Take Full Advantage of Your Workplace Benefits

There are few things in life as potentially exciting and nerve wracking as getting that first job out of college.  After years of studying during college (and possibly grad school), building contacts throughout your field, polishing and re-polishing your resumes, going through rounds of interviews, you finally receive the job offer you want.

The salary is in line with what you’re looking for, you have a pretty decent commute and there is plenty of room for advancement.  Finding yourself in this “dream job” scenario is definitely a cause for celebration.

But once the party is over, it really pays to look at the COMPLETE picture of what your new position can offer you.  If you don’t, you risk potentially losing a lot of money and benefits.

Receiving a paycheck is the obvious benefit of working at a new job, but it is not the only benefit.  Every workplace is different, but there are many benefits that you could potentially be eligible for that go unused.

And no matter how nice upper management or HR seem, they will usually not go out of their way to tell you about all the benefits you’re missing.  Here are some of the benefits that many people leave on the table but really shouldn’t because it’s like throwing away free money.

Health Insurance

One of the biggest benefits of employment is affordable health insurance.  While healthcare premiums are usually cheaper for employees, you still have to choose the correct health plan based on your needs.

With the emergence of high deductible health plans (HDHP’s), this decision has become a little more difficult.  HDHP’s have lower premiums than traditional health plans, but they have higher deductibles to meet.  Which means you’ll have to pay more out of pocket before the insurance will start to cover anything.

This can be a good situation if you don’t usually spend money on healthcare throughout the year.  That’s because if you enroll in a HDHP, not only will you have much lower premiums than a traditional low deductible plan, you can also enroll in a Health Savings Account (HSA).

HSA’s allow you to set aside pre tax funds to pay for future healthcare expenses.  The best part is that the account is yours for life and can grow tax free.  A very effective tax savings tool.  Read more about them here.

But if you tend to spend a lot of money on healthcare, a HDHP may not be the answer for you.  Most companies will give you plenty of resources to make the right decision.  The employee still needs to do the work and choose the best plan for them.

Another aspect of health insurance that has caught on recently is the addition of “wellness incentives”.  These are discounts your company gives if you meet certain criteria regarding your health.

For example, my current company gives a discount on your health insurance premium if you are a non-smoker.  Getting a yearly physical with lab work will get you another discount as well.

This helps you by saving money and it helps the company because healthy employees means more productivity.  Many colleagues overlook these easy discounts.  It’s almost like free money since you just have to fill out some forms.

Retirement

With the overall demise of workplace pensions, most employers offer a 401k retirement plan.  This means that the employee is completely responsible for their own retirement.  If you do it wrong, you could end up with nothing in retirement.  If you do it right, you could be a multi millionaire.  No pressure!

A big advantage of 401k’s is that contributions are deducted before taxes, meaning you don’t pay any taxes on contributions the year you contribute but you will pay when you eventually withdraw the money.  The ideal scenario is to contribute as much as you can when have a high income with high taxes, and withdraw the money when your taxes are relatively low during retirement.

Another great perk is the 401k company match.  This is the amount your company will contribute into your account up to a certain percentage.  A common match offer is the company matching your contribution up to 3%.  Some generous companies will throw in some money even if you don’t contribute at all.  At least contribute enough to get the full match.  From there, you should look at your entire financial situation to see if paying off debt or contributing money elsewhere would be a good move.

Many employees don’t contribute to their 401k.  And it’s a darn shame.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 30% of employees who have access to a 401k contribute anything at all.  That’s going to produce a lot of poor people in retirement.  It’s a great “forced” savings plan that will save you on taxes today and provide you with money to live on down the line.  I can’t think of an easier way to pay yourself first.

As I mentioned before, 401k’s require participation on the employees part.  And they can be confusing for financial novices.  Here is a great guide to help get you started with understanding your 401k plan.

Health coverage and retirement accounts are two of the biggest benefits offered by employers.  It’s important to take full advantage of both of these offerings.  If you have any questions about how to fully optimize your plan, contact your HR department or shoot me an email.