Most people I know would love to get a raise from their employer. You may not have a lot of control over your salary, which is why it’s important to take advantage of as many benefits as your company offers. Along with health insurance and disability insurance, most companies have a rich offering of flex benefits for their employees. If you don’t know what they are, you could be missing out!
So, grab your company’s employee handbook and join me on this step-by-step guide to get the most out of your employee benefits package.
Health Insurance
Most companies offer more than one option for health insurance coverage. Being in the wrong plan may be costing you money! For example, if you’re relatively healthy with few prescriptions, you can save a lot of money on premiums by enrolling in a high-deductible plan.
Then if you’re eligible, you can stash the difference in a tax-advantaged HSA, or health savings account. Or if you need more coverage, you might want to see if your insurance company offers discounts to help you live a healthier life, like access to a mail order pharmacy or a free gym membership.
Retirement Fund Matching
If your employer offers any type of match to your retirement account, you need to make sure you’re taking advantage. If not, you’re wasting money! Even if you don’t plan to stay at your company forever, contributing to your retirement fund regularly will help set you up for long-term success. Your company may have a vesting policy. This means the company can recoup all or a portion of their matches if you leave before a certain timeframe. But you’ll always get to keep whatever portion of the contributions were yours. So really, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by using this employee benefit.
Also Read: How Much Should I Have In My 401k?
Flex Benefits
In order to be more competitive, many companies have started to offer flex benefits packages to their employees. This allows employees to choose exactly which benefits they want or need, and to pass on others. It lets each individual employee customize their benefits package to fit them.
Flex benefits packages may include additional types of insurance options – like dental, vision, and even pet care insurance. Or it can have lifestyle perks like access to an employee credit union, discounts on daycare, or subsidized train or bus passes for commuting. Take a close look at the flex benefits your employer offers; it’s almost always cheaper for you to use these services because your employer gets a group discount for their employees that an individual couldn’t get on their own.
Employee Wellness Programs
It’s in your employer’s best interest to keep you healthy. That’s because healthy people have less sick days and overall longer careers. Nearly all employers offer some kind of employee wellness program to help motivate their employees to stay healthy. They come in many different forms depending on the company.
Some examples include on-site gym facilities, discounted gym memberships, discounted or free access to weight loss programs, financial incentives for achieving biometric wellness markers, and much more. Knowing what your employer offers will allow you to live your best, healthiest lifestyle. You may need to switch up your gym membership or do a little extra paperwork along the way, but I can guarantee it’ll be worth it in the long run because your health is priceless.
Employee Assistance Programs
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are becoming increasingly popular for employers to offer, yet most people don’t even know they exist. EAPs are designed to support employees with issues that may arise in their personal life. Common types of services offered through EAPs include personal or marriage counseling, substance abuse treatment, legal services, adoption assistance, and much more. They are usually offered through third-parties in order to maintain employees’ confidentiality. You can use the services of an EAP knowing that it won’t make it back to the HR office, your boss, or your colleagues.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Many people think that flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts are the same, but they’re quite different. A flexible spending account allows you to put aside pre-tax money in order to pay for out-of-pocket health expenses. You can use an FSA with any type of health insurance, whereas with an HSA, you’ll have to have a high-deductible health insurance plan. FSA funds do not roll over each year. So if you don’t spend what’s in your account by the end of the year, you’ll lose the money. It’s not a great choice for someone who’s eligible for an HSA. But if you’re not, this is a great way to save yourself some tax money on your medical expenses!
Paid Time Off
Let’s not forget one of the most valuable resources you have – your time off! Most employers have a maximum amount of paid time off (PTO) you’re allowed to accrue throughout the year. Don’t be one of those people who save their PTO and never uses it! Especially because more and more companies are opting not to pay employees their accrued PTO when they leave the company.
PTO is meant to be used, so don’t hesitate to use it when you want to take a vacation or just have a day to treat yourself. That’s what it’s there for! Besides, no one ever looked back on their life and regretted taking an extra day off.
Education Assistance
One of the best ways to accelerate your career is through furthering your education. Most companies offer some amount of tuition assistance for employees taking work-related courses. So don’t let a year go by where you don’t get that free money! Find courses that fit your interests and can have a positive impact on your career trajectory. Not only will you be furthering your education for free, you’ll also be making an investment in your future success.
