Opening and Managing a Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account (2024)

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This page provides information about Charles Schwab Self-Directed Brokerage Accounts and provides information about opening and managing a Charles Schwab Self-Directed Brokerage Account with funds from your HSA.

TheSchwabHealth Savings Brokerage Account

The Charles Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account is an online investment account CareFirst offers through Charles Schwab & Company.

Eligible investments include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and a variety of other investments on the Schwab trading platform.

Customer support for the Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account

Contact CareFirst customer service at Toll Free: 866-758-6119 for support regarding the setup and management of the Schwab brokerage investment account. Charles Schwab does not offer health care spending accounts and will not be able to answer your questions.

However, Charles Schwab is able to provide information related to the investments that they offer.

Opening and funding a Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account

Requirements

When your Further® HSA or your Basic Investment Account reaches a minimum base balance of $11,000, you are eligible to move $10,000 to the Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account. $1,000 must remain in your Further® Base HSA.

To open the Schwab Brokerage Account, if you do not already have the Basic Investment Account, you must first move at least $10,000 from your HSA into the Basic Investment Account. You can see the instructions to open that accounthere.

If you already have the money in your Basic Investment Account, you can skip this step

Once the money is in your Basic Investment Account, follow the steps below to open and transfer your money into a Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account.

Create a Schwab Health SavingsBrokerage Account

  1. Sign in at www.carefirst.com/myaccount and select your spending account profile.
  2. In the My Accounts section, locate your HSA in your list of accounts.
  3. Click View Account.
  4. Locate the Investments section of the account page by scrolling past the Recent Activity section.
  5. Click Visit Investment Site. The investment site will be displayed.
  6. On the investment site, click the Planning Tools menu and choose Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account.
  7. Follow the onscreen instructions to enroll. You will receive an 8-digit Schwab account number. Save this number because it will be needed later.
  8. Visit http://www.schwab.com.
  9. Click the First Time Users link and follow the onscreen instructions to create your user account. You will need your social security number and the 8-digit Schwab account number for this step.

    Note: Schwab may change the design and functionality of their website at any time.

Allow one fullbusiness day after completing the application process. After a full business day, your account will be available to accept the transfer of funds.

Verify that your Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account has been set up

  1. Sign in at www.carefirst.com/myaccount and select your spending account profile.
  2. In the My Accounts section, locate your HSA in your list of accounts.
  3. Click View Account.
  4. Locate the Investments section of the account page by scrolling past the Recent Activity section.
  5. Click Visit Investment Site. The investment site will be displayed.
  6. Click the Account Summary menu and choose Account Profile.
  7. Verify that your Schwab self-directed brokerage account number is listed on the Account Profile page.

Make the first transfer of funds to the Schwab Health SavingsBrokerage Account

  1. Sign in at www.carefirst.com/myaccount and select your spending account profile.
  2. In the My Accounts section, locate your HSA in your list of accounts.
  3. Click View Account.
  4. Locate the Investments section of the account page by scrolling past the Recent Activity section.
  5. Click Visit Investment Site. The investment site will be displayed.
  6. Click the Manage Investments menu and choose Transfer Between Investments.
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to choose the mutual fund that you wish to transfer funds from.
  8. Click Continue.
  9. On the next screen, select Health Savings Brokerage Accountin the To: Fund Name column.
  10. Click Transfer.

Your elections will be deposited into the money market fund by default unless you chose your future investment elections during the setup process.

Allow two to three business days for funds to be transferred to the Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account. Once this process has been completed, your account can be accessed by logging into http://www.schwab.com.

Transferring funds

Transferring fundsfrom your HSAto Schwab Health SavingsBrokerage Account

  1. Sign in at www.carefirst.com/myaccount and select your spending account profile.
  2. In the My Accounts section, locate your HSA in your list of accounts.
  3. Click View Account.
  4. Locate the Investments section of the account page by scrolling past the Recent Activity section.
  5. Click Visit Investment Site. The investment site will be displayed.
  6. Click the Manage Investments menu and choose Transfer Between Investments.
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to choose the mutual fund that you wish to transfer funds from.
  8. Click Continue.
  9. On the next screen, select Health Savings Brokerage Accountin the To: Fund Name column.
  10. Click Transfer.

Transferringfrom Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account to HSA

Should you need to withdraw dollars from your Schwab account to pay for medical expenses, you will need to liquidate securities to cover the dollar amount you wish to withdraw from the account.

Liquidate Funds on Schwab.com

To make funds available for transfer back to your HSA, you must do at least one of the following on http://www.schwab.com:

  1. Sell a portion of your holdings to move the funds into a cash position
  2. Transfer funds to a money market.

Transfer funds on the investment site

  1. Sign in at www.carefirst.com/myaccount and select your spending account profile.
  2. In the My Accounts section, locate your HSA in your list of accounts.
  3. Click View Account.
  4. Locate the Investments section of the account page by scrolling past the Recent Activity section.
  5. Click Visit Investment Site. The investment site will be displayed.
  6. Click the Plan Services menu and choose Transfer to Base Balance.
  7. Enter the amount to transfer to your HSA.
  8. Click Submit.

