Retirement And Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Employers will typically match their employees contributions to their retirement fund up to a certain point. The most common percentage employees will put towards their retirement is 2-6% of their salary.
Additionally, if you sponsor and manage your employees retirement plans, theyll be able to get considerably better returns and save more in tax-free or tax-advantaged accounts.
However, retirement plans arent the only way to take care of your employees future. Many employers, especially startups, will offer their employees an option to purchase a certain amount of stocks at very reduced prices .
If your company is successful and manages to go public, this could allow employees to make a very nice profit once they end up selling their stocks.
Review Your Employee Benefits Package
Whether you are job searching, deciding on a job offer, or happily employed, it’s important to review what benefit coverage is provided by the company and to decide whether the employee benefits package is one that fully meets your needs. It’s also important to take full advantage of what the company provides to employees.
Prescription And Pharmacy Benefits
Many health coverage plans offer prescription benefits, such as lower co-pays for medicines and even no-cost prescriptions. Many pharmacy benefits contain a plan formulary along with tiered pricing for prescription drugs. The plan formulary lists the available medications under your specific prescription plan and often includes medications necessary for chronic and acute diseases.
Additionally, most prescription plans offer three different tiers of medication prices, with generic medications in the lowest cost options. The co-pay for certain prescription drugs can vary, depending on the tier the medicine is listed in.
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Ways You Can Get Started On Providing Benefits For Your Small Business Employees
Diversity Equity And Inclusion Programs
Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and initiatives encourage the representation and participation of different and often underrepresented groups, such as women, people of color, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ community. The programs may include mentorship opportunities, targeted recruitment efforts, and employee resource groups .
As with many employee benefits and perks, some DEI programs are more robust than others. So its a good idea to find out the specifics of what a company offers and how it aligns with your values and needs, rather than just noting that theyve ticked the box in offering a DEI program.
Before you accept a job offer, make sure you have a good grasp of the companys benefits and perks and how they fit into your overall compensation structure. Ask plenty of questions to get all the details of how each benefit and perk aligns with your needs and negotiate to get what you want. Keep in mind, too, that when youre searching for open jobs on The Muse, you can set filters so youll only see open positions at companies that offer the benefits and perks that matter most to you.
Erica Sweeney is a freelance journalist who covers business, careers, health, and wellness. Her work appears in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, HuffPost, Money, Business Insider, and lots more.
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Examples Of Employee Benefits For A Greater Employee Commitment
1. Cover the Medical Expenses and Insurance Cost
As goes an old saying, health is wealth. If you want your employees to be happy, keep them healthy and fit! To build the level of commitment from your employees it is essential that you provide them with benefits first. The first thing you need to do is pen down a medical coverage plan that covers their medical expenses and insurance. You can also provide them with:
A. Offer them with facilities to exercise
Your workforce will be enthusiastic to have space to work out and stay fit. This will not only save you time and money in the number of lost working days but will also facilitate a healthy environment which will result in less number of sick days marked. And it should be mentioned that turning a room in your office into a workout space is way cheaper than you can imagine. A healthy work environment not only keeps a person fit but also relieves them of stress and this is scientifically proven.
There are many organizations that incorporate this work culture into their routine, there are other organizations that offer to pay the cost of membership for their employees. Google is one such organization that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
B. Start with a health and fitness course
2. Sponsor Events for your Employees
3. No Dress Code!
4. Collect Examples of Benefits Through Employee Surveys
5. Involve your Employees in Organizational Decisions and Policies
6. Promote Effective Communication
7. Motivate your Employees
Common Types Of Employee Benefits
As mentioned earlier, the types of employee benefits you offer at your company will vary depending on various factors. Some of these might include:
- Regional labor laws
- Industry expectations
- Competitor offerings
Each of the above factors should be taken into consideration when creating your employee benefits packages. You will also need to have an eye on your offerings’ scalable cost, especially if your company is in growth mode.
Benefits like health and dental insurance come with hefty premium bills that you will need to cover. These bills will increase exponentially as your headcount increases. To plan for these costs, your team will need to establish how the employee will pay much of that premium, and how you will handle additional costs down the line.
This is just one example of the financial considerations you’ll need to consider when choosing which employee benefits to offer. Each of the benefits types listed below will require this exercise to ensure that what you’re offering is sustainable.
