Launch HN: Lively (YC W17) – 401(k) for Healthcare

Yes it is true! When we began looking into this over a year ago, we discovered how powerful of a utility the HSA can be. The rule is that your HSA dollars can be invested and earn interest completely tax free, so long as when you take your money out, it is used on qualified medical expenses. Assuming you use the money on qualified medical expenses, you can use that money tomorrow, next year, or 30 years from now. There is a lot more flexibility in that context. Worst case, you can invest and let your HSA dollars grow and when you retire (age 65 with the HSA), use the money for non-qualified expenses and just pay ordinary income taxes at that time - similar to the 401k.

We will be launching our investment capabilities at the end of Q2 so stay tuned for that.

With regards to what are we doing to make it easier: 1. We have designed our user experience to not need paperwork to get up and running. You (as the employer) and your employees can sign up in minutes - all online. 2. We have a Learning Center designed to help both employers and individuals about best practices, listed qualified medical expenses 3. Electronic receipt upload and categorization in case of an audit 4. For employers, we are automated with 9 different payroll companies taking the administrative burden off of the employer and onto us!

Those are just a few things, but we will be coming out with many more features that will help you as you grow!

> I looked into getting a HSAs through my consulting LLC last year due to the tax benefits, but my current (day job) employer plan includes a mandatory HRA.

IANAL, but I'm pretty sure those are entirely orthogonal. You can have both an HRA and an HSA.

An HRA is exclusively employer-funded. An HSA is something you can enroll in if you have a high-deductible health plan. You can have an HSA through your employer or independently, and either you or your employer can contribute to your HSA, subject to the annual cap.

There is also the FSA, which is similar to an HSA, except the money expires at the end of each year. Confusingly, if you have an HSA, you can have an FSA, except then the FSA can only be used for a very small set of expenses, rather than the full range that FSAs otherwise allow.

1. Yes we absolutely do. You can sign-up as an individual. When you get to the sign-up screen, just click on the Individual Account.

2. We are going to be launching investment capabilities at the end of Q2. When we do this, you will have access to invest in low cost mutual funds, ETFs, but also straight stocks/bonds, etc. It will be a self-directed option.

3. Yes you can rollover! But be sure to ask your provider if there is a fee. We have found that often times HSA providers charge a nominal rollover/transfer fee. They vary so be sure to ask. Today, just send us an email to support@livelyme.com and we can walk you through that process. We just need some information from you, will fill out a form, send it to you for electronic signature, and we take care of the rest. We have plans to completely automate this process, but we haven't yet released that functionality. Stay tuned!

Can a single member LLC sign up as an employer? Or are there minimum employee restrictions?

So long as you have a high deductible health plan, you can sign-up for an HSA, but there are some tax deductible rules that would apply. We have an FAQ in our Learning Center. The question is "Are employer contributions tax-deductible?".