Process Overview

This page outlines the process for employers to submit HSA contributions. This process has multiple steps and follows this basic workflow for each contribution (payroll date):

 

1. The employer downloads the HSA contribution template spreadsheet from the Employer Administrator Portal. This template may be saved locally and reused for subsequent contributions.
2. The Employer enters contribution data for each plan Participant Consumer on the contribution template spreadsheet. The employer then uploads it to the Employer Administrator Portal.
3. Each time a contribution is made, EMPOWER automatically moves contribution funds from the Employer’s bank account to EMPOWER’s HSA contribution bank account.

Timing

The employer will upload a contribution file each time an HSA contribution is made. This should be done one business day prior to the contribution/payroll date.

How to Download the Contribution Template

Click here to download the template or follow these instructions:

1. Log into the EMPOWER Employer Administrator Portal
2. Click Imports on the menu on the left side of the screen
3. Click +New import
4. Click Contribution
5. The Portal provides the option to download either a blank template or a template pre-populated with all HSA Participant Consumers
   1. To download a blank template, click Download template
   2. To download a pre-populated template, click Pre-populate template, and select HSA as the Plan year in the drop down
      1. Select your HSA plan and click Download template

How to Populate the Contribution Template

The template is in Excel format and contains five columns. Employers will fill out this spreadsheet by adding a row for each Participant Consumer.

Quick Tip: If you download a pre-populated template, the spreadsheet will have a row for each of your Participant Consumers. If you are only making a contribution for a subset of your Participant Consumers, it may be easier to download the pre-populated template and remove rows as needed.

Template Column Structure

Use the instructions in the following table to enter data into the HSA Contribution Template:

Column Letter	Column Name	Required	Instructions	Allowed Values
A	EmployeeIdentifier	Yes (already entered in pre-populated template)	Participant’s social security number without dashes	9-digit social security number without dashes or other unique identifier agreed upon by EMPOWER. Be sure to include leading zero if needed.
B	ContributionDate	Yes	The date of the contribution **Important** The ContributionDate field should be blank for all recurring contributions	Date in MMDDYYYY Format
C	ContributionDescription	Yes	For an employee payroll deduction, select “Payroll”, for an employer contribution, select “Employer”	Payroll Employer
D	ContributionAmount	Yes	The dollar value of the contribution. If there is no contribution, place a 0 (zero) in this field. Do not leave this field blank.	Currency with maximum of 9 characters (ex. 537.65) Do not include dollar signs.
E	PlanName	Yes (already entered in pre-populated template)	Enter “HSA”	HSA

Template Notes

Please read the following before populating the template:

• There can be only one record per uploaded file with the same EmployeeIdentifier/ContributionDate/ContributionDescription (columns A,B,C)
  • Additionally, across all uploaded files, there can only be one row with the same EmployeeIdentifier/ContributionDate/ContributionDescription. If you already submitted a contribution for an employee and want to add additional funds to the same contribution, use a different ContributionDate.

How to Upload the Contribution File

1. Log into the EMPOWER Employer Administrator Portal
2. Click Imports on the menu on the left side of the screen
3. Click +New import
4. Click Contribution
5. Click Next
6. Click browse
   1. a popup window will display that allows you to select your contribution file
7. Select your contribution file and click Import
8. Validate that the import was successful

Important: There is a 25,000 dollar limit for each contribution file. Please contact EMPOWER if the total amount of the contributions is more than this limit.

How to Schedule Recurring Contributions

Employers can schedule recurring contributions. Each contribution must be for the same Consumers and amounts. If you add/remove Consumers or change contribution amounts to a scheduled contribution, you must delete the current scheduled contribution and either create a new scheduled contribution or upload it manually.

1. Log into the EMPOWER Employer Administrator Portal
2. Click Set up Contributions on the menu on the left side of the screen
3. Click on +New schedule in the top right of the screen
4. Click on Recurring
   1. Select HSA as the Plan year
   2. Click Next
5. Click Import a file
   1. Click Next
6. Select the start date for the Contributions
   1.  Select the end date for the contribution or select No end date if you do not wish it to expire
7. Select the contribution frequency by selecting values in the dropdowns*
   1. Examples:
      1. To schedule a contribution on the second day of every month:
         1. Click Monthly
         2. Select Second in the Frequency dropdown
         3. Select Day  in the Day of the month dropdown
         4. Select every 1 month in the Monthly frequency dropdown
      2. To schedule a contribution for every other Friday:
         1. Click Weekly
         2. Select every 2 weeks in the Frequency dropdown
         3. Click on the checkbox next to Friday
8. Download a template if needed
9. Click Next
10. Click browse
    1. a popup window will display that allows you to select your contribution file
    2. Select your recurring Contribution File
       1. **VERY IMPORTANT** The ContributionDate field should be blank for all recurring contributions
       2. Click Import

*Please note that not all contribution schedules can be accommodated. Special schedules that rely on advanced logic may be too complicated for the scheduler. In this case, you may either use an approximation or upload the contribution manually.

How to Delete a Scheduled Recurring Contribution

1. Log into the EMPOWER Employer Administrator Portal
2. Click Set up Contributions on the menu on the left side of the screen
3. Click on the recurring schedule under the Active schedules header
4. Click the Delete button

Important Information Regarding Tax Year

The date that you upload and post the contribution determines the tax year (for both payroll deductions & employer contributions).

• For the prior tax year: contribution files must be uploaded no later than December 31st.
• For the new tax year: contribution files must be uploaded on or after January first of the new tax year.