Employee benefits are important for multiple reasons. As one of the best ways to gain and retain employees, what a company offers in terms of a benefits package matters more than some might think. Second to treating employees well on a personal level, comprehensive benefits show your employees that you care about them and their quality of life both at work and at home.
Types Of Employee Benefits To Consider Offering
401K & Retirement Plans
Everyone wants a dream retirement and that looks different for everyone, if you don’t invest in a retirement plan early on in your career, the idyllic retirement may slip through your fingers. If being able to afford to retire is a concern for you, it is absolutely a concern for your employees.
A 401(k) plan is the most popular retirement plan option and is offered by employers. The employee chooses a percentage of their wages to be automatically deducted and deposited into their account. The employer can match whatever percentage they want of that contribution. Contributions to 401(k) plans are tax-free until they are disbursed, which is usually when the employee retires.
Another common retirement investment plan is an IRA. There are several different types of IRA, including Traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE. These are tax-advantaged retirement plans and have different tax liabilities. IRA’s have contribution and income limits which are prone to change.
Your New City Employee Benefits Consultant will be able to explain these retirement plan options in more detail and help you decide which is best to offer your employees.
Group Health Insurance
One of the first benefits that employees ask prospective employers about is health care.The costs of healthcare are constantly increasing, and no one is immune, making health insurance a large part of employees’ compensation. It is not uncommon to see people leave better paying jobs for lower pay if the health insurance offering is more robust.
Group health insurance helps businesses cover health care costs for their employees. It is a more affordable option than an individual plan and typically offers medical, dental, and vision. The premiums for group health insurance are paid with pretax dollars, allowing your employees to pay less in taxes. As an employer, your payroll taxes are reduced when you enroll in a group health insurance policy.
There are three types of group health insurance plans. HMO, PPO, and EPO. Each plan has different requirements and premiums attached to it.
PTO
Statistics show that across the board, regardless of industry or job title, the average American is likely to work overtime on any given week. Eventually, employees will need some kind of break. Offering Paid Time Off (PTO) is a very popular incentive that has a lot of benefits for both the employee and employer. The ability to accrue paid time off is an incentive for hard work. Having a bank of PTO also encourages employees to schedule time off instead of calling out, which causes staffing issues.
Wellness Plans
Wellness plans are a more up and coming offering by many employers. In the current social push for preventative services, to include mental health services, wellness plans have exploded in popularity. Similar to PTO, wellness plans go a long way for employee morale. Access encourages employees to be healthier, which results in fewer sick days, more job satisfaction, and increased efficiency.
These plans generally focus on things like weight loss, exercise, cessation of smoking, and wellness assessments. Weight loss and exercise can be turned into competitions, which have the added benefit of social interaction as well. Incentivizing preventative care has the potential to also lower health care costs. This would be especially beneficial for a group health insurance model.
Speak To Experienced Employee Benefits Consultants
The experts at New City Insurance have over 10 years of experience assisting employers like you successfully utilize benefits to increase employee retention and satisfaction. Contact us today to learn how we can set your company’s benefits up to increase employee morale and retention.