Employers are auto-enrolling workers in HSAs — just like 401(k)s

Employers are putting some muscle behind health savings accounts, similar to their push to enroll more workers in 401(k) plans.

Last year, nearly half of employers automatically enrolled eligible workers into an HSA, according to a recent report by the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA), a nonprofit group representing employers.

"Employers are taking the wheel," Ann Brisk, senior managing director at HSA Bank, which administers health savings accounts, told Yahoo Finance. "They're catching on that the only way to really give people the advantage of these accounts is to get them to open them without thinking about it."

Roughly 6 in 10 employers now automatically enroll employees in the office 401(k) plan, according to Vanguard's "How America Saves 2026" report.

Unlike a 401(k), which is generally funded with employee contributions and employer matches, most of the money in the HSA accounts at these workplaces is coming from the employers, said Brisk.

"If left up to our own devices, generally, we won't open an account," she said. "Only about half of employees put any of their own money into these accounts initially because they can't always afford to, and they may not choose to."

About a third of employers that auto-enroll workers contribute between $500 and $1,000 per worker to the accounts, while 3 in 10 contributed $1,350 or more and roughly a quarter set aside $500 or less in their employees' HSAs, per the report.

The funds are deposited into a cash account within the HSA. Workers can use the money for medical costs or invest it. Similar to the 401(k), an increasing number of employers now also match a worker's own HSA contribution, said Brisk.

The allure of an HSA is its triple tax advantage. You put money in on a tax-free basis, it builds up tax-free, and comes out tax-free for qualified healthcare expenses. (One drawback: Some states assess state taxes.)

In order to put money into an HSA, you must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan. In those plans, you pay a lower premium per month than other types of health insurance plans, but a higher annual deductible (the amount you pay for covered medical costs before insurance kicks in).

For 2026, the minimum deductible is $1,700 for individual coverage and $3,400 for family coverage. You can also open an HSA as a self-employed freelancer or business owner if you have a qualified high-deductible health plan. Your contributions roll over year after year and are yours to take along when you retire or change employers.