Before we launch into the different types of benefits that you might offer, it’s important to reiterate that regional labor laws will likely come into play during this process. Some benefits that are considered extras in one region might be mandated by law in another. Your team must review the regional labor laws for each country that you operate in to ensure that you’re providing the necessary coverage for all global employees.
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Fundamental Employee Benefits Packages And Perks
For organizations looking to get their employee benefits packages and perks kick-started, there are a few fundamental ideas to keep in mind.
Volunteer Time
A recent study found that creating a company culture that encourages volunteering can help boost employee morale, workplace atmosphere, and brand perception. This goes to show just how important it is to making volunteering accessible for staff. For example, here at Outback, our employees get a pre-determined number of paid volunteer days to use in support of the causes of their choice. They simply need to submit a request and secure approval. If youre looking for ways to give back, check out our blog article: 15 Creative Volunteer Ideas to Help Your Team Make a Difference.
Paid Sick Days and Paid Vacation Time
While this might seem like a no-brainer, a staggering 32 million U.S. workers dont get paid sick days. For organizations, this is an easy place to start for drastically improving the lives of your staff. Offering paid sick days, paid vacation days, or even unlimited PTO, goes a long way in increasing your employees quality of life.
Office Events
Sometimes one of the best perks for employees is simply getting together to do something social which has nothing to do with work. Office events like parties or happy hours can do just that. This can happen in-person or virtually if your team works remotely .
Team Building Activities
Lunch And Healthy Snacks
It is now common for companies to offer longer lunches than before.
Whereas in the past, it was typical to only offer 30 mins for a speedy lunch, many businesses are now offering up to 90 minutes. This is so employees can have more time for a relaxed lunch, and if the employees wish, time to do sport.
Whats more, companies are now offering free healthy snacks, such as fruit, in their offices. This is an attempt to keep employees happy and healthy.
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Canadian Pension Plan Contributions
Employees, employers, and self-employed individuals are required to contribute to the Canadian Pension Plan. Employers must contribute by deducting a certain percentage of an employees wage. Certain employees are exempt from this, like employees who make less than $3,500 a year. In return, employees get access to retirement pensions and survivors benefits for widows and children, as well as certain disability benefits.
Survivors benefits include either a one-time payment to the beneficiary or a monthly payment to the beneficiary. The amount an employee receives from their pension after they turn 65 depends on how much they made throughout their working years and how much they worked. To be eligible to receive survivor benefits, you have to have made contributions to the CPP for the lesser of one-third of the calendar years in their contributory period or 10 calendar years.
The amount that employers have to contribute varies from year to year, but to give you an example, in 2021 the employee and employer contribution rate was a 5.45% deduction based on the employees salary. See CPP 2022 Maximum Pensionable Earnings.
An Employee Benefits Program: What Is It
First, lets define what an employee benefits program is before diving further into how much it will cost and how to get the most out of your budget. There are two types of benefits that go into a plan mandatory and voluntary benefits.
Mandatory benefits include Social Security contributions, workers compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, and under certain state and local laws, paid sick leave.
Almost all other benefits, such as health insurance, pension programs, paid-time-off benefits, or other, unique benefits are entirely voluntary and are determined by the employer, or more accurately, by the market.
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Canada’s Universal Health System
When it comes to health benefits, the Government of Canada provides basic health coverage through it’s publicly-funded universal health care system. Coverage is for basic healthcare such as hospital and emergency room care, doctor visits, and various medical services like X-Rays or MRIs.
Provinces and territories administer and deliver health care services according to the Canada Health Act.
Additional Benefits To Consider
15. Employee Assistance Program According to SHRM, An employee assistance program is a work-based intervention program designed to identify and assist employees in resolving personal problems that may be adversely affecting the employees performance.
15. Pet InsurancePet insurance helps cover the costs of veterinary treatment in the event of illness or injury. Some policies will also pay out if a pet dies, is lost or stolen, causes injury to a third party, or damages a third partys property.
Aside from the 16 benefits listed above, employers interested in recruiting and retaining the best talent should consider offering benefits that include the following:
- Time-off benefits.
- Health and wellness benefits, including gym memberships or reimbursement, wellness programs, etc.
- Scholarships or tuition reimbursement.
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What Are Employee Benefits
Employee benefits include non-wage compensation in addition to regular salary. Various types of employee benefits typically include medical insurance, dental and vision coverage, life insurance and retirement planning, but there can be many more types of benefits and perks that employers choose to provide to their employees.
