Fidelity reports a 53% increase in health savings accounts opened in 2012, raising the number of individual accounts administered by the company to 182,000.
As of Feb. 28, Fidelity managed $471 million in HSA assets, up 44% from a year earlier. Among the reasons for this growth: many employers have begun to offer a high-deductible health plan together with an HSA, along with a defined contribution retirement plan, as an integrated employee benefit.