What to do when an Optum Bank account holder dies
Report the death to Optum Bank's Optum Financial at 1-866-234-8913
When an account holder at Optum Bank passes away, the next step depends on how the accounts were set up. Accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate. Accounts titled solely in the deceased's name require the estate's legal representative to work with Optum Bank's Optum Financial (1-866-234-8913) to access and distribute the funds.
To start a claim, contact Optum Bank by phone at 1-866-234-8913 or email documentation to of-service@of.optum.com. You will need the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Optum Bank:
Filing a claim
- Fill out Part A (spousal beneficiary), Part B (non-spousal beneficiary, including a trustee of a trust), Part C (executor, administrator or personal representative) or Part D (small estate recipient)
- Mail it with the original certified death certificate and the other listed documents to Optum Financial, P.O. Box 85960, 6300 Wayne Road, Westland, MI 48185
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Letters testamentary or letters of administration
- Decrees of probate court
- Beneficiary Designation Form provided by Optum Bank
- Documents showing estate taxes are paid or not owed, if applicable
- HSA Death Distribution Request Form, for an HSA offered or administered through ConnectYourCare, LLC (Optum Financial)
- Original, certified death certificate, with Optum Financial's form
- Copy of the claimant's unexpired driver's license or state-issued ID, with Optum Financial's form
- Copy of the Letter of Administration or Letters Testamentary, with Optum Financial's form, if the estate is the claimant
- Small Estate Affidavit, if applicable, with Optum Financial's form
- Transfer Form from the receiving HSA custodian, if applicable, with Optum Financial's form
Forms Optum Bank issues1
- Health Savings Account (HSA) Death Distribution Request Form (form 136694A)
Completed by the spousal or non-spousal beneficiary, the executor, administrator or personal representative, or the small estate recipient. Available to download.1
What happens to each kind of account1
- Health savings account
The HSA goes to the named beneficiaries. With no valid beneficiary designation on file, the legal spouse is deemed the beneficiary, and if the owner was not married at death the funds are paid to the estate.2
Optum Bank's account agreement says that where the beneficiary is the spouse, "your HSA will become your spouse's HSA as of the date of death."2
For an HSA offered or administered through ConnectYourCare, LLC, Optum Financial's form says it distributes funds only to listed beneficiaries, and with no beneficiary listed, only to the executor of the estate.1
On Part A of the form, a spouse can transfer the funds to a new or existing Optum Financial HSA, which can be opened online.1
Accounts handled elsewhere2
- ConnectYourCare, LLC (Optum Financial)
HSAs offered or administered through ConnectYourCare, an IRS-designated non-bank custodian of HSAs1
Mailing address: Optum Financial, P.O. Box 85960, 6300 Wayne Road, Westland, MI 48185
- Optum Financial
Accounts whose payment card reads optumfinancial.com or connectyourcare.com3
What Optum Bank provides to the estate1
- Tax forms
Optum Bank's HSA user guide says a separate Form 1099-SA is issued for each type of distribution in a tax year, and death is one of the five types.4
What Optum Bank's agreement and guidance say5
- Deposits after the death
Optum Bank can keep accepting and processing contributions to the HSA until it has actual notice of the death and a reasonable chance to act.2
- What it does when notified
Once notified of the death, Optum Bank freezes the HSA and allows no withdrawals or transfers.2
- How proceeds are paid
On Optum Financial's death distribution form, the claimant requests that all investments in the HSA be liquidated before the account is closed and the funds distributed.1
- What it says about taxes
Optum Bank's account agreement says that if the beneficiary is not the spouse, "the HSA ceases to be an HSA as of the date of death and is taxable to the Beneficiary (or your estate) in the tax year that includes the date of death."2
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
Optum Bank's account agreement says an HSA that ends at death may be treated as abandoned if the estate representative or beneficiary does not claim the funds for the period set by the state's unclaimed property law. It may send a notice before turning the funds over.2
Not in Optum Bank's published guidance2
- How long a claim takes
- An online way to report a death
Optum Bank's Optum Financial can be reached by phone at 1-866-234-8913 and email at of-service@of.optum.com for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Optum Bank primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Optum Bank death claims support
Optum Financial
Phone
Hours
Mailing address
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