As the workforce continues to evolve, so do the demands placed on employees. This is especially palpable for those balancing professional responsibilities with caregiving roles at home. Today, over 63 million¹ Americans serve as unpaid family caregivers, and many of them are active members of the workforce. While health savings accounts (HSAs) are widely recognized as a tax-advantaged vehicle for managing individual healthcare costs, their utility in supporting family caregivers remains under-leveraged.

For benefits administrators looking to enhance their organization’s value proposition and improve employee well-being, positioning HSAs as a caregiving resource is a strategic opportunity.

At their core, HSAs are highly flexible tools. Beyond the familiar use cases like routine healthcare, prescriptions, and retirement healthcare planning, HSAs can also fund medical expenses for any tax-dependent, including:

• A dependent child (under IRS rules)
• An aging parent or disabled relative who qualifies as a dependent

This opens up a pathway for working caregivers to use their HSA to mitigate the out-of-pocket burden of caregiving, particularly in high-stakes or chronic care situations where costs quickly accumulate.

Here are three critical angles where benefits administrators can lean into this capability:

1. Position HSAs as a family-centric benefit

Rather than framing HSAs solely as an individual tax strategy or retirement tool, emphasize their role in family financial resilience. By aligning messaging with the realities of caregiving — especially in aging populations — you position the HSA as a multi-generational health benefit.

Actionable tip: Update open enrollment materials and intranet content to include examples of using HSA funds for eldercare, disability-related expenses, and dependent health needs.

2. Educate on dependency eligibility and compliance

Many employees are unaware that they can claim an elderly parent or disabled adult child as a tax dependent. This lack of awareness creates a missed opportunity for HSA use. Benefits communications can clarify the criteria for dependency and provide real-world use cases to guide compliance.

Actionable tip: Partner with your tax advisory or financial wellness vendors to include dependency checklists or workshops during annual benefits campaigns.

3. Integrate HSA education into caregiver support programs

Many organizations already provide caregiving resources such as eldercare navigation, EAP services, or respite care solutions. As a benefits administrator, you can strengthen the value of those programs by ensuring employees understand how HSAs can complement them. For example, HSA funds may be used to cover mental health visits, medical transportation (when primarily for and essential to getting medical care), durable medical equipment, or other qualified expenses tied to caregiving.

Actionable tip: In benefits communications, explicitly link HSA eligibility with caregiver resources. For instance, when promoting eldercare support, include messaging that reminds employees they may be able to use HSA dollars for dependent medical costs. This cross-program alignment not only improves utilization but also positions the HSA as a flexible financial tool within a holistic caregiving support strategy.

Research from Harvard Business School shows that 80% of employees with caregiving responsibilities report productivity challenges tied to their duties.² By helping employees connect HSAs to caregiving needs, you can reduce the financial stress that amplifies these burdens.

When positioned effectively, this can lead to tangible outcomes you can track and report, such as:

• Reduced presenteeism and absenteeism
• Higher satisfaction with benefits programs and resources
• Stronger retention, particularly among mid-career employees who are most often impacted by caregiving demands

Actionable tip: Consider measuring caregiver engagement with HSA resources through claims data, reporting, or employee surveys. Highlighting these outcomes not only reinforces the value of HSAs but can also strengthen the case for ongoing investment in caregiver support programs.

As caregiving responsibilities grow and the definition of “healthcare needs” expands, HSAs can play an increasingly practical role in supporting employees beyond their own individual expenses.

For benefits administrators, this represents an opportunity to reframe how HSAs are communicated: not just as a savings or retirement vehicle, but as a tool that can ease some of life’s most complex challenges. This steady shift in positioning can strengthen engagement, build awareness, and contribute to a more supportive benefits experience for those managing both work and caregiving.

Sources:

¹AARP | ²Harvard Business School