Employee benefits normally go beyond health insurance and some retirement planning.
Many employees have access to a wide range of financial and healthcare services. The only issue is that many employees aren’t aware of how to maximize their benefits.
Employee perks can include a wide range of benefits, including dental care, mental health care, and financial advice.
According to a comprehensive survey conducted by Businessolver, almost one-third of employees are confused by their benefits packages. This confusion normally centers around enrollment processes and ensuring they receive all available benefits.
Are you among the one in three Americans that doesn’t know exactly what benefits you have access to?
In this article, we will:
The most basic and direct starting point is a full review of your employer’s benefits package.
They have already laid out which benefits some employees qualify for, which includes some mix of:
When you see a benefit laid out, the next step is to gain some clarity. If you have any questions about what you see, don’t hesitate to ask HR or your supervisor. Employees often need some help to understand their available benefits and the relevant enrollment processes.
After that, the only question is whether you will take full advantage of your benefits.
Many employees do understand some of their benefits, but fail to take advantage of them. For example, if a gym membership is on the table, you need to be willing to actually go regularly to benefit from the offer.
Other benefits for your physical and mental health are there so you can improve your health and be a more reliable employee. But being healthy is a benefit in itself, and it directly leads to lower healthcare expenses later in life.
Other benefits produce different types of mental roadblocks for employees who may want to claim them.
Some retirement or flexible spending accounts may produce an opportunity for significant savings. But you need to know not only how to enroll, but how to personally take responsibility for maximizing the account’s benefits.
Even after unlocking the full power of your benefits, you will need to take some time to manage them going forward.
Also, employers make changes to their benefits packages. So, make sure you review your benefits and the available benefits from time to time. An annual “checkup” is normally all you really need to stay on top of them.
Once you’ve done all of the above, you just need to set priorities and make sure you’re truly getting the greatest possible benefits.
But as an employee, you have some control over how your retirement benefits work.
You may want to consider increasing your employee contributions. But this requires you to do the math yourself to find out whether it’s worth it. Under many plans, it makes sense to maximize your own contributions for both tax savings and maximizing employer contributions.
But you can’t overlook available flexible spending accounts and other benefits.
Flexible spending accounts enable you to spend pre-taxed dollars on eligible healthcare expenses. If your employer offers such a plan, don’t overlook it because the math is on your side.
Your supervisor or HR colleagues should be able to clarify all of these considerations for you.
Beyond this, the only way to actually improve your benefits package beyond what was in the fine print when you started is to ask for more. In some cases negotiating is the last step to maximizing employee benefits.
Negotiating can be intimidating if you’re shy or haven’t negotiated before.
Trying to squeeze more benefits out of some employers can be a stressful process, too.
Take a few steps to make the negotiating process better for you.
You must know what is on offer, what isn’t, and what constitutes reasonable expectations for someone in your position.
Fortunately, the internet makes this kind of research easier. The rest can be found out through conversations with colleagues. If a co-worker in your position was able to negotiate better benefits, you can arm yourself with those facts to maximize employee benefits.
Be clear about what you want and why you think you should have it. This confidence and clarity make it easier to make your voice heard while appearing reasonable. It’s just a bit harder to say “no” outright.
It’s not just about asking for some benefits that your co-workers have.
You may be in a position to ask for more than they do (or less). Knowing your relative skillset and the value you bring to your company gives you bargaining chips. Bring up any unique value you provide to the company to make a stronger case.
But if you try sometimes, you get something else. Negotiation is a give-and-take process, so be ready to compromise to find a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Collect receipts, get it in writing, and don’t walk away with nothing but empty promises.
This ensures that you and your employer have a clear understanding and no one side is unpleasantly surprised due to mismatched expectations.
Everything we’ve gone over can be applied to any kind of employee benefit. But there are a few health benefits that are worth special attention. Find out if your employer offers these benefits, and get yourself an adequate package:
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