May an employer who does not provide health insurance for its employees contribute to an employees HSA?
A. Although the new HSA law expressly permits an employer to contribute funds to an employee’s HSA on a tax-favored basis, the ERISA implications are not yet clear. There are many questions yet to be answered regarding how ERISA’s reporting, claims procedures, disclosure, fiduciary duty and other requirements apply to employee-controlled HSAs when an employer makes contributions. Because of these uncertainties, we are not recommending that our agents promote employer contributions to employee HSAs where the employee is covered by a qualified health plan that the employer does not sponsor.
