Millions of Americans end up with an Inspira Financial account without ever choosing one — a former employer moved their retirement savings there automatically. This guide explains what that means, what your real options are, and how to make every account they hold work harder for you.
Most people who reach out asking about Inspira Financial didn’t set up the account themselves. They changed jobs, left a retirement balance behind, and their former employer — following federal Department of Labor rules — automatically moved that money into a safe-harbor IRA at Inspira. The account is real, the money is yours, and nothing has been lost. It’s just sitting in a holding account waiting for you to claim it and decide what to do next.
Inspira Financial came together in 2024 when two large financial services companies joined forces under one name: Millennium Trust Company, which had specialized in retirement account custody since 2000, and PayFlex, which handled health and benefits accounts like HSAs and FSAs. The rebrand created a single platform covering both retirement savings and health benefits. If your old account statements say “Millennium Trust” or “PayFlex,” the underlying account and its infrastructure are unchanged — you’re already at Inspira. Today the company serves more than 8 million clients and holds over $62 billion in assets under custody, making it one of the largest custodians of this kind in the country.
Inspira acts as a custodian and administrator — it holds and safeguards your money and processes your transactions. It does not manage your investments for you, give you personalized financial advice, or select funds on your behalf. Think of it like a vault that holds the assets you choose. The decisions about what to do with the money inside that vault — leave it, invest it, roll it somewhere else — are entirely yours to make. Inspira provides the tools and platform to execute those decisions.
These are the situations that bring most people here. Whether your account landed at Inspira because of a job change, or you’re actively considering an HSA or self-directed IRA, this section covers what actually matters without the financial industry jargon.
1 My former employer sent my 401(k) to Inspira. Is my money safe? Yes. Your money is protected in an IRA in your name — it wasn’t lost, taken, or penalized. But if it’s sitting in cash, it may be earning very little. ▼
2 Can I move my money out of Inspira to a different provider? Yes, always. You can roll it to your current employer’s 401(k), transfer it to an IRA at any provider you choose, or consolidate multiple old accounts into one place. ▼
3 Does Inspira charge fees? What am I actually paying? Yes, there are fees — and for small balances they can be significant relative to the account size. Know what you’re being charged before leaving money to sit. ▼
4 What’s an HSA and why does Inspira offer one? An HSA is a tax-advantaged savings account for medical expenses — often called the “triple tax advantage” account. Inspira manages HSAs because its PayFlex roots made it one of the largest benefits account platforms in the country. ▼
5 What is a self-directed IRA and is it right for me? A self-directed IRA lets you invest in things most IRAs won’t touch — real estate, private companies, precious metals. It’s powerful but complex. Most people with straightforward retirement goals don’t need one. ▼
6 I had an HSA at PayFlex and I want to move it to another provider. Can I? Yes — and the transfer is completely tax-free if done correctly. Initiate the transfer from the receiving institution, not from Inspira, to avoid complications. ▼
7 How do I actually log in and find my account? Go to inspirafinancial.com and click “Claim retirement account” — you’ll need your Social Security number and the last four digits of your account number (from any statement your former employer’s plan sent you). ▼
8 What are the contribution limits for my IRA and HSA right now? IRA: $7,500 per year ($8,600 if you’re 50 or older). HSA for self-only coverage: $4,400. HSA for family coverage: $8,750. These are the current IRS figures — and the IRA catch-up amount went up for the first time in nearly two decades. ▼
Inspira’s platform covers two broad categories: retirement and wealth accounts (IRAs, rollovers, 1031 exchanges) and health and benefits accounts (HSAs, FSAs, HRAs, COBRA). Most people interact with just one or two of these — here’s the full picture.
