Fidelity’s health business booms as Americans pile into HSAs

Fidelity reported a 27% increase in the number of its funded health savings accounts, to 2.8 million, as of Jan. 31, and more than $16 billion in total HSA assets, up from nearly $14 billion a year earlier.

The investment manager said its health business is now being used by more than 1,600 employers across the country to offer HSAs, health and welfare administrative services, voluntary benefits and Medicare. The triple-tax advantage of HSAs enables individuals to manage their expenses and better plan their long-term financial futures.

“The complexity of the health care system can be staggering, which is why we’re focused on helping plan sponsors and individuals achieve greater clarity by providing innovative benefits that help employees find, save for, and pay for health care — all through dynamic digital experiences,” Steve Betts, head of Fidelity Health, said in a statement.

As to what’s driving this focus on health care expenditures, Fidelity noted that more than half (58%) of consumers say they’ve taken steps to lower health care costs over the last two years. Furthermore, Fidelity says nearly one in five (18%) consumers say they've made choices not to pay other bills, such as rent, car payments or utilities, to cover health care expenses.

From a generational perspective, Fidelity’s research shows 88% of Gen Zers who have a high-deductible health plan say they’ve opened an HSA, far above the 71% of eligible respondents who say the same.

In February, an Employee Benefit Research Institute analysis of its HSA database found that the average HSA balance rose in 2021 even though health care expenditures increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than half of the HSAs in the EBRI database saw a distribution in 2021, and the average distribution was $1,786, according to the study.

[More: 10 best HSAs for investing in 2022]