Investment assets in health savings accounts dropped slightly in 2022 for the first time due to "significant stock market headwinds," according to an annual survey by Devenir Group, an HSA researcher and investment consultant.
Devenir has been tracking HSA assets since 2007.
Although total HSA assets rose 6% to $104 billion in 2022 from 2021, the investing component fell 2% to $33.8 billion, said a recent report based on the survey.
Most of the damage for HSA investments occurred during the first half of 2022, which the report described as "one of the worst stock markets in decades."
For the second half of the year, investment assets rose 9%.
The Devenir report said almost 2.6 million HSA accounts have made some investments, representing about 7% of all HSA accounts.
The total number of HSA accounts reached a record 35.5 million by year-end 2022, up 9% from year-end 2021.
The Devenir report is based on a survey conducted in early 2023 of the 100 largest providers of HSAs. Survey responses are self-reported by the providers.
