Health savings accounts (HSAs) are like the broccoli of your benefits package: everyone knows it’s good for them, but no one’s jumping up and down to get it.

Just like a 401(k), an HSA can be a fantastic resource for your employees if they use it to its full potential… but getting people to do that is no easy feat. Here are five ways to get people excited and start seeing those sign ups roll in:

Make participation-based contributions — and promote the heck out of it

Nowadays, most employers who offer a high deductible health plan contribute some amount to their employees’ HSAs. But these contributions are often given as a lump sum (distributed throughout the year).

401k matching was invented to encourage participation in retirement savings — and you can do the same with your HSA offering to encourage employee participation, too.

The important part is to make sure you get the word out about HSA matching contributions (whether that’s via email, your intranet, or even signage around the office) so employee’s know what they could get by signing up.

Advertise the lesser-known things they can buy with an HSA

So many HSA launches are thwarted by confusion (and even misunderstanding) among employees about what an HSA actually is. Introduce employees to the concept with something fun and intriguing.

“Qualified medical expense” doesn’t sound fun, but there’s a whole world of crazy items you can legally use your HSA to pay for that most people don’t know about. Here are few of our favorites that never fail to grab employees’ attention:

• Acupuncture
• New glasses
• Kids' sunscreen
• Prescriptions

Show people what they could gain from opening an account, and you’re bound to see more participation.

Accept employee contributions via payroll deferral

If you offer a high deductible health plan but don’t contract with an HSA provider to accept pre-tax contributions from your employees, you’re shooting your program in the foot before it’s begun.

Without payroll integration, asking your employees to open and use an HSA is just, well… unrealistic. Make it simple for your employees by taking care of the backend for them, so their experience is seamless.

Remind employees that their HSA balance rolls over at the end of the year

Many employees (especially those who’ve had a FSA or HRA before) don’t know that they can keep the money in their HSA, year after year. Make sure to include this tidbit of information in any HSA communications you send out, or else employees might miss the point entirely.

Don’t stop when open enrollment’s over

Sure, HSAs are a healthcare benefit — but unlike insurance coverage, you can sign up for an HSA any time of year. In fact, your employees can even make catch up contributions if they join late in the year.

This might seem like more of a curse than a blessing to a benefits team that’s just ready to move on already from open enrollment. But if you do have time to fit in a quick sign up campaign later in the year (perhaps two or three months after your open enrollment ends), you could see a good boost in sign ups.