As a twenty- or thirty-something, you’re probably enjoying some of the best health of your life. Consequently, your healthcare spending is likely to be much lower now than it will be when you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s and retirement years.
If you’re experiencing lower healthcare costs now, it probably makes sense to choose a high-deductible health insurance plan and to save and invest as much as you can into a health savings account.
But which HSA should you choose? You could choose an HSA through your company, but if you’re self-employed (or you have an HSA with high fees or poor investment options), you may be on the lookout for another HSA provider.
As an individual, one of the best HSA options to consider is Lively. Lively provides a fee-free HSA that offers investment options through TD Ameritrade and a guided portfolio option through Devenir. Here’s what you need to know about Lively.
See how Lively compares on our list of the Best HSA Providers.
Quick Summary
- Fee-free HSA provider for individuals
- Allows you to invest 100% of your HSA balance at TD Ameritrade
- One of the top HSA providers from a cost and ease of use perspective
Lively Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | Lively HSA |
Monthly Fee | $0 |
Account Minimum | $0 |
Investment Options | Robust through TD Ameritrade |
Promotions | None |
Are You Eligible to Open a Lively HSA?
To open a Lively HSA, you must either currently have an HSA with funds in it, or you must have an HSA-compatible, high-deductible health insurance plan that will allow you to contribute funds to an HSA.
If you currently have an HSA, you can roll over your funds to the Lively HSA during the enrollment period. You can transfer funds to a Lively HSA even if you aren’t currently eligible to contribute to an HSA.
People who don’t have an HSA, but do have a HSA-compatible health insurance plan, may open an HSA through lively.
How Does a Lively HSA Work?
If you’re an individual (including a self-employed person), you can open a no-fee HSA through Lively. The minimum balance in a Lively HSA is $0.
As an account holder, you may be able contribute tax-free money to your Lively HSA. To contribute to the account, you must have an eligible, high-deductible health insurance plan. Not sure you have that? You can either check your health insurance plan statements or talk with an HR representative at your company.
If you’re eligible to contribute, you won’t pay payroll taxes, income taxes, or any other taxes on the money you contribute to the account. You are subject to certain annual HSA contribution limits.
Once you have money in your HSA, you can either hold the money in cash (see interest rates below) or invest the money.
If you’re an employer, Lively HSA isn’t free. Instead, you’ll pay $2.95 per employee, per month, for every participating employee.
Lively HSA Investment Options
One of the key reasons we've been a fan of Lively is due to their ability to invest 100% of your HSA dollars.
You can invest your HSA through TD Ameritrade (where you can pick pretty much anything to invest in), or by creating a Guided Portfolio in partnership with Devenir.
All of TD Ameritrade’s investment fees (which they recently lowered to $0 commissions for stocks, options, and ETFs) and minimums apply to funds invested through your HSA.
This option to allow you to invest your entire HSA at TD Ameritrade is a huge positive, but transferring funds back and forth between Lively and TD Ameritrade adds another step to the process that you can avoid at other HSA providers.
If you do choose the Guided Portfolio option through Devenir, there is a 0.50% AUM fee.
Is Lively the Right Choice for My HSA?
Right now, Lively is one of the best HSA providers in the marketplace. The investment options are top-notch (TD Ameritrade is consistently a high-quality and low-cost broker), and the fees are near impossible to beat. If you’re self-employed and looking for an HSA provider, Lively should be near the top of your list.
As an employee, you might have an easier time contributing to your employer-provided HSA rather than a Lively HSA. However, it’s worth checking your HSA’s fees and investment options.
If you’re overpaying or cannot invest how you like, consider opening up a Lively HSA — you’ll still enjoy all the tax benefits. Check out this guide on how to change your HSA provider.
Lively HSA Review
- Commissions and Fees
- Customer Service
- Ease of Use
- Tools and Resources
- Investment Options
Overall
Summary
Lively is a Health Savings Account (HSA) provider that allows for individual HSA accounts. It also is one of the few HSA providers that allows you to invest your entire HSA balance.
Pros
- No fees for individual and family HSAs
- Invest 100% of the balance of your HSA
- Easy to track spending
Cons
- Investing is done through TD Ameritrade, and while the accounts do connect, you must maintain the separate investing account
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.