05 Nov Why Voluntary Benefits Are a Must-Have for Many Employers
Sometimes called supplemental insurance or employee-paid benefits, voluntary benefits are products that employees may choose to add to their existing insurance plans. They are offered through the workplace, but can be paid entirely or partially by employees through payroll deferral.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a large employer to offer voluntary benefits. In fact, some plans require companies to have a minimum of two to five employees to qualify, or no minimum at all.
Advantages to Employees
Traditional voluntary benefits offered include life, vision, dental, disability, critical illness and accident insurance. Other non-traditional or “soft” volunteer benefits are aimed at meeting the diverse needs of employees. These include financial planning, online education, retail or ticket discounts, gym memberships and even concierge services.
Voluntary benefits are attractive to employees because they offer the flexibility to respond to a person’s unique circumstances and lifestyle. Many benefits are also portable, allowing employees to maintain coverage even if they change jobs as long as they pay the premiums. In addition, with the cost of healthcare on the rise, voluntary benefits are affordable and can often be deducted via payroll using pre-tax dollars.
Advantages to Employers
A main advantage to employers is that voluntary benefits can be offered while incurring only the expense of administration. With healthcare costs on the rise, the availability of competitively priced insurance products can provide employees increased job satisfaction and financial confidence.
Employers, especially small businesses where each team member is critical to the company’s success, constantly seek ways to retain staff and attract the best talent. Voluntary benefits help smaller businesses compete with larger competitors by offering a benefits package that can be tailored to an individual’s changing needs.
There are a number of ways to obtain voluntary benefits, such as through a reputable employee benefits firm that can help you determine what suits your employees’ needs, your organization and your budget the best.
Pacific Federal is a subsidiary of Zenith American Solutions.