PLANSPONSOR - May - June 2023 - 31

CONFERENCE COVERAGE
CONFERENCE
Proper Administration
Of HSAs
Although employer-provided highdeductible
health plans are subject to the
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act, the associated health savings accounts
offered to employees are generally not, as
long as the employer limits its involvement
with the accounts, a fundamental point
made in the " Proper Administration of
Health Savings Accounts " session.
" It's very important that these
requirements be followed strictly, because
if [plan sponsors] slip up and don't comply
with one, you are stepping into ERISA
territory, " said Carol Buckmann, a partner
at Cohen & Buckmann P.C.
Appropriate sponsor use of the
HSA benefit requires employers to
observe several " special rules that have
been promulgated by the Department of
Labor, " Buckmann explained.
She noted several particular rules
plan sponsors should know. Employee
participation must be voluntary, although
PLANSPONSOR.COM May - June 2023 31
range of investment alternatives "
Fitting HSAs into your
benefits offering
Health savings accounts are a benefit that lets employees set
aside earnings, pre-tax, to pay for qualified medical expenses.
They support financial wellness now and, most promisingly, longterm
retirement savings. At the 2023 HSA Conference, experts
detailed what potential sponsors need to do: provide a highdeductible
health plan-necessary, to offer HSAs; determine
employees' health needs and behaviors; calculate the impact on
total benefits spend; plus more.
employers may use automatic enrollment;
employees may transfer their
assets to an external HSA administrator;
employers may not limit employees' use
of HSA funds or withdrawals or influence
employees' HSA investment decisions;
and employers must offer a reasonable
variety of investment options.
Under DOL guidance,
the " broad
standard
can be satisfied by the plan sponsor
including a minimum of three investment
options, said Ellen Goodwin, of counsel
with Groom Law Group. -Noah Zuss
Health Care or
Retirement Savings
Are health savings accounts a medical
or a retirement savings benefit? " My
response to that is: 'It's a " yes, and ... "
It's not an " either, or " '-this is a product
that
spans both [benefit areas], "
solutions
intermediary
said
Karen Coomber, vice president of healthcare
business
development
at Fidelity Investments, a
panelist in the " Health Care or Retirement
Savings Benefit? " session.
She said Fidelity publishes an
annual report on what an average couple
retiring today should expect to spend
on health-care costs during retirement,
with the most recent number hitting
$315,000. " There's certainly a need that
we think HSAs can help address, both
now and later, and there's a real opportunity
to position them as part of people's
financial picture, " she said.
Danovan Clacken, director of health
and benefit account distribution, East, at
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PLANSPONSOR - May - June 2023

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