Fidelity Investments said Wednesday it saw a 48 percent jump in the number of health savings accounts opened in 2013.
Companies increasingly have begun to offer the tax-advantaged accounts together with high-deductible health plans to their employees.
One of the biggest advantages to HSAs is that account holders can roll over unused funds from year to year. Still, HSAs remain a small part of the health care scene.
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Just 8 percent of Americans have an HSA, according to a recebt survey from InsuranceQuotes.com. That's despite the fact that 50 percent say they recognize the benefits and would consider using one.
Fidelity, based in Boston, said it now handles health savings accounts, or HSAs, for 269,000 account holders at more than 100 companies; assets for those accounts increased 39 percent to $653 million from $471 million the previous year.
"Fidelity continues to drive adoption of its health savings account business as companies and their employees realize their potential advantages both today and over the long haul," Fidelity Vice President Will Applegate said in a statement. "We believe one of the best ways for people to prepare for the escalating costs of health care in retirement is, if eligible, open a health savings account, as young as possible, to make the most of possible long-term investment gains and tax-advantaged growth."
There were 10.7 million HSAs in the United States at the end of 2013, an increase of 30 percent over the prior year, said Fidelity, citing an industry study.
Companies offering a HDHP with an HSA may be able to avoid the "Cadillac Tax" in 2018, an Obamacare fee on high-value health coverage above certain thresholds.
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