Employee-Benefits

Small companies have a challenge to compete with bigger companies for talent is an uphill battle—especially when it comes to offering the benefits. Though you know recruiting and retention is important for a company, you may not be sure if the benefits you are offering are adding a value for your potential employees.

We have listed 14 types of benefits you currently have available, and see if you’re offering things prospective employees are really looking for.

There are four major types of benefits most of the companies offer to their employees, medical insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and retirement plans. Below, we’ve closely categorized these types of employee benefits and given a basic definition of each.

Medical

1. Medical Insurance
It is one of the four major types of benefits mostly offered by companies. It includes hospital and doctor visits, surgeries, and prescriptions. Employers usually cover a portion of this premium.

2. Dental Insurance
Most dental policies accentuate prevention and checkups, normally considering annual checkups and cleanings, X-rays, and sometimes fluoride treatments etc.

3. Vision Insurance
Vision insurance is provided to the employees for expenses related to the ongoing vision care expenses like routine eye checkups, prescribed glasses/contact lenses.

4. Flexible Spending Account (FSA)A Flexible Spending Account (also known as a flexible spending arrangement) is an account where employees can contribute money to pay for uncertain out of pocket health care costs. It is a non taxable/Pre-tax deduction, which means they save an amount equal to the taxes they would have paid on the money you contributed. As an employer, you may make contributions to your FSA. The amount you elect must be used in that plan year.

5. Health Savings Account (HSA)
This is almost similar to the FSA, an HSA is a savings account that lets employees set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses. Employee can use the funds saved in HSA account to pay for deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and some other expenses, which can minimize the overall health care costs. An HSA can be used only if employees have a qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). HSA funds accumulate year to year if employees don’t spend them. An HSA may earn interest, which is not taxable. (Healthcare.gov).

6. Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs), sometimes called Health Reimbursement Arrangements, are group health plans funded by the employer, from which your employees are reimbursed tax-free for qualified medical expenses up to a fixed dollar amount per year. Unused amounts may be rolled over to be used in subsequent years. Employers fund and own accounts. (Healthcare.gov)

7. Cancer Insurance
Cancer insurance is an insurance policy that pays only after cancer has been diagnosed. Cancer insurance is supplemental insurance, and pay policyholders a lump sum upon diagnosis with a covered cancer, while others offer supplemental payments for healthcare costs. (MAACenter.org).

8. Critical Illness Insurance
Critical Illness insurance, also referred to as Critical Care insurance or Critical Illness coverage, provides a lump-sum cash benefit to help cover expenses associated with a qualifying serious illness. (UHC.com)

9. Hospital Insurance
Hospital insurance is a health insurance for hospital costs. The employee must pay a monthly premium for private insurance. Federal or state employees do not. (TheLawDictionary.org)

Life

10. Life Insurance
A life insurance policy is a contract with an insurance company. In exchange for premium payments, the insurance company provides a lump-sum insurance amount, known as a death benefit, to the beneficiaries upon the death.

11. Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
Accidental death and dismemberment, according to NerdWallet, ”pays out if you die or get seriously injured in an accident, such as a car crash. The payout for injuries is limited to cases where you lose a limb or finger; lose sight, speech or hearing; or suffer paralysis or coma as the result of an accident. The coverage overlaps a little with life insurance and disability insurance, but it shouldn’t be considered as a replacement for either one.”

Disability

12. Disability Insurance
Disability insurance pays a portion of an employee’s income if they can’t work for an extended period because of an illness or injury. There are two types of disability insurance you can offer: short-term and long-term. This NerdWallet article breaks down the differences between short-term disability insurance and long-term disability insurance.

13. Accident Insurance
Accident insurance helps employees pay for the medical and out-of-pocket costs that you may incur after an accidental injury. This includes emergency treatment, hospital stays, and medical exams, and other expenses they may face, such as transportation and lodging needs. (eHealthinsurance.com)

Retirement

14. 401(k) & 403(b) Retirement Plans:-
This is a retirement plan where employees can contribute from their paychecks. A 401(k) plan is a defined-contribution retirement account offered by employers to their employees. Employees can make contributions to their 401(k) accounts through automatic payroll withholding, and their employers can match some or all of those contributions.

There are mainly two types of 401k plans:-Traditional 401(k) & Roth 401(k) sometimes referred to as a "designated Roth account." The two are similar in many aspects, but they taxed differently. An employee can have either type of account or both.