Employer Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the type of enrollment option you're using:

• Electronic Enrollment: Correctly formatted files will process within one business day.

• Paper Applications: Generally within two business days after we receive them.

Please note: Enrollment files and applications must contain all requested information or processing could be delayed.

Employee debit cards and/or checks are mailed within five business days of their account opening.

Yes. HSA Bank will request further information from the employee. Upon receipt and verification the accountholder can start making distributions from their HSA.

Yes, HSA Bank will provide your vendor with ACH Instructions and support.

• No. Employer contributions must follow "Comparable Contribution Guidelines" as established by the IRS. However, you may contribute more for employees who are "non-highly-compensated employees" (non-HCEs) as long as your contributions align with IRS employment categories.

• Non-HCEs are defined under Internal Revenue Code §414 (q). Contributions made through a Section 125 plan do not need to be comparable, but must adhere to Non-Discrimination rules. - Notice 2004-2, Q-A #32, IRS 26 CFR Part 54: July 2006, Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, Section 6, Notice 2004-50, Q:A-49 and Code of Federal Regulations, Title 26, §54.4980G: Employer Comparable Contributions.

You can provide one or the other. If providing an SSN, it must be the complete number or we will be unable to process the contribution.

When your contributions are properly coded/designated, they will be clearly designated as "employer" or "employee" on the accountholder's statement. If a contribution is sent to us without coding, the source will not be noted.

• Employer contributions are made by you on the employee's behalf; the funds come from the company where the individual is employed and are deposited into the employee's Health Savings Account.

• Pre-tax contributions are deducted from the employee's paycheck if requested by the employee. These contributions lower your FICA, state and federal unemployment obligations, as well as payroll figures for Workers Compensation insurance. You must have a Section 125 Cafeteria plan or Premium Only Plan (POP) in order to make pre-tax payroll deductions.

• Post-tax employee contributions are made by the employee on an after-tax basis.

Funding can begin as soon as your employees' accounts are open.

The daily limit is the amount of money that you are allowed to make as a Group Online Contribution on a given day. For example, if you are making a contribution of $100 for 100 employees, your daily limit must be at least $10,000 to ensure that your total contribution will be processed.

You can access forms by logging into the Employer Admin Site.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are tax-advantaged financial accounts that can be set-up through employers' cafeteria plans in the United States. An FSA allows an employee to designate a portion of his or her pre-tax earnings to pay for qualified expenses as established in the cafeteria plan, most commonly for medical expenses, but often for dependent care or other expenditures. The employer is also allowed to make contributions to employee FSAs, if desired, in order to offer a greater benefit to the staff. Since the money deducted from an employee's pay for transfer to an FSA is not subject to federal, state, or payroll taxes, employees can save upwards of 40% on eligible expenses, and sometimes more, depending on their tax bracket.

With an FSA, employees elect to have their annual contribution (up to the limit set by the IRS) deducted from their paychecks each pay period, in equal installments throughout the year, until they reach the yearly maximum they have specified. The amount of their pay that goes into an FSA will not count as taxable income, so they will have immediate tax savings. FSA dollars can be used during the plan year to pay for qualified expenses and services. And at the end of the year, employees can roll over up to $500 of their contribution to the next plan year, provided your plan allows this.

• A Healthcare FSA allows reimbursement of qualifying out-of-pocket medical expenses. Common eligible expenses include dental treatment, orthodontia, prescription drugs, diagnostic services, hospital services and surgery, laboratory fees, obstetrical expenses, chiropractic care, physical therapy, eye examinations, glasses, contact lenses, laser eye surgery, hearing aids, smoking cessation programs, and weight loss programs to treat obesity, to name a few.

• A Limited Purpose Medical FSA works with a qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP) and Health Savings Account (HSA). A limited purpose FSA only allows reimbursement for vision and dental expenses.

• A Dependent Care FSA allows reimbursement of dependent care expenses, such as daycare, incurred by eligible dependents.

The limit is per person. Employers may elect a lower limit as part of their Healthcare FSA plan design. Learn more about IRS guidelines and eligible expenses.

If your plan document provides for a grace period, your employees may be able to use their remaining funds for IRS-qualified expenses incurred for up to 2 ½ months into the next year.

Alternatively, employees with an FSA or Limited Purpose FSA may be eligible to roll over up to $500 of their contribution to the next plan year, provided you have changed your plan documents to allow this. This rollover option does not apply to employees with a Dependent Care FSA.