This is how most people end up at Inspira. When you leave a job with a small retirement balance — under $7,000 — your former employer can legally move that money to a safe-harbor IRA without your action required. Inspira is one of the country’s largest processors of these transfers. Your money is protected, tax-advantaged status is preserved, and no taxes were triggered by the move. The default investment in most rollover IRAs is a money market or stable value fund — safe, but unlikely to grow meaningfully over time. Once you claim your account, you can choose to roll it somewhere else or invest it more actively through Inspira’s investment platform.
Inspira’s self-directed IRA allows investment in assets beyond the standard stock-and-bond menu: real estate, private equity, private debt, precious metals, and more. The same IRS contribution limits apply as to any IRA ($7,500 per year, or $8,600 if you’re 50+). The significant difference is the range of what you can hold — and the corresponding responsibility to follow IRS prohibited transaction rules correctly. Inspira acts as custodian, not advisor — it executes transactions you direct, but will not tell you whether an investment is a good idea, whether it violates IRS rules, or how it fits your retirement plan. Investors choosing a self-directed IRA typically work with a tax advisor alongside the custodian.
A 1031 exchange allows real estate investors to sell a property and defer capital gains taxes by reinvesting the proceeds into a new “like-kind” property. IRS rules require the money to be held by a qualified intermediary during the exchange — Inspira provides this custody service. The timelines are strict: you have 45 days to identify the replacement property and 180 days to close on it. Missing either deadline collapses the exchange and makes the full gain taxable in the year of sale. This is a specialty service for active real estate investors, not a general investment product.
The HSA is the only account in the U.S. tax code with three separate tax benefits simultaneously: contributions reduce your taxable income, the money grows tax-free inside the account, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are also tax-free. There’s no “use it or lose it” rule — the balance rolls over every year and can accumulate for decades. After age 65, HSA funds can be withdrawn for any purpose without penalty (though non-medical withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, similar to a traditional IRA). The 2026 annual contribution limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, with an additional $1,000 allowed if you’re 55 or older. You must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan to contribute. Starting in 2026, bronze and catastrophic Marketplace plans are also HSA-compatible.
FSAs allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars for medical expenses, but unlike an HSA, the balance generally does not roll over — you need to use the money within the plan year or lose it (some plans offer a limited grace period or a carryover of up to $640). Dependent Care FSAs cover childcare and eldercare expenses for dependents. A Limited Purpose FSA works alongside an HSA — it covers dental and vision only, so your HSA can grow untouched for larger medical expenses. FSAs are employer-sponsored, meaning they’re set up through your job and cannot be taken with you if you leave. The FSA balance is not portable to another institution.
An HRA is funded entirely by your employer — you contribute nothing. Your employer sets aside a defined amount each year that reimburses you for eligible medical expenses as you incur them. The specific expenses covered depend on the plan design your employer chose. HRAs are completely employer-controlled: the balance does not belong to you in the same way an HSA does, and if you leave the job, the account and any unused balance generally stay with the employer. This makes HRAs distinct from HSAs — both cover medical costs, but the HSA is yours permanently while the HRA is your employer’s benefit program that you access while employed.
COBRA allows you to continue the health insurance coverage you had through your employer for up to 18 months after leaving a job — but you pay the full premium yourself (including the share your employer previously covered). Inspira administers COBRA for many employers, handling the notices, premium collection, and coverage continuation. COBRA is typically the most expensive health coverage option during a gap period — comparing it against Marketplace plans is worth doing before committing, especially if you qualify for subsidies.
The SECURE 2.0 Act created a new type of workplace savings account — a small, liquid emergency fund linked to a retirement plan. Employers can now offer these through platforms like Inspira. Employees contribute after-tax dollars up to $2,500, and the money can be withdrawn penalty-free for any emergency expense. The goal is to give workers a financial cushion so they don’t raid retirement accounts in an emergency — a pattern that has historically cost people thousands in taxes and penalties and set back their retirement savings significantly.
Only 12% of HSA holders invest their balance beyond a cash-equivalent — most leave it in low-yield savings and miss out on decades of tax-free compound growth. The numbers behind a properly used HSA are significant enough that it deserves its own section.
