Employee Benefits
It's no secret that employees value benefits. Surveys have shown that workers value employee benefits second only to the wages they earn. By providing employee benefits for your employees, you may find it easier to hire and retain the best workers for your company.
Additionally, there are various tax incentives available to you and your employees when you participate in group insurance plans. Businesses can generally deduct a major portion of the premiums they pay on for their employee’s benefits and you can also reduce your payroll taxes. Also, there are new plans that use additional tax savings techniques to lower the cost of health care for both the employee and employer. Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Accounts are becoming increasingly popular do to their lower cost and increased consumer control of their health care decisions.
Group Health
Health insurance is one of the most important benefits employers provide to employees.
Types of Plans Include:
PPO - (Preferred Provider Network) medical plan will give you more freedom and flexibility since these plans offer both in-network and out-of-network benefits. And, referrals are not necessary for care.
From a very rich PPO with no In-Network deductible and small co pays for routine office visits to a very lean plan with a $2,000 In-Network deductible and 20% coinsurance for all benefits, we can help you find a plan that is right for you.
HMO - (Health
Maintenance Organization) medical plan that allows you to choose a
primary care physician (PCP) to guide and coordinate care within a
network of providers. Key highlights of these plans are:
- Specific provider network
- Referrals required for specialty care on some plans
- Generally lower overall out-of-pocket costs for care
HSA - (Health Savings Accounts) medical plan paired with a high deductible health plan to allow you to save money for future medical expenses on a tax exempt or tax deferred basis. Key highlights are:
- Eligible to make tax-deductible contributions to an HSA account
- HSA account grows and savings can be carried over to subsequent years
- Nationwide network of providers
- No referrals necessary
HRA - (Health Reimbursement Account) are an, employer-funded accounts that employees can draw upon to pay qualified medical expenses, are usually offered as part of consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs), a fast-growing marketplace solution to rising health care costs.
HRA’s and HSA‘s are terrific new options for the right employer. We will be happy to have an in-depth conversation to determine if these programs are right for you and your company.
Short-term health insurance plans are a great solution when you're between jobs, waiting for group coverage to start, or if you're a recent college graduate.
- Flexible and affordable temporary health insurance for up to six months
- Short, simple and secure online applications
- Immediate protection - your coverage may start within 24 hours
POS - (Point of Service) plan in which you choose a Plan Primary care physician (PCP). Referrals are not required. This plan combines medical expense and HMO benefits.
- If the insured goes outside the network for medical services, the benefit is paid from the medical expense portion of the plan with very high deductibles and copayments due.
- If the insured stays inside the network, benefits are paid as an HMO. POS plans were developed to enlarge the number of providers over the HMO plans.
Group Dental
Over 55% of all businesses offer dental insurance either totally or partially paid by the employer. All dental plans emphasize preventive care while many provide coverage for major procedures and orthodontic.
**(PPO) preferred provider organization plans available. A smaller network of dentists who participate have agreed to accept lower reimbursement for services, thereby lowering employees' out-of-pocket costs.**
Coverage Options:
- Diagnostic and Preventative Care - Including oral exams, cleaning, sealants, X-rays
- Basic Dental Care - Including filings, extractions, denture repair
- Major Dental Care - Including crowns, implants, dentures
- Orthodontics
- Provides 1 routine annual examination (refraction).
Group Vision
Vision plans can be either voluntary or employee-paid.
- May provide payment for the cost of lenses, frames, contact lenses, but not the cost to replace frames or lenses that are broken or lost. Does not pay for safety or sunglasses.
- It does not pay for medical expenses resulting from disease or injuries to the eye.
Group Life insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment are incorporated in most employee benefit plans. The amounts can vary widely from employer to employer but most often you will see two formulas for the amount of benefit:
- A percentage of an employee's annual income typically 1, 1, or 2 times.
- A classed approach with different
amounts for each class, typically including:
- Owners
- Officers and Management
- Supervisors and all remaining employees.
**There are some business uses of life insurance for individual policies as well.
Group Short & Long Term Disability
Disability benefits are payments that provide income when an employee can no longer work due to an illness or accident.
Short-Term Disability (STD):
- Short term disability covers a percentage of an employee's income (typically 60% to a weekly maximum benefit) to a maximum duration of 13 to 26 weeks. This disability plan is always less than 2 years.
- An elimination period* may be short as zero days for accident and 7 days for sickness but rarely more than 15 or 30 days
- Any employer with 20 or more employees covered by the STD plan must pay the same level of benefits to those employees age 65 or over as those under age 65.
*Elimination period is the number of days that must be exhausted
while the insured is disabled before receiving benefits from policy.
Long-Term Disability (LTD):
- Long-term disability coverage is characterized by benefits periods of 2 years, 5 years, or will provide benefits to age 65 or social security retirement age while providing 60% of an employee's monthly income to some specified amount.
- An elimination period typically consists of 30, 60, 90, or 180 days.
- Normally a waiver of premium for disability applies after a prolonged period specified by the policy.
- Any employer with 20 or more employees covered by the LTD plan must pay the same level of benefits to those employees age 65 or over as those under age 65.
Special Uses:
- Business Overhead Expense - provides funds to cover the overhead expense of a business when the owner becomes disabled (office rent, employee labor, etc.).
- Buy-Sell Agreement - pays lump sum, enabling a partnership or business to buy out the totally disabled partner's interest in the business. (Policy Benefit Payment usually received tax free).
- Key Employee Insurance - Benefits paid to the business when a key employee becomes disables to cover replacement, loss of revenue, training expenses, etc.
- Disability Reducing Term - designed to help a business that has long-term commitments requiring monthly payments meet their obligations in the event that the owner or key employee were totally disabled. The policy is in effect for a fixed term, the length of the loan or other commitments, with the amount of coverage gradually decreasing annually as the amount due is paid off.
Group Long Term Care
Long Term Care is the kind of care people need when they are no longer able to handle Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) including bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, continence, and transferring. LTC insurance can play a key role in making a good benefits package a great benefits package. LTC may also attract and retain top talent when included as part of a carve-out plan for key employees.
Research shows that on a national average, one year in a nursing home can cost upwards $75,000 and may cost even more if care is received at home. LTC insurance provides a source of funds specifically designated to help pay for those costs. Long Term Care offers the benefit of protection of retirement savings.
Group LTC Corporate Solutions Advantages include:
- Flexible plan designs
- Discounted premiums
- Favorable tax advantages
- Simplified Underwriting
- Minimal participation requirements
Deferred Compensation
Deferred Compensation is more of an individual agreement than a plan.
Purpose of Plan:
- It is used in deferring income and secondarily on the aspect of retirement income.
- Deferred Compensation helps to spread out the receipt of income beyond the executive's prime working life and lowers the tax bracket.
- Basically used as an incentive plan in which the employer promises to pay key employees and/or executives certain amounts of money at a specified future date (usually retirement).
- The agreement usually covers more than one executive.
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) - a nonqualified (not tax deductible) deferred compensation plan that allows employers to provide additional retirement income to executives, key employees, or highly compensated employees. It gives employers the option to provide benefits beyond those of traditional qualified plans, such as 401(k) plans.
Disclaimer
**The feature icons displayed are a summary for informational purposes only. Review the evidence of coverage and insurance policy (plan contract) for a detailed description of coverage benefits, limitations, and exclusions.**