HSA Account Fees - Horrible!

I like HSA Accounts. They are great for saving taxes and paying for essential medical services with pre-tax money. I have an HSA Account - Da Vinci - and I have a good bit of money there - 2 Units at the last Taking Stock post.

Now the problem - LGB (Little Grey Butterfly, AKA my spouse and partner-in-crime) is no longer employed at the company that had the kind of insurance plan required for HSA. So we can't make HSA contributions any more. Fine. However, the problem is that the HSA Bank, the organization that runs our HSA Account, starts charging all kinds of fees the moment you are an independent account (compared to one still working with the company they have a relationship with).

Here is a list of fees by HSA Bank: Stupid Fees!

The two that hurt the most - mostly because a user has no control on them - is the Monthly Maintenance Fee of $2.50 and Monthly Investment Fee of $3.00. So $5.50 in fees every month just to have that account and to invest the balance in the account.

To avoid the fees, I would have to keep $5,000 balance in the HSA base account. The balance in the investment account does not count. Now, it would have been no trouble if the account gave a decent interest rate - but of course that is not the case. The current interest rate on balances below $15K is 0.65%. So if I keep a balance of $5K in HSA, then I would make a monthly interest of $2.71 while I would forgo an investment income of $20.83 (assuming a 5% return - which is conservative given that my current holding of JNK is returning close to 7%). So the choice is clear - keeping $5K balance is a loser by (20.83 - 2.71 - 5.50) = $12.62 per month. I am keeping ALL of my HSA Balance (except a couple hundreds to take care of medical bills as they arise) in the investment account - monthly fees be damned!

Today's Art: the ceiling of St. Ignatius' Church in Rome, Italy (since I will be there in just a couple days!). Where do the walls end and the painting begin - it is wonder.