Benefits and Services

1. Benefits and Services • What Happened • The imposition of wage ceilings during World War II • Decline of paternalism • Union pressure • Tax law • Public policy shifts of cost from government to the private sector

2. Benefits and Services • Once upon a time "fringe benefits" were of marginal importance. In 1929 benefits were approximately 3 percent of wages and salaries. • By 1991 benefits had risen to be 38.2 percent of wages and salaries. • Between these two periods wages and salaries rose by a factor of 55 while benefits increased by a factor of 716.

3. Benefits And Services • What Do Employers Expect? • Improved productivity • Increased job satisfaction • Improved quality • Reduction in turn-over and absenteeism • Enhanced sense of security

4. Benefits and Services • Benefits and services become complicated very quickly because of the number of available components, the variety of optional features within a component, and their legal and financial interactions.

5. Benefits and Services • Employee Benefits Those compensation components made available to employees that provide: • Protection in case of health and accident-related problems, and • Income at some future date or occasion.

6. Employee Services • Compensation components that contribute to the welfare of the employee by filling some kind of demand. • Total employee benefits as a percent of payroll 39.2 • Legally required payments 8.9 • Retirement and savings 6.0

7. Employee Services • Life and death insurance 0.5 • Medical benefits 10.4 • Paid rest periods 2.2 • Pay for time not worked 10.4 • Miscellaneous benefits 0.9

8. Benefits Planning And Design Criteria • Minimum age and length of service. • Employee contributions an vesting schedule for pension plan. • Coinsurance, deductible, ceiling requirements, and dual coverage for medical insurance. • Options to be included in the medical plan. • What employees will be covered, and what about retirees and dependents.

9. Critical Issues In Benefit Planning • Current and future role of government-mandated benefits. • Employee demographics and employee preferences. • Possible use of self-funding and third-party administrator. • Employer ability to pay and employee contributions. • Monitoring and auditing programs.

10. Benefits Communication • Benefits became viewed as entitlement and employers were loosing the motivational value of their programs. • The response was the development of sophisticated communication programs to inform employees of how much they were receiving through their benefits programs.

11. Basic Benefits Communication • New employees receive oral and visual presentations of the benefit program, and an • Annual benefit statement that provides a description of the employee's benefit account.

12. Basic Benefits Communication • The employee has access to in-house benefit consultant services. • Ad-hoc employee meetings to cover new benefits, changes, and critical issues. • On-going communication of benefit info.

13. Employee Benefits Employee Benefits Can Be Classified As: • Disability Income Continuation • Loss-of-Job Income Continuation • Deferred Income • Spouse or Family Income Continuation • Health and Accident Protection • Property and Liability Protection • Perquisites

14. Disability Income • Short-Term Disability • L-T Disability • Worker's Compensation • Sick Leave • Non-Occupational Disability • Travel Accident Insurance • Supplemental Disability Insurance

15. Disability Income • Accidental Death And Dismemberment • Retirement Plans • T-P Disability • Social Security

16. Loss-Of-Job Income • Unemployment Insurance (Ui) • Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Insurance (Sub) • Guaranteed Annual Income (Gai) • Guaranteed Income Stream (Gis) • Severance Pay • Job Contract

17. Deferred Income • Social Security • Qualified Retirement Plan • Pension / Profit Sharing / Stock Bonus • Simplified Employee Pension Plans (Sep)

18. Deferred Income • Keogh Plans • Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans • Supplemental and Executive Group Life Insurance Plans

19. Spouse and Family IncomeProtection • Life Insurance • Retirement Plans • Social Security • Workers Comp • Tax-Sheltered Annuity • AD & D • Travel Accident Insurance • Health Care Coverage

20. Basic Medical, Hospital, and Surgical Major Medical Dental Visual Comprehensive Physical Hearing Aid In-House Medical Services HMO's PPO's Social Security (Medicare) Post-Retirement Medical Workers' Comp Health and Accident Protection

21. Property and Liability Protection • Group Auto / Home / Legal • Group Umbrella Liability • Employee Liability • Fidelity Bond Insurance

22. Employee Services • Pay For Time Not Worked • Holidays / Vacