Assets in health savings accounts spike

Balances in health investment accounts leapt by more than 20% quarter-over-quarter during the second quarter of 2009, according to data from Canopy Financial Inc. The average balance in an individual's health investment account, or HIA, during the second quarter hit $10,200, up from $8,002 in the first quarter of the year. Family HIA balances also grew, up 21% for an average balance of $12,948 during the second quarter. Health savings accounts also rose, hitting an average of $1,038 for individual accounts and $1,825 for family accounts, reflecting quarter-over-quarter balance gains of 8% and 6%, respectively. Interestingly, balances grew even in a time when average monthly contributions from both employers and employees were down quarter-over-quarter. During the second quarter, the average monthly employer contribution was $72 for individual HSAs and $139 for family HSAs. That's down from $113 for individual accounts and $266 for family accounts in the first quarter. Employee contributions were also down for the period. Workers kicked in an average of $74 a month toward their individual accounts during the second quarter, and they added an average of $155 per month for family accounts. Meanwhile in the first quarter of the year, employees put in an average of $116 a month for individual accounts and $239 for family accounts. Deductibles also climbed between the first and second quarter, hitting $2,288 for the individual and $4,179 for family accounts, up from $1,495 for individual accounts and $3,400 for family accounts. Notably, accountholders raised the amount they invested into HSAs from one quarter to the next: Those over the age of 51 had $14,915 invested in their individual accounts, while those with family accounts had invested an average of $13,579. That's up from $11,880 for individual accounts and $11,628 for family accounts in the first quarter. Similar held true for younger investors: Those between ages 25 and 40 invested $4,696 into individual HSAs and $8,396 for family accounts in the first quarter. That went up to $6,303 and $9,342, for individual and family accounts respectively, in the following quarter. Investors between 41 and 50 also saw gains: Invested amounts in the second quarter hit $7,293 and $12,868 for individual and family accounts, respectively. In the first quarter, members of that age group had $6,249 invested in individual HSAs and $9,757 in family HSAs.