Employers are adopting automatic enrollment and contribution strategies for health savings accounts, applying lessons learned from 401(k) workplace retirement plans. Health savings accounts offer significant tax advantages, including tax-deductible contributions, tax-free investment growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.
According to a report released in August by the Plan Sponsor Council of America, nearly 46% of employers in 2025 automatically enrolled workers into HSAs when they selected high-deductible health plans, up substantially from 32% in 2019. This shift mirrors the broader adoption of automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, which affects roughly 64% of employers and became a requirement for most newly established plans following the Secure 2.0 legislation passed in 2022. Experts attribute the success of automatic enrollment to its ability to eliminate friction in the enrollment process and increase overall participation.
Rather than automatically deducting payroll percentages as is common with 401(k)s, most employers using HSA auto-enrollment instead seed employee accounts with employer contributions. In 2025, approximately 77% of employers provided HSA contributions to workers, with contribution levels varying widely: 32% contributed between $500 and $1,000 annually per employee, 29% contributed $1,350 or more, and 22% contributed $500 or less. These contributions are typically placed into liquid, cash-like accounts rather than investment vehicles.
A smaller but growing segment of employers are adopting 401(k)-style matching programs for HSAs, where employees must contribute their own funds to receive employer matches. Approximately 10% of employers currently offer HSA matching, with another 7.5% considering implementation. The broader trend reflects recognition that healthcare costs are rising significantly and that employer support helps workers manage medical expenses. The shift toward high-deductible plans has accelerated considerably, with 31% of employers offering such plans paired with HSAs in 2025, compared to just 4% in 2005.
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