Unable to import account data for HSA account

Question

I'm having issues importing data for my HSA account which is with Optum Financial.  The website has a .QFX download which works fine for my dependent care account and Flex spending.  When I attempt to import the file for the first time it doesn't give me the option to link it to any investment account.  Just to test I set up a dummy savings account and it worked fine.  Is there a trick to importing files to investment accounts?

Money in the HSA can be invested so I would like to be able to track this no different than a brokerage account.

John_in_NC · Answer

Hi, again, @starr.ryan

I can't speak for how your HSA is managed, but only how mine acts. But, with three different providers handling it, all were similar:

My payroll contributions (and, in my case, also my employer contributions) all get moved into cash at my HSA's website. This is available on a provided debit card.

I have the option there to manually move $ to investments, but there are also various "rules" I can setup to move $ over to the investment side based on %, amount,  etc. Pretty simple, and I since I have the minimum balance covered there to avoid fees, I setup a rule to move all contributions directly to the investment side. You can leave things as manual while you become comfortable with how it works.

When I click through my HSA to the Investment side, it still appears as the same HSA website even though a third party may be handling the investments. There, the $ will sit in a cash MMF (Money Market Fund) until I decide what funds to invest in. There also, I can set rules, and I have created one to make all contributions automatically be a buy of a preferred fund to avoid it getting dumped into a MMF. It's very similar to a 401k account.

Everything is manual with no downloads available, but that is no big deal. (I don't have much activity in this account). Within Quicken, I have scheduled transactions setup (that auto-post on correct dates) for the addition of cash into the cash side, and the transfer over to the investment account I track in Quicken. The only thing I have to do is login to my HSA each pay period to get the amount of shares purchased for the Investment Buy transaction.

Reconciling is easy: on the cash side it will be the minimum amount required to avoid fees for investing+a small amount of interest. The investment account maintains a $0 cash balance as everything gets invested automatically. I just make sure the share balances are correct via the portfolio. Oh, and I have to occasionally view the "transactions" there for any dividends, capital gain reinvests that might occur. But, typing in a few transactions is no big deal to me.

I think it won't be hard for you to figure out once you invest a little $ to see how it behaves. You just want to replicate in Quicken how it is handled in the real world. Good luck!

(On a sidenote, I started my HSA 11 years ago as a cheaper alternative as I am single with rarely any medical costs. I started putting in the difference between a high deductible plan versus traditional.) After a few years and seeing it grow (+ tax benefits), I have opted to contribute more. It has worked out, and is a great idea for younger folk. ) I now pay for my infrequent medical costs (such as teeth cleaning) out of pocket to keep my $ growing.

starr.ryan · Answer

I think you are correct, as you import the QFX file it does default to a savings account and gives me those options of where to link it.  That explains why I can't see an investment account.

So, if your HSA is like mine you can invest anything over $1000, anything under is seen as cash.  I get that, my brokerage account with eTrade shows cash in the account no different, so I was going to treat it the same way.  On eTrade my monthly transfer shows up as a "cash in" transaction and then my automatic investment shows a "cash out" purchase of VOO as an example.  I keep a few hundred in there as cash and earn a small amount of interest on it so in my mind the HSA would work the same way.

If I'm understanding, your contributions deposit into the asset HSA account and then you transfer it to the investing HSA account as it's invested?  You are able to download transactions from both separately?  I don't have anything invested yet, so I guess I will see how the accounts react when the money is invested.  That may answer my question as to how to proceed.

To this point I've been recording transactions as they happen.  I'm capturing the receipt at the point of sale in Quicken for obvious reasons; so reconciling is not that challenging as I can review the account on one screen and match the very few transactions.

John_in_NC · Answer

Hi, again, @starr.ryan

You can most certainly import QFX files into Investment accounts. I suspect your inability to do so is because the former indicates internally that it is a savings account (which it is) so the account mismatch prevents the import.

While I could represent my HSA as a single Investment account, I prefer to keep the savings/investment sides as separate accounts as it is easier to handle reconciles. And, (in my case) it represents how it is being handled in the real world. Personal preference I guess.

I personally keep my Cash side as an Asset account so I don't see the $ intermixed with my day to day banking accounts within Quicken. (I keep the bare amount to keep my investment side going without fees.) I view my HSA as a mini IRA.