This process can take up to 3-4 business days to complete.

Opening and Managing a Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account (2024)

FAQs

How to open Schwab HSA account? ›

Open a self-directed Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account (HSBA)* Log in to your HSA and click Manage Investments. Follow the prompts to enroll and web-activate the account.

How much money do you need to open a brokerage account with Charles Schwab? ›

There is no minimum investment needed to open a brokerage account.

How to open HSA investment account? ›

To set up your investment account using manual investing on the member website:
  1. “Accounts” > “Investment Summary”
  2. Select “Start Investing”
  3. Select “Manual Investing” and “Next”
  4. Complete the “Select Fund(s) and Amount for One-Time Transfer” and select “Next”
  5. Review the “Transaction Details” and select “Next”

How do I open my HSA account? ›

Setting up your HSA

If you're enrolling in a high-deductible health plan on your own, your new insurer might also be able to set up an HSA for you. If they can't, or you want to open your account somewhere else, you can set up your HSA at any bank or credit union that offers one.

Can Schwab hold HSA account? ›

With a Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account (HSBA), you can invest in a health savings account with the freedom of a brokerage account.

What is the difference between HSA and HSA investment accounts? ›

What is the difference between the Cash and Investment Accounts within my HSA? The Cash Account is an interest-bearing, FDIC-insured savings account used to pay for qualified medical expenses. The HSA Investment Account allows you to invest in a broad range of mutual funds.

Does Charles Schwab charge a brokerage fee? ›

Schwab doesn't charge any per-trade commissions for options, but it does charge $0.65 per contract. This is a typical charge, and is on par with other brokers.

Is Charles Schwab better than Fidelity? ›

Overall Appeal. Fidelity and Schwab are both excellent choices. These investment firms offer thousands of funds. There are some nuances, such as Fidelity being better for crypto traders and Schwab being more optimal for futures traders.

How financially stable is Charles Schwab? ›

Fitch Ratings - Chicago - 29 Jan 2024: Fitch Ratings has affirmed The Charles Schwab Corporation's (Schwab) Long- and Short-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'A'/'F1', and its Viability Rating (VR) at 'a'. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

Can you withdraw money from an HSA investment account? ›

Use for qualified medical expenses

Here's a tip. Your HSA can also function as a backup emergency fund, letting you withdraw tax-free cash when you really need it.

What is the best HSA account? ›

  • Best for Low Fees: Lively.
  • Best for No Minimum Balance Requirement: HSA Bank.
  • Best for Investment Options: Fidelity Investments.
  • Best for Savings Rates: Liberty Federal Credit Union.
  • Best Traditional Bank HSA: Bank of America.
  • Best Credit Union HSA: Consumers Credit Union.
  • Best for Employers: HealthEquity.
6 days ago

Is investing your HSA a good idea? ›

Comparing HSA to 401(k)

When it comes to retirement, everyone talks about the 401(k). But your HSA can be one of the best accounts for saving for retirement. Not only can you invest1 your HSA and potentially capitalize on tax-free growth, but your HSA also delivers powerful tax advantages you can't find anywhere else.

What is the downside of an HSA? ›

The main downside of an HSA is that you must have a high-deductible health insurance plan to get one.

What is the 12 month rule for HSA? ›

Last-month rule.

Under the last-month rule, if you are an eligible individual on the first day of the last month of your tax year (December 1 for most taxpayers), you are considered an eligible individual for the entire year.

What disqualifies you from having an HSA? ›

Not be covered by other health insurance (see Publication 969 for exceptions) Not be enrolled in Medicare (the individual can be HSA-eligible for the months before being covered by Medicare) Not be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return (see Caution)

Can I open HSA account anytime? ›

Luckily, as long as you're enrolled in an HSA-qualified high-deductible health plan (HDHP), it's never too late to open your HSA. In fact, you can open an HSA anytime (as long as you have eligible HDHP coverage).

Can I open an HSA account with any bank? ›

If an HSA does not come with your HDHP, you can set up the account on your own. 1 Banks, credit unions, and brokerages all offer HSAs. Each HSA provider can create its own terms. HSAs through a brokerage even allow you to invest your contributions in stocks, bonds, or funds.

Which HSA account is best? ›

Our experts chose Fidelity because the brokerage offers two HSAs and multiple ways to invest, including with the help of a robo-advisor. While most HSAs require you to pick your investments, Fidelity has a self-directed option (Fidelity HSA) and a managed, robo-advisor option (Fidelity Go HSA).

Can you open an HSA account without insurance? ›

You must participate in a High Deductible Health Plan, have no other insurance coverage other than those specifically allowed, and not be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return in order to be eligible for an HSA.

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