- Tax deduction when you contribute. Contributions made through payroll come out before federal income tax and FICA taxes. If you contribute outside payroll (self-employed, for example), you deduct the contribution on your tax return.
- Tax-free growth inside the account. Invest the balance in index funds or other assets, and any gains, dividends, or interest accumulate completely tax-free — no capital gains tax, no dividend tax.
- Tax-free withdrawals for medical expenses. Pay a qualified medical expense — a doctor visit, prescription, dental work, vision care — and the withdrawal is entirely tax-free regardless of how much the account has grown.
A 65-year-old retiring today can expect to spend an average of $172,500 in out-of-pocket healthcare costs throughout retirement, according to Fidelity’s most recent retirement healthcare cost estimate. An HSA that has been contributed to consistently and invested — rather than spent on routine expenses in the near term — can grow into a meaningful dedicated fund for exactly those costs, all without ever paying taxes on the growth or the withdrawals. After age 65, HSA money used for non-medical expenses is taxed as ordinary income, making it function identically to a traditional IRA for general use — while keeping the tax-free withdrawal option for medical costs permanently.
- Bronze and catastrophic Marketplace plans are now HSA-eligible. Previously, only plans meeting specific high-deductible minimums qualified. The IRS changed this effective January 1, 2026 — meaning anyone on a bronze or catastrophic plan through HealthCare.gov can now open and contribute to an HSA. About 35% of Marketplace plans are now HSA-compatible, up from just 4% the year before.
- Direct primary care (DPC) fees are now HSA-eligible. If you pay a fixed monthly fee for a direct primary care arrangement, those fees can now be paid from your HSA — a change that took effect January 1, 2026.
- Telehealth safe harbor is now permanent. You can receive telehealth services before meeting your HDHP deductible without losing HSA eligibility. This provision, previously temporary, was made permanent.
If you’ve wondered whether you should choose an HSA or an FSA — or whether you can have both — this comparison covers the key differences that actually affect your day-to-day decisions.
| Feature | HSA | FSA |
|---|---|---|
| Who can contribute | You and your employer | You and your employer |
| Rolls over year to year | Yes — balance never expires | Mostly no — use it or lose it |
| Portable if you change jobs | Yes — permanently yours | No — stays with employer |
| Investment options | Yes — invest like an IRA | No — cash only |
| Eligible health plan required | Yes — HDHP or qualifying plan | No — any employer plan |
| Can you have both together | Limited Purpose FSA only | Not a standard Health FSA with an HSA |
| Contribution limit (self-only) | $4,400 per year | Typically up to $3,300 (employer sets) |
| After-65 non-medical use | Taxed as income — no penalty | Not applicable |
There are roughly 31.9 million forgotten 401(k) accounts in the U.S. holding $2.1 trillion — an average of $66,691 each, sitting mostly in low-growth default investments. If yours is one of them, this section is what to do next.
If your current employer’s plan accepts incoming rollovers — and most do — moving the Inspira balance there consolidates your retirement savings into one account. Fewer accounts mean fewer statements, fewer logins, and a clearer picture of where you stand. The transfer is direct, tax-free, and doesn’t affect your ability to contribute to the new 401(k) as normal. Call your current 401(k) plan administrator first to confirm they accept rollovers, then Inspira will process the outgoing transfer to them directly.
Rolling the Inspira balance to an IRA at a brokerage of your choice — Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, or others — gives you the full investment menu those platforms offer, which is often broader than what a workplace 401(k) provides. Many large brokerages charge no annual fee for basic IRA accounts. By mid-2025, about 27 million households — 61% of traditional IRA owners — had IRAs that included rollover assets, and $670 billion moved from employer plans to IRAs in a single year, reflecting how common this choice is. Initiate the transfer from the receiving institution to simplify the paperwork.