Additionally, many of the benefits employers provide are reserved for full-time employees, though it is not that uncommon to find benefits packages available to part-time workers.
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Benefits That Are Required By Law
When putting together a package, the first thing youll want to make sure to include is the plans youre required to offer by law.
Bear in mind that employment laws differ by country and state. Here, were going to outline the specific federal requirements in the US.
All companies operating in the US are required to offer these benefits:
- Workers’ compensation insurance. This covers the costs of medical care, rehabilitation costs, replacement income, etc., for those who become ill or injured as a result of their job
- Social Security and Medicare contributions
- Minimum wage requirements and overtime pay
- Unemployment insurance. This provides partial replacement of income for a short period of time if your employee involuntarily loses their job with you
- Disability insurance
In addition, employers with 50 or more full-time employees must provide:
- Family and medical leave
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How Much Are Your Benefits Really Worth
Getty
Are you overlooking the real value of your benefits when you think about your compensation? Probably. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, benefits accounted for about 32% of employer costs of compensation for U.S. workers in June 2018, with salary making up the other 68%.
Thats an impressive number to start with, but when you look at it from the perspective of the employee, the impact is more striking. Employer-paid benefits improved wages for private industry workers by 46.6% . Did I mention that most of those employee benefits are not taxable to the employee?
Its a good time to practice some benefits appreciation.
While youre making decisions about your health insurance and other employee benefits for the upcoming year during this open enrollment season, I invite you to take some time to calculate and appreciate their value. Think of it this way: if you were self-employed, youd have to earn more than 50% more per hour to pay your own benefits costs plus the employers share of FICA taxes . Thats assuming you could get similar pricing on insurance, which is unlikely. While there are many advantages to being your own boss, lack of access to group insurance coverages and retirement planning contributions arent in the plus column.
How to estimate the financial value of your benefits
Whats your total?
Most Commonly Offered Employee Benefits
Creating a truly competitive and compelling employee benefits package can be a struggle especially for smaller companies. As an employer, you are required to offer certain benefits, like social security taxes, unemployment insurance, and workers compensation, plus some others based upon the size of your company, not the least of which is medical insurance per the ACA’s “employer mandate“.
Providing employee benefits can get expensive fast, but you can only do what you can afford to do. The goal is to remain competitive in the marketplace, not to become a total outlier. And remember, cost-sharing with employees is normal these days and employees expect to pay a portion of insurance costs.
In addition, there are plenty of low cost benefit options at your disposal to help sweeten the deal. But where to start? Here is a list of typical benefits packages offered by American businesses.
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Education And Tuition Assistance
If youve just finished an undergraduate degree, you may be thinking about how much of your salary will go toward paying back student loans each month.
Some employers are now helping employees pay back their loans.
Should your benefits package offer tuition reimbursement or stipends for continuing education, it may reduce your expenses for furthering your education or pursuing an advanced degree.
Dont dismiss the importance of this benefit if your career path will require you to take continuing education classes, go back to school, or if you have an interest in pursuing a Masters or Ph.D. program.
Give Concrete Reasons For Your Requests
Employers want to have healthy, happy, and productive employees. If remote work for a percentage of each month will give you a better work/life balance and reduce stress levels, explain that to your employer in detail. A company-sponsored daycare service may also give you the assurance and time needed to focus on your job responsibilities if you have children that need to be watched. The perks or benefits you seek should have a purpose and work toward improving your quality of life and work productivity.
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Employee Benefits Plan Structures
In many organizations – especially those that don’t have endless capital like Google – it will be necessary to establish a payment framework for your offer’s employee benefits.
Two popular ways that companies can structure their employee benefits plans are:
- Organization-led benefits
- Employee-led benefits
Organization-led benefits occur when the company offers its employees a specific and clearly defined benefit or group of benefits. These employee benefits are both owned and structured by the employer, with no input from the employee. Examples of organization-led benefits include health insurance and retirement plans.
This benefits plan ensures that the organization has complete control over the cost associated with these programs and how they can use them.
ââ¬ï¿½Employee-led benefits, on the other hand, are funded by the employer and customized by the employee. These benefits can be used in a way that suits each employee’s needs. Examples of employee-led benefits might include healthcare spending accounts, personalized benefits programs, or fitness subsidies.
Large organizations might choose to take a hybrid approach to their total benefits program to ensure that each offering provides the best value for them and their employees.