Employers are adopting retirement plan strategies to increase worker participation in health savings accounts, which offer significant tax advantages. HSAs provide three layers of tax benefits: contributions reduce taxable income, investment growth occurs tax-free, and qualified health expense withdrawals are tax-exempt.
According to a Plan Sponsor Council of America report from August, nearly 46% of employers automatically enrolled workers into an HSA when employees selected a high-deductible health plan in 2025. This represents a substantial increase from 32% in 2019. High-deductible plans, which require individuals to pay at least $1,700 and families to pay at least $3,400 out of pocket before insurance coverage begins in 2026, typically offer lower premiums than traditional co-pay plans.
Automatic enrollment has proven successful in retirement savings, with approximately 64% of employers auto-enrolling workers into 401(k) plans in 2025. Federal legislation known as Secure 2.0, passed in 2022, mandated automatic enrollment in most newly established 401(k) plans beginning last year. Employers use auto-enrollment to eliminate friction from voluntary opt-in processes, thereby boosting participation rates.
Unlike 401(k) plans, which typically deduct a percentage from paychecks, HSA auto-enrollment generally involves employer seed contributions. Approximately 77% of employers contributed to worker HSAs in 2025, with roughly a third contributing between $500 and $1,000 per employee. Additionally, about 10% of employers offering HSA contributions employ a matching system similar to 401(k) matches, requiring employees to contribute to receive employer funds, with another 7.5% considering this approach.
The trend reflects employer recognition that healthcare costs are rising and supporting employees with these expenses is important. Among employers providing health benefits, 31% offered high-deductible plans paired with HSAs in 2025, compared to just 4% in 2005.
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