Why are you asking HSA bank? Just log in and set it up.
Jeev1
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Jeev1 »

Before I call Fidelity if anyone knows….

Can I exchange funds in HSA or I have to sell one first and then enter a buy order after it settles ?
Thanks a bunch !
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by jeffyscott »

Jeev1 wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 11:27 am Before I call Fidelity if anyone knows….

Can I exchange funds in HSA or I have to sell one first and then enter a buy order after it settles ?
Thanks a bunch !
I have only been able to do an exchange when it's between two Fidelity mutual funds.

I do not use ETFs, but have bought some brokered CDs and they always have required that the cash be available at the time the order is submitted.
lstone19
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by lstone19 »

Jeev1 wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 11:27 am Before I call Fidelity if anyone knows….

Can I exchange funds in HSA or I have to sell one first and then enter a buy order after it settles ?
Thanks a bunch !
A Fidelity HSA is a brokerage account. If you can do it in a non-margin regular brokerage account, you can do it in a Fidelity HSA. You can do same day exchanges within almost any fund family (not just Fidelity). However, if you enter an exchange from one fund family to another, it will sell one day and do the buy part the next day (and there will be a warning about this).
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Jeev1 »

Thank you both, jeffyscott and lstone19.

I guess FZROX (Zero Total Market index fund) and FSKAX (Total Market Index fund) are not from same fund family as I only see Trade option (no exchange).
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by jeffyscott »

Yes, it's still a "trade", you click on trade and one of the options is going to be "exchange".
lstone19
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by lstone19 »

Jeev1 wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:54 pm Thank you both, jeffyscott and lstone19.

I guess FZROX (Zero Total Market index fund) and FSKAX (Total Market Index fund) are not from same fund family as I only see Trade option (no exchange).
As jeffyscott said, an exchange is a type of trade. The Action pulldown will offer you Buy, Sell, or Exchange. If the new fund is a different family, you'll get a warning after you click Preview Order that it will not be executed as an Exchange and will take two market days to complete.

BTW, family is the fund managing company. All Fidelity funds are in the Fidelity family. You can exchange between any Fidelity funds but you cannot exchange from a Fidelity fund to a Baron fund (just to name another fund family) or a Vanguard fund.
Jeev1
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Jeev1 »

jeffyscott wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:59 pm Yes, it's still a "trade", you click on trade and one of the options is going to be "exchange".
Thank you jeffyscott, this is what I was missing. I was looking for the word Exchange next to or instead of Trade. I guess all sites are build differently. Sometimes we just have to follow the steps :)
Jeev1
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Jeev1 »

lstone19 wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 4:09 pm
Jeev1 wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:54 pm Thank you both, jeffyscott and lstone19.

I guess FZROX (Zero Total Market index fund) and FSKAX (Total Market Index fund) are not from same fund family as I only see Trade option (no exchange).
As jeffyscott said, an exchange is a type of trade. The Action pulldown will offer you Buy, Sell, or Exchange. If the new fund is a different family, you'll get a warning after you click Preview Order that it will not be executed as an Exchange and will take two market days to complete.

BTW, family is the fund managing company. All Fidelity funds are in the Fidelity family. You can exchange between any Fidelity funds but you cannot exchange from a Fidelity fund to a Baron fund (just to name another fund family) or a Vanguard fund.
Thank you, appreciate your response!
zush
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by zush »

I just completed a transfer from Payflex to Fidelity, took a little over 4 weeks. Got the account closure reimbursement for $25, make sure to ask for this!
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anon_investor
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by anon_investor »

zush wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 1:38 pm I just completed a transfer from Payflex to Fidelity, took a little over 4 weeks. Got the account closure reimbursement for $25, make sure to ask for this!
Congrats! No more dead cash! :beer
NWbrewer
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by NWbrewer »

drumboy256 wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:47 am
index2max wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:25 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:50 pm
index2max wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:59 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:05 pm
Correct--- you're not closing out of the OptumBank HSA at all-- you're simply transferring cash between HSA's. Right now, I transfer twice a month based on my pay schedule and based on the scheduling, invest twice a month on specific days once the cash has transferred over. The scare tactic of the $20 dollar "fee" is when you close out of your OptumBank HSA and transfer all "assets" (including cash) to an external HSA provider.

