Ten Things You Should Look For In Your Employee Benefits

It’s that time of year again where your employer will likely be approaching you with a big envelope. In that envelope is a bunch of paperwork, including lots of things that don’t make sense or seem to apply to you. You know that in the packet is information you need to fill out and return about your health insurance, maybe your work retirement plan. But it’s a big packet, and you’re tired, and that looks like work and you’re done with work so it gets set aside for today.

And tomorrow.

Until finally, at the end of the work week or month, your HR representative says that those forms are due. They provide you a copy, you quickly scribble down what you think looks right, and phew, it’s done for another year! But while you checked the boxes and fulfilled what your company needs you to do for another year, did you actually read about what your company offers? Are you taking advantage of everything you could, or should?

Many employees leave hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on the table every year in benefits that are either underutilized or simply not used at all. Some of these are more common or obvious omissions, such as not taking complete advantage of a 401(k) match or not contributing as much as one could, but others aren’t as glaring. However, any service you can use to improve your quality of life is important, even if that service isn’t necessarily financial. Here are ten things you should look for in your employee benefits.

1. Matching Contribution to 401(k)
Unless you’re paying off a ton of high-interest debt, chances are this benefit belongs in your financial thinking. While I consider myself a strong investment manager, I cannot create a matching situation. Even if the employer is not matching one for one, or the percentage is small, every little bit helps, especially since it is money that you wouldn’t have otherwise had AND it compounds over time. Make sure at a minimum you get a maximum match.

2. Price Out Your Health Insurance
I have been surprised by the number of times already this year where I have seen high-deductible health care plans (HDHP) be more cost-effective for individuals and even families than their more expensive fuller coverage counterparts. You really need to look closely side-by-side at the plans being offered, keeping in mind that with an HDHP you can contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA) and deduct that contribution from your income on your taxes.

3. Wellness Programs
Many companies are including not just health insurance, but wellness programs that can involve reimbursement of a gym membership, coaching from a nutritionist, and use of a fitness tracker. Some companies will even pay you to get your yearly physical/checkup. Participating in these programs is a great way to network with other team members, become healthier, and ultimately lower your other health care costs as a result.

4. Mental Health Services
Along with your physical health, your mental and emotional well-being is important to take care of. Fortunately, employee benefit programs are offering more readily free or greatly reduced cost mental health services. Many employees don’t take advantage of this because they believe certain things are true that are in fact not true, so let me break down the main culprits. Your sessions are confidential – no reports go to the company. We all have problems and challenges in our life, so you aren’t alone and you don’t need to be alone in handling these things. You do NOT have to seek permission or go through HR or tell anyone in the company – you call the number, setup an appointment, and that’s it. Your company provides this benefit to support you, so take advantage of it.

5. Legal and Financial Assistance
Some employers along with providing a retirement benefits package also provide financial wellness classes or prepaid hours of legal aid available. This may also include identity theft protection.

6. Tuition Reimbursement
Professional development and lifelong learning are qualities most people aspire to, but having the time and resources to follow-through on that can be challenging. That said, whether the motivation is to maintain knowledge or develop new expertise, perhaps earning an important certification, your workplace may subsidize some or all of your learning program. This can mean not only thousands of dollars in savings, but many thousands more being earned by demonstrating through learning a higher degree of expertise and competency. Why not share the cost of that investment in yourself if the company is willing to partner with you?

7. Product Discounts
From insurance to phones to food and retail discounts, many companies have corporate or local partnerships that can save you money as a consumer. Be careful that you don’t justify overspending with it, but if there’s a service you already use and a corporate discount applies, use it!

8. Life Insurance For You and Your Spouse
Term life insurance is typically insanely inexpensive when you contract a policy through work. DO still price compare, but it is pretty rare for me to find a workplace life insurance program that doesn’t blow out the private market pricing by a healthy margin. This is especially important if you have kids or a mortgage/significant debt – it’s not fun to think about something like that happening, but the peace of mind of your partner not having to deal with financial challenges while grieving is valuable.

9. Consider Adding MORE to Your 401(k) Contribution
Every little bit helps! Even if you’re taking advantage of your company match, there are still significant benefits both from a tax standpoint and from a retirement planning standpoint to contribute more. Even increasing your contribution by just 1% can mean tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars difference in the long run. One less Starbucks run a week can mean tax savings upfront and retirement savings on the back end – let time and compounding do the work for you!

10. Paid Time to Volunteer
What’s better than investing your time and energy to help a cause you are passionate about and people in need? Getting to do so while getting paid to do it! Check and see if your company has a volunteer/community outreach program – it’s a great way to get out of the office, interact with your coworkers and the community in a different way, and contribute in a way that’s personal and meaningful to you.