Deductions for their Healthcare FSA will also end when their employment ends unless you are obligated to offer that employee COBRA continuation and they elect this option. If you are not obligated to offer COBRA and/or the employee chooses not to elect COBRA, they are eligible to be reimbursed for qualified expenses incurred while they were employed and the account was active. Requests for reimbursements should be submitted prior to the end of your run-out period or period of time for which a claim for an expense can be submitted for a plan year that has ended or after an employee has terminated.

Yes. As a service to employers, HSA Bank offers Plan Documentation and Non-Discrimination Testing.

Plan Documentation
HSA Bank can facilitate the creation and maintenance of the written Plan Document and Summary Plan Description for HRA, FSA and Commuter plans. These documents are a crucial part of any benefit program offered by employer groups as they communicate the plan benefits and how each plan operates. All documents are stored electronically for later reference and include a date and time stamp of the original or any subsequent revisions.

Non-Discrimination Testing
HSA Bank can facilitate the Non-Discrimination Testing (NDT) for HRA and FSA plans.The IRS requires employers to perform NDT each year. The reason for NDT is to prevent key and highly compensated employees from receiving a disproportionate amount of employer provided tax-free benefits as compared to the rank-and-file employees. NDT is an important component of plan compliance. Failure of an employer to satisfy the nondiscrimination testing requirements or take the necessary corrective measures can result in the inclusion of the discriminatory benefits in the income of highly compensated employees.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) are employer-funded plans that reimburse employees for incurred medical expenses that are not covered by the company's standard insurance plan. Because the employer funds the plan, any distributions are considered tax deductible (to the employer). Reimbursement dollars received by the employee are generally tax-free. Unused HRA dollars may roll over from year to year, if allowed per plan rules, providing a potential incentive for employees to be better stewards of healthcare spending. If employment is terminated, the employer can choose to keep unused funds.

• HRA funds must be used for healthcare expenditures only. Approved healthcare expenditures include those expenses identified by employers as reimbursable from the HRA that are described as Medical Expenses in Section 213(d) of the IRS code. These expenses may include deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, prescription drugs, vision care and dental care. Employers may limit the expenses their plan reimburses;
• The IRS has a list of approved healthcare expenditures. However, employers might have additional limitations. Examples of expenses that are not eligible for reimbursement include:

  • Medical expenses that are not defined as eligible under an employer's plan;

  • Medical expenses that do not meet IRS section 213(d) requirements (e.g., gym memberships, nutritional supplements, cosmetic procedures and surgeries);

  • Medical expenses incurred by employees, their spouses or any eligible dependents prior to their effective date in the plan; and,

  • Medical expenses that can be reimbursed to the employee through any other source such as group health insurance.

Yes. An HRA is designed to cover expenses not paid by their health plan including deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments as well as many expenses their health plan may not cover.

Employers may allow the employee to continue to incur expenses and spend down their account after they leave the company or retire. If employers do not offer this option, COBRA coverage must be offered. At termination of employment, the employee's Health Benefits Debit Card will be deactivated. They may still access funds for services incurred before they leave the company and while they were covered under the plan, but their reimbursement request must be made manually. They are not eligible to use the funds for services incurred after their HRA terminates. Some HRAs may be set up to be portable, meaning the employee would retain ownership of the funds after they leave the company.

Yes. As a service to employers, HSA Bank offers Plan Documentation and Non-Discrimination Testing.

Plan Documentation
HSA Bank can facilitate the creation and maintenance of the written Plan Document and Summary Plan Descriptions for HRA, FSA, POP and Commuter plans. These documents are a crucial part of any benefit program offered by employer groups as they communicate the plan benefits and how each plan operates. All documents are stored electronically for later reference and include a date and time stamp of the original or any subsequent revisions.

Non-Discrimination Testing
HSA Bank can facilitate the Non-Discrimination Testing (NDT) for HRA, POP and FSA plans. The IRS requires employers to perform NDT each year. The reason for NDT is to prevent key and highly compensated employees from receiving a disproportionate amount of employer provided tax-free benefits as compared to the rank-and-file employees. NDT is an important component of plan compliance. Failure of an employer to satisfy the nondiscrimination testing requirements or take the necessary corrective measures can result in the inclusion of the discriminatory benefits in the income of highly compensated employees.