Guides and answers on HSAs, FSAs, and paying for wellness with pre-tax dollars.
Taxable wellness stipends lose 30%+ to taxes and add payroll admin. Here's the gross-up math, and when routing wellness through an HSA or FSA wins instead.
Hammock Team · 5 min read · July 11, 2026
Four reasons funded HSA and FSA benefits go unused — invisibility, clunky reimbursement, fear of the rules, no perceived eligible spend — and the fix for each.
Hammock Team · 5 min read · July 9, 2026
A broker guide to the big HDHP objections — employee revolt, deductible exposure, adverse selection — with honest math and when not to push.
Hammock Team · 5 min read · July 8, 2026
A practical open-enrollment playbook for lifting HSA participation and election sizes, with real results: +38% per participant and 64% of elections at the IRS max.
Hammock Team · 6 min read · July 7, 2026
Why employees avoid high-deductible plans, the total-cost math that changes minds, who an HDHP genuinely doesn't fit, and contribution designs that de-risk the switch.
Hammock Team · 6 min read · July 4, 2026
Where forfeited FSA funds can legally go, why forfeitures signal a benefits problem rather than a windfall, and how employers actually reduce them.
Hammock Team · 5 min read · July 2, 2026
A broker guide to the FSA forfeiture conversation: why forfeitures signal a broken benefit, how to pull the number, and fixes that win renewals.
Hammock Team · 5 min read · July 1, 2026
HSAs aren't tied to the plan year — employers can switch administrators mid-year. Here's how the mechanics work and what waiting actually costs.
Hammock Team · 5 min read · June 30, 2026
How to switch HSA administrators as an employer: what moves, how trustee-to-trustee transfers work, realistic timelines, and what to ask a new provider.
Hammock Team · 6 min read · June 27, 2026
How employers report HSA contributions on the W-2: what goes in Box 12 code W, what stays out of Boxes 1, 3, and 5, and the mistakes that trigger corrections.
Hammock Team · 6 min read · June 25, 2026