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional (pre-tax) IRA into a Roth IRA, where it grows tax-free and future qualified withdrawals are also tax-free. You pay income tax on the converted amount in the year of conversion — which is why this works best in years when your taxable income is lower than usual. There’s no income limit on Roth conversions — anyone can do it regardless of how much they earn. Converting a small rollover IRA balance (rather than a large one) minimizes the immediate tax impact while locking in decades of potential tax-free growth.
You can withdraw the money as cash, but this is rarely the right move for retirement savings. The IRS requires 20% to be withheld immediately for taxes. If you’re under 59½, a 10% early-withdrawal penalty applies on top of that. A $10,000 balance can turn into $6,400 or less by the time taxes and penalties are settled at filing. Exceptions exist — disability, first-home purchase (up to $10,000 lifetime), significantly equal periodic payments, and others — but the bar is specific. Most people who cash out a rollover IRA later wish they hadn’t, especially when the compounding that balance would have done is calculated.
Inspira is one of the larger SDIRA custodians in the country, and the self-directed IRA is its most specialized product. The potential is real — and so are the risks if IRS rules are misunderstood.
- Real estate — residential rentals, commercial property, raw land, tax liens (all income and expenses must flow through the IRA, not personally)
- Private equity and private companies — ownership stakes in businesses not traded on public markets
- Promissory notes and private lending — loans made from IRA funds where the IRA receives interest
- Precious metals — gold, silver, platinum, palladium meeting IRS fineness standards (must be stored by an approved depository)
- Cryptocurrency — through certain custodial arrangements that meet IRS holding requirements
The IRS defines a category of “prohibited transactions” that, if committed inside an SDIRA, can disqualify the entire account — making its full fair market value taxable as ordinary income in that tax year, plus potential penalties. The most common violations: you cannot personally use a property owned by your SDIRA (not even once), you cannot do business with the IRA (sell it something, buy from it), and “disqualified persons” — which includes you, your spouse, your parents, your children, and any business you own more than 50% of — cannot transact with the IRA. Most SDIRA violations are accidents by people who didn’t understand the rules going in. Working with a tax advisor who specifically understands SDIRAs before making any investment is strongly recommended.
If you have a specific alternative investment in mind — a rental property, a private business stake, a precious metals position — and you have already worked with a tax professional to understand the IRS rules that govern it inside a retirement account, a self-directed IRA at Inspira is a legitimate and capable custodian for that work. If you’re considering an SDIRA because someone suggested it would help you avoid taxes in ways that seem too good to be true, slow down. The most important question to ask before opening an SDIRA is not “what can I invest in?” but “do I fully understand the prohibited transaction rules governing this specific investment?” The IRS enforces those rules seriously, and the consequences of a mistake fall entirely on the account holder.
Your money is safe — this is a routine automatic rollover triggered when you left your last job. The first step is to claim the account at inspirafinancial.com so you can see the balance and what it’s invested in. Once you’ve done that, you have a decision to make: leave it at Inspira (where you can choose investments), roll it into your current employer’s 401(k), or transfer it to an IRA at a brokerage of your choice. Don’t ignore the letter — accounts left unclaimed in default low-yield investments erode slowly due to maintenance fees, and the balance you see today may be smaller in several years if nothing changes. Claiming takes about 10 minutes online.
First, find out whether your HSA balance is sitting in cash or invested. Most people with employer HSAs never move beyond the default cash position — according to EBRI data, only 12% of HSA holders invest their balance. If your balance is above whatever threshold your plan sets for investing (commonly $1,000 or $2,000), you can invest the excess in available fund options. If you want to move the HSA to a different provider — many people prefer Fidelity’s HSA for its broader fund selection and lower fees — initiate the trustee-to-trustee transfer from the receiving institution, not from Inspira. This is tax-free and doesn’t count toward your annual contribution limit.