I always leave exactly $1 dollar every month in my OptumBank account for their accounting fee and invest 100% of my money into equities in my Fidelity HSA. The only cost to me is my time and sanity of having to fill a trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash, uploading a statement and then waiting for the money to hit. Thankfully, I have automated it to an T now so I don't have to think about it. Hope that helps.
Still not sure I believe your claim that I can just transfer a portion of my HSA cash balance over to Fidelity without Optum Bank's system hitting me with a $20 fee for each outbound trustee-to-trustee transfer to Fidelity.

This is what their fee page states as of Monday, February 28, 2022:

https://www.optumbank.com/health-accoun ... -fees.html

$20 charge to transfer your HSA to another bank or custodian (outbound transfer of your entire HSA or a portion).

I know that the monthly maintenance fees are employer-dependent. For example, my employer will not cover that fee for me. So if my cash balance is less than $3000, Optum Bank charges me $2.75/month. Therefore I leave at least $3000 with them at all times.

You're absolutely sure your case isn't particular to your employer?
The $20 dollar portion piece I'm guessing is transferring your entire HSA or portion that is "invested" even tho it doesn't explicitly say that. My "fee" for keeping my Optum account open is $1 dollar per month ($12 a year). As to being employer specific, none that I believe-- I've done 9 transfers thus far of various quantities of cash and never have had a $20 dollar charge on the Optum or Fidelity side.
Just want to say that drumboy256 is absolutely right about Optum Bank HSAs! If you initiate a partial cash trustee-to-trustee transfer from your Fidelity HSA to pull over some money from your Optum Bank HSA, Optum Bank will not charge that $20 fee everyone is concerned about.

I just tested this recently myself a week ago. All the money I wanted transferred from Optum Bank arrived at Fidelity. If you need to close out your Optum Bank HSA, I was told by Fidelity that once per 12-month period, they will reimburse clients for transfer fees charged by other HSA providers. Otherwise, the other trick is taking a distribution from your Optum Bank HSA, then depositing it at your Fidelity HSA, making sure to inform Fidelity that the money is an HSA rollover
Thanks for confirming I’m not crazy! I’m actually transferring more this morning! :sharebeer
When you first started this process did you also have to print, sign, and mail a Fidelity transfer of assets form? Fidelity states that Optum requires an original signature. I am not getting an option to upload a form and statement.
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

NWbrewer wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 4:27 am
drumboy256 wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:47 am
index2max wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:25 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:50 pm
index2max wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:59 pm

Still not sure I believe your claim that I can just transfer a portion of my HSA cash balance over to Fidelity without Optum Bank's system hitting me with a $20 fee for each outbound trustee-to-trustee transfer to Fidelity.

This is what their fee page states as of Monday, February 28, 2022:

https://www.optumbank.com/health-accoun ... -fees.html

$20 charge to transfer your HSA to another bank or custodian (outbound transfer of your entire HSA or a portion).

I know that the monthly maintenance fees are employer-dependent. For example, my employer will not cover that fee for me. So if my cash balance is less than $3000, Optum Bank charges me $2.75/month. Therefore I leave at least $3000 with them at all times.

You're absolutely sure your case isn't particular to your employer?
The $20 dollar portion piece I'm guessing is transferring your entire HSA or portion that is "invested" even tho it doesn't explicitly say that. My "fee" for keeping my Optum account open is $1 dollar per month ($12 a year). As to being employer specific, none that I believe-- I've done 9 transfers thus far of various quantities of cash and never have had a $20 dollar charge on the Optum or Fidelity side.
Just want to say that drumboy256 is absolutely right about Optum Bank HSAs! If you initiate a partial cash trustee-to-trustee transfer from your Fidelity HSA to pull over some money from your Optum Bank HSA, Optum Bank will not charge that $20 fee everyone is concerned about.

