Where can I see information about my employees’ available HSA Advance amount or any repayment balances?

In your Employer Account, a new “Advance Account” tab displays both the available advance balance and activity, and the advance repayment amount and activity.

What reporting is available with the HSA Advance feature?

HSA Advance information is included in the HSA Advance Activity available on demand through your Employer Account. It contains numerous sources of information regarding your employees’ HSA Advance accounts. Also, HSA Advance balances are included in the HSA Account Detail report.

How will I know when HSA Advance funds are being used or when funds are being repaid?

You will receive an employer notification when there is either an advanced funding need or when advanced funds are being repaid to your bank account. The notification will arrive one business day before the electronic funds transfer.

Are there any tax implications for employees who use funds from their HSA Advance account?

No. Surency will automatically treat each advance funding contribution as a regular payroll deduction in terms of counting it towards the designated IRS maximum contribution limit. Also, when a contribution is used to repay the advance, it will not be included in the maximum contribution calculation, so it is not double counted.

Can an HSA Advance account be established or adjusted mid-year?

Yes. You can set up an HSA Advance account for a new employee at any time during the benefit Plan Year. The advance amount provided should not be higher than the total of employee contributions that will occur in the remainder of the Plan Year.

Similarly, current employees may decide to adjust their payroll election during the year. If an employee reduces or increases their HSA contribution, it is possible to change the HSA Advance amount for your employee as well through your Employer Account or via a CDEx import record. If the employee has used HSA Advance funds, they will not be able to reduce their HSA contributions to less than their advance repayment amount. (Within the Member Account, there is an optional configuration to reduce the updated advance amount by the outstanding repayment amount to reduce risk having an outstanding balance to repay at the end of the year.)

How is the HSA Advance money paid back?

Surency will automatically facilitate an electronic fund transfer to deposit into your bank account when a consumer’s payroll deduction or employer contribution is received.

How do employees access the HSA Advance funds?

The process happens automatically. When an employee makes a payment using their Benefits Card or makes a personal payment and requests a distribution using the Surency mobile app or Member Account, and they have insufficient funds in their HSA and their investment account, funds from the HSA Advance account will then be applied.

Who determines the employee’s HSA Advance amount?

You set the HSA Advance amount per employee. Best practice is to set the amount to either the payroll election for the benefit year or a percentage of the consumer’s payroll election to minimize the risk of employees having an outstanding advance repayment amount at the end of the Plan Year. If you make an HSA Advance amount available in the middle of a Plan Year, it is recommended that the advance amount be equal to or less than the amount of remaining payroll deductions. There will be configuration settings to determine if the advance balance should be included in the auto-pay settings for claims exchange.

Does the HSA Advance fund have to be equal for all employees?

If you offer HSA Advance, you must provide it to all eligible employees, but the amount you advance to each employee should not be higher than their annual contribution, so the amount will vary by employee. Employees who do not have an HSA-eligible plan cannot participate.