This is one of the most common retirement planning problems in the U.S. — and one of the most solvable. You can roll multiple old accounts into a single IRA (either at Inspira or another institution you prefer) to consolidate everything into one login, one statement, and one investment strategy. The Capitalize and Boston College research found that forgotten accounts cost individuals over $500,000 in foregone retirement savings over 30 years in a worst-case scenario — primarily because small balances earn minimal returns while accumulating fees. Before consolidating, check whether any of the accounts have special features worth preserving, such as a stable value fund with a guaranteed rate that isn’t available in a standard IRA.
An Inspira self-directed IRA is a legitimate vehicle for this — but the rules require careful navigation. All property expenses (repairs, taxes, insurance, management fees) must be paid from IRA funds, not your personal funds. All rental income must be returned to the IRA, not your personal account. You cannot personally use the property at all. A property manager hired to oversee the investment must not be a disqualified person (you, your spouse, your children, or entities you control). Before purchasing, sit down with a CPA or tax attorney who has specific self-directed IRA real estate experience — the prohibited transaction rules are strict, and a violation can cost you the entire account’s tax-advantaged status in a single audit.
Start at inspirafinancial.com. Click “Claim retirement account” and enter your Social Security number — the platform uses SSN to locate accounts across Millennium Trust and Inspira’s system. If that doesn’t surface it, contact your former employer’s HR or benefits department and ask for the name of the plan recordkeeper for the period when you worked there. The average balance in a forgotten rollover account is $66,691 — money that is legally and entirely yours, regardless of how long it’s been sitting there. There is no time limit on claiming an IRA in your own name. The balance may have grown, stayed flat, or shrunk depending on its default investment — which is exactly why you should look sooner rather than later.
Most situations involving Inspira can be handled in four steps. The order matters: each step gives you the information you need to make a smart decision in the next one.
Go to inspirafinancial.com, select the account type that applies to you, and complete the identity verification. If you have an automatic rollover IRA, choose “Claim retirement account.” For HSA and benefits accounts, choose “My benefits account.” For accounts managed by a financial advisor, use MTOnline. Have your Social Security number and any old account number or employer information available — the verification process needs at least one of these to locate your account. This step is free and takes under 15 minutes.
Once logged in, look at the current investment allocation. Automatic rollover IRAs often default to a money market fund or stable value account earning minimal interest. HSAs often default to cash. Neither is wrong in the short term, but left indefinitely, both miss the growth potential that makes these accounts valuable in the first place. Know the specific fund names and their expense ratios — a fund charging 0.80% annually will cost you significantly more than one charging 0.05% over 20 years of compounding.
If the investment options, fees, and platform work for you, staying is perfectly fine. If you want broader investment options, lower fees, or to consolidate accounts — rolling to a different IRA provider, your current 401(k), or a Roth IRA may serve you better. There’s no right answer for everyone, but the decision should be active and deliberate, not left as the default. If you decide to move, initiate the process at the receiving institution — they handle the transfer paperwork and ensure the funds move directly without triggering a taxable event.
The current IRA contribution limit is $7,500 per year — or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older (the catch-up amount increased for the first time in nearly 20 years). The HSA limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, with an extra $1,000 available at age 55+. The deadline for prior-year IRA contributions is April 15 of the following year — meaning you may still be able to make last year’s contribution if you haven’t already. Once you’ve claimed your account and know what it’s invested in, set a calendar reminder to review it annually — the same discipline applies whether you’re staying at Inspira or have moved the money elsewhere.
This guide is an independent informational resource and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Inspira Financial, Millennium Trust Company, PayFlex, or any other company mentioned. Account features, fees, contribution limits, tax rules, and program availability change regularly — always verify directly with Inspira Financial and a qualified tax or financial advisor before making account decisions. Contribution limits reflect IRS figures current at time of writing; the IRS may revise these. Self-directed IRA information is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice — IRS prohibited transaction rules are complex and require professional guidance. This content is original and does not reproduce material from any third-party source.