I just tested this recently myself a week ago. All the money I wanted transferred from Optum Bank arrived at Fidelity. If you need to close out your Optum Bank HSA, I was told by Fidelity that once per 12-month period, they will reimburse clients for transfer fees charged by other HSA providers. Otherwise, the other trick is taking a distribution from your Optum Bank HSA, then depositing it at your Fidelity HSA, making sure to inform Fidelity that the money is an HSA rollover
Thanks for confirming I’m not crazy! I’m actually transferring more this morning! :sharebeer
When you first started this process did you also have to print, sign, and mail a Fidelity transfer of assets form? Fidelity states that Optum requires an original signature. I am not getting an option to upload a form and statement.
So you have to download your latest statement showing the balance of the transfer of funds. During the request, you'll uploaded your latest statement from Optum showing the cash amount. Fidelity will actually make you e-sign the request of which once Fidelity sends over the request to Optum, Optum will release the funds. This is a slight change since I used to just use a generic statement with the incorrect dollar amount, but I think Fidelity has been challenging transfers to show the actual amount and not just a statement that you own the account.

hope that helps!
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

NWbrewer wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 4:27 am
drumboy256 wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:47 am
index2max wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:25 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:50 pm
index2max wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:59 pm

Still not sure I believe your claim that I can just transfer a portion of my HSA cash balance over to Fidelity without Optum Bank's system hitting me with a $20 fee for each outbound trustee-to-trustee transfer to Fidelity.

This is what their fee page states as of Monday, February 28, 2022:

https://www.optumbank.com/health-accoun ... -fees.html

$20 charge to transfer your HSA to another bank or custodian (outbound transfer of your entire HSA or a portion).

I know that the monthly maintenance fees are employer-dependent. For example, my employer will not cover that fee for me. So if my cash balance is less than $3000, Optum Bank charges me $2.75/month. Therefore I leave at least $3000 with them at all times.

You're absolutely sure your case isn't particular to your employer?
The $20 dollar portion piece I'm guessing is transferring your entire HSA or portion that is "invested" even tho it doesn't explicitly say that. My "fee" for keeping my Optum account open is $1 dollar per month ($12 a year). As to being employer specific, none that I believe-- I've done 9 transfers thus far of various quantities of cash and never have had a $20 dollar charge on the Optum or Fidelity side.
Just want to say that drumboy256 is absolutely right about Optum Bank HSAs! If you initiate a partial cash trustee-to-trustee transfer from your Fidelity HSA to pull over some money from your Optum Bank HSA, Optum Bank will not charge that $20 fee everyone is concerned about.

I just tested this recently myself a week ago. All the money I wanted transferred from Optum Bank arrived at Fidelity. If you need to close out your Optum Bank HSA, I was told by Fidelity that once per 12-month period, they will reimburse clients for transfer fees charged by other HSA providers. Otherwise, the other trick is taking a distribution from your Optum Bank HSA, then depositing it at your Fidelity HSA, making sure to inform Fidelity that the money is an HSA rollover
Thanks for confirming I’m not crazy! I’m actually transferring more this morning! :sharebeer
When you first started this process did you also have to print, sign, and mail a Fidelity transfer of assets form? Fidelity states that Optum requires an original signature. I am not getting an option to upload a form and statement.
So you have to download your latest statement showing the balance of the transfer of funds. During the request, you'll uploaded your latest statement from Optum showing the cash amount. Fidelity will actually make you e-sign the request of which once Fidelity sends over the request to Optum, Optum will release the funds. This is a slight change since I used to just use a generic statement with the incorrect dollar amount, but I think Fidelity has been challenging transfers to show the actual amount and not just a statement that you own the account.

hope that helps!
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
NWbrewer
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by NWbrewer »

drumboy256 wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 1:59 pm
NWbrewer wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 4:27 am
drumboy256 wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:47 am
index2max wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:25 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:50 pm

The $20 dollar portion piece I'm guessing is transferring your entire HSA or portion that is "invested" even tho it doesn't explicitly say that. My "fee" for keeping my Optum account open is $1 dollar per month ($12 a year). As to being employer specific, none that I believe-- I've done 9 transfers thus far of various quantities of cash and never have had a $20 dollar charge on the Optum or Fidelity side.
Just want to say that drumboy256 is absolutely right about Optum Bank HSAs! If you initiate a partial cash trustee-to-trustee transfer from your Fidelity HSA to pull over some money from your Optum Bank HSA, Optum Bank will not charge that $20 fee everyone is concerned about.

I just tested this recently myself a week ago. All the money I wanted transferred from Optum Bank arrived at Fidelity. If you need to close out your Optum Bank HSA, I was told by Fidelity that once per 12-month period, they will reimburse clients for transfer fees charged by other HSA providers. Otherwise, the other trick is taking a distribution from your Optum Bank HSA, then depositing it at your Fidelity HSA, making sure to inform Fidelity that the money is an HSA rollover
Thanks for confirming I’m not crazy! I’m actually transferring more this morning! :sharebeer
When you first started this process did you also have to print, sign, and mail a Fidelity transfer of assets form? Fidelity states that Optum requires an original signature. I am not getting an option to upload a form and statement.
So you have to download your latest statement showing the balance of the transfer of funds. During the request, you'll uploaded your latest statement from Optum showing the cash amount. Fidelity will actually make you e-sign the request of which once Fidelity sends over the request to Optum, Optum will release the funds. This is a slight change since I used to just use a generic statement with the incorrect dollar amount, but I think Fidelity has been challenging transfers to show the actual amount and not just a statement that you own the account.

hope that helps!
How exactly are you “uploading”? This was not given as an option for setting up the transfer.
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by jeffyscott »

Fidelity doesn't make it too easy to find, but you can upload a document with secure message, when logged in by going here:

https://digital.fidelity.com/ftgw/digital/secureemail

navigation is: messages, communication center, then click on "other ways to contact us", scroll down and click on "send a secure message"
NWbrewer
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by NWbrewer »

Figured it out. Turns out it makes a difference if you select Optum “Bank” vs Optum “Financial” from the pull down during the request. The former allows you to directly upload a statement. Thx
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

NWbrewer wrote: Sat Jun 11, 2022 12:38 am Figured it out. Turns out it makes a difference if you select Optum “Bank” vs Optum “Financial” from the pull down during the request. The former allows you to directly upload a statement. Thx
Good to know and glad that is sorted! :sharebeer
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by sperry8 »

So Fido offers Core MM at .25% interest rate or FDRXX (Government cash reserves) at .46%. Can FDRXX lose money? (more than the Core)?

Alternatively, couldn't I invest in SPRXX (money Market fund) at the current .55%? Anything wrong with keeping cash monies there?
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by monkeytypist »

Has anyone else transferred a Payflex HSA to Fidelity? How long did it take? My transfer seems to be stuck; Payflex has shown the status "Account Closure in Progress" for over a week. Just how long does it take for them to close the account?!
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by anon_investor »

sperry8 wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:14 am So Fido offers Core MM at .25% interest rate or FDRXX (Government cash reserves) at .46%. Can FDRXX lose money? (more than the Core)?

Alternatively, couldn't I invest in SPRXX (money Market fund) at the current .55%? Anything wrong with keeping cash monies there?
A lot has changed in over a month:

SPRXX currently is at 1.36%

FDRXX currently is at 1.20%

FDRXX is a Federal money market fund, so maybe a tiny bit safer than SPRXX.
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by jeffyscott »

monkeytypist wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 7:50 am Has anyone else transferred a Payflex HSA to Fidelity? How long did it take? My transfer seems to be stuck; Payflex has shown the status "Account Closure in Progress" for over a week. Just how long does it take for them to close the account?!
Mine wasn't them but took 3 weeks or a month, back in 2018. So it can be a very slow process with some administrators.
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by robbierob03 »

I took a look at the fee schedule for my employer sponsored HSA account at Payflex this afternoon, and it looks like the partial account transfer fee has been removed as only the HSA close fee is listed now. No idea when this changed but I plan to test this since I never did my normal indirect roll-over for 2022. My question is in case this turns out to be an oversight on Payflex's part, is there some sort of minimum transfer amount for Fidelity to reimburse a potential fee?

Hopefully the fee reimbursement isn't needed and I can save myself a tax form by going the direct trustee to trustee route. Unfortunately I have to keep the Payflex account open since my HSA payroll deduction will continue to be deposited so I'll need to keep some minimum.
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

Quick update from the front line-----

I got dinged magically somehow on getting the dreaded "$20 transfer fee" due to "excessive transfers" from Optum to Fidelity.

For reference, I was doing at most, 3 transfers a month, twice per paycheck and one per employer contribution. In total, that's about 36 transactions annually. Now, I'm going to stick to doing 1 transfer per month and essentially stay under the limit. The stupid thing is I spent over 90 mins on the phone with them yesterday and they couldn't tell me what the "exact number" was for being "excessive". Needless to say, I was surprised, but, I've now taken one for the team.

:sharebeer
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drumboy256
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

okwriter wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 11:23 pm
billthecat wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:59 pm
okwriter wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:42 pm FYI, Fidelity has the ability to do indirect transfers electronically - no check or postage needed. I was able to roll over from Optum without leaving my couch.

1. Took a withdrawal from Optum.

2. Called Fidelity, asked them to do a bank transfer and code it as a “60 day rollover”.

You can’t do this on their website yet; need to call.
Does that mean you had Optum mail you a check?

And then you called Fidelity and gave them the bank info from the check?

Just trying the understand the mechanics of this a bit more.
No, I did an electronic transfer from Optum to my checking account (using the “reimburse yourself” option on Optum’s website), and waited a day for the cash to appear in my bank balance. Then I called Fidelity and asked them to transfer the same amount from my bank to the Fidelity HSA, and code the transaction as a 60-day rollover.
Alright, so I'm trying to wrap my head around this as I think we've found a shortcut on the "paper check" method.... and also the transfer fee activity.

IF, you do a "reimburse" yourself and have it land directly in your Fidelity HSA account, do you need to call Fidelity to have them code it at all? Essentially, you're doing an ACH pull from Optum to Fidelity and not doing an "indirect rollover" as you outlined.
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OuterBanks
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by OuterBanks »

i just noticed my Fidelity HSA account now has the Recurring Investment option every x weeks under Trade menu. I have always been wanting to do automatic investments every two weeks and previously the closest possible was twice a month, which made three paycheck months a real problem.
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by Lyrrad »

drumboy256 wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 11:52 am Alright, so I'm trying to wrap my head around this as I think we've found a shortcut on the "paper check" method.... and also the transfer fee activity.

IF, you do a "reimburse" yourself and have it land directly in your Fidelity HSA account, do you need to call Fidelity to have them code it at all? Essentially, you're doing an ACH pull from Optum to Fidelity and not doing an "indirect rollover" as you outlined.
I don’t know if that would work without additional paperwork, and even that might not be sufficient.

I assume that the other HSA provider would code it as a distribution, and Fidelity would code it as a contribution. Unless that is corrected, it would presumably not work out the way you expect, as a series of trustee to trustee transfers.

