Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 65 posts

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

#21

Post by mericsson »

suralil wrote: post #9
vdnkh wrote: post #4

Neat, but what's with the notifications permission? Notifications are pretty intrusive and turned me off of your site - is there a good reason you need them?

Thanks for your comment. We wanted to give our users the ability to opt-into receiving information about HSA and other related topics as we move forward without necessarily signing up on day 1 (in case they are not ready to do so).

How about offering a mailing list signup? Instant push notifications doesn't feel like the right medium for receiving info about HSA. Turned me off a bit as well.

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

#24

Post by suralil »

mericsson wrote: post #21
suralil wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your comment. We wanted to give our users the ability to opt-into receiving information about HSA and other related topics as we move forward without necessarily signing up on day 1 (in case they are not ready to do so).

How about offering a mailing list signup? Instant push notifications doesn't feel like the right medium for receiving info about HSA. Turned me off a bit as well.

Good call. We are in the process of fixing this right now so it doesn't show up. Will let you know as soon as this is fixed.

Edit: Ok removed the notifications. If you are still seeing it, please let us know. Thanks to both of you for pointing this out!

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

#25

Post by [deleted] »

mericsson wrote: post #21
suralil wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your comment. We wanted to give our users the ability to opt-into receiving information about HSA and other related topics as we move forward without necessarily signing up on day 1 (in case they are not ready to do so).

How about offering a mailing list signup? Instant push notifications doesn't feel like the right medium for receiving info about HSA. Turned me off a bit as well.

[deleted]

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

#26

Post by koolba »

HSAs are great but I don't see the secret sauce here?

There's plenty of HSA providers out there that don't charge bogus fees. Most don't charge any monthly fee if you have more than $1000. The great ones also let you either invest in a pool of mutual funds or in self-directed brokerage accounts.

If Lively plans on going after lots of small accounts then I doubt they can break even, let alone be profitable. There's no money to had. Employers usually don't bother setting up HSA plans as there's no tax advantage for them (it's employee money going in) and it's one of the few accounts that you can set up yourself and claim a tax credit for after the fact.

I don't see any indication of investments or brokerage options. Is Lively's angle to make money on the interest rate spread? (i.e. lend on the money market but offer to customers close to 0% to pocket the difference).

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

#27

Post by koolba »

justinzollars wrote: post #14

Health Savings Accounts depress me. Its a complete admission that we will never have Healthcare in America as a public benefit. That said, I know I would realize tax savings by saving in an HSA. I refuse to do so because it acknowledges a position I do not agree with: that I should pay for overly expensive Healthcare

Bah just think of it as a fancy 401k for people that have a better understanding of the tax code. From that angle you're an idiot if you don't take advantage of it.

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

#28

Post by suralil »

koolba wrote: post #26

HSAs are great but I don't see the secret sauce here? There's plenty of HSA providers out there that don't charge bogus fees. Most don't charge any monthly fee if you have more than $1000. The great ones also let you either invest in a pool of mutual funds or in self-directed brokerage accounts. If Lively plans on going after lots of small accounts then I doubt they can break even, let alone be profitable. There's no…

Thanks for your thoughts! You are correct in that investment options are not available right now. We will be launching investment capabilities by the end of Q2.

We are focused on allowing our users to get the most out of their HSA. While we have released our minimal functionality for the time being, we will be adding products and services on top of this to make the process of spending your HSA dollars much more streamlined.

We have focused on streamlining the onboarding and administrative process for employers and attempted to remove the clunkiness we have seen elsewhere. It is definitely an ongoing project, but appreciate your thoughts and welcome any feedback as to how to improve the process and product!

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

#29

Post by koolba »

suralil wrote: post #28
koolba wrote: post #26

HSAs are great but I don't see the secret sauce here? There's plenty of HSA providers out there that don't charge bogus fees. Most don't charge any monthly fee if you have more than $1000. The great ones also let you either invest in a pool of mutual funds or in self-directed brokerage accounts. If Lively plans on going after lots of small accounts then I doubt they can break even, let alone be profitable. There's no…

Thanks for your thoughts! You are correct in that investment options are not available right now. We will be launching investment capabilities by the end of Q2. We are focused on allowing our users to get the most out of their HSA. While we have released our minimal functionality for the time being, we will be adding products and services on top of this to make the process of spending your HSA dollars much more strea…

How will you make money off non corporate accounts?

Why should an employer pay to set up an account when the employee can do it for free? Generally speaking, the employee is better off anyway because they're in full control. It's not like a 401k where the account custodian is holding the assets.

Are cash balances in the non investment funds interest bearing? What are the rates?

Post reply on HN