Fortunately, my employer makes their contributions on the first pay of the year and I’m able to frontload my contributions in January, so I need to do one transfer a year.
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by drumboy256 »

Lyrrad wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 2:25 pm
drumboy256 wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 11:52 am Alright, so I'm trying to wrap my head around this as I think we've found a shortcut on the "paper check" method.... and also the transfer fee activity.

IF, you do a "reimburse" yourself and have it land directly in your Fidelity HSA account, do you need to call Fidelity to have them code it at all? Essentially, you're doing an ACH pull from Optum to Fidelity and not doing an "indirect rollover" as you outlined.
I don’t know if that would work without additional paperwork, and even that might not be sufficient.

I assume that the other HSA provider would code it as a distribution, and Fidelity would code it as a contribution. Unless that is corrected, it would presumably not work out the way you expect, as a series of trustee to trustee transfers.

Fortunately, my employer makes their contributions on the first pay of the year and I’m able to frontload my contributions in January, so I need to do one transfer a year.
yeah that's my concern right now is to figure out how to have it coded correctly without potentially "double counting". The 60-day rollover--- is that just limited to one time a year?
Promise is one thing. Fulfilling that promise is quite another. - Sir Alex Ferguson | 20% IVV / 40% IBIT / 20% IXUS / 20% VGLT + chill
jumbo shrimp
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by jumbo shrimp »

Thanks for this thread. I'm going to attempt to rollover/transfer a Health Equity HSA to my Fidelity HSA and ask for the $25 reibursement fee. My employer is switching from Health Equity to Optum.

Sounds like Optum is easier to do partial cash transfers. Health Equity always messed it up and mistook my partial transfers as full account transfers that close the account and charge $25. I tried many different ways. I tried starting the transfer through Fidelity or starting with Health Equity using their own partial transfer forms...it was awful. For every transfer I always had to call to stop the full account closure. Good riddance!
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by corduroysuit »

Another Fidelity HSA Question:

I am in the process of getting most of my various bank/brokerage accounts closed and moved to Fidelity, trying to simplify and use the CMA for what we used to call "checking".

So of course I thought the HSA sounded like a step-up from my otherwise-great Lively HSA account, since I can now easily keep HSA funds in a MMF and earn a bit of interest. All good so far.

The problem is that I can't seem to set up a recurring transfer from the CMA to the HSA. And as far as I can tell, you can't set up any recurring transfers to "pull" from inside the HSA. What's the preferred workaround?

I'm leaning towards sending part of my direct deposit (paycheck) into the HSA. I think an alternate would be to set up an automated "push" from an external account but the whole plan was to drop my superfluous accounts. Any help welcomed!
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by corduroysuit »

Bumping my earlier post... actually I had forgotten that I posted the above question, and came here again looking for answers.

Anyone find a good workaround for automatically sending monthly funds from CMA to Fido HSA?
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by PersonalFinanceJam »

corduroysuit wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 5:14 pm Bumping my earlier post... actually I had forgotten that I posted the above question, and came here again looking for answers.

Anyone find a good workaround for automatically sending monthly funds from CMA to Fido HSA?
You can’t do it on a recurring basis directly from the CMA (or any other Fidelity brokerage account) as you found out. I confirmed this with Fidelity support reps on Reddit about a year ago. However, you can set up a recurring investment on a schedule (weekly, biweekly, monthly) and have the funds pulled from a linked bank account. What I have done since I have my paycheck deposited in the CMA is to have the funds automatically pushed from the CMA on the first of the month into a linked bank account. Then I set up a recurring investment into the HSA and use the linked bank account as the source of funds which executes on the 5th of the month. It’s been working well for about a year.
corduroysuit
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Re: [Fidelity Health Savings Account Mega-Thread]

Post by corduroysuit »

Thanks, that’s a pretty good solution. Somehow I didn’t think through to the next step of pairing an automatic investment with an equally timed auto transfer to the bank. Really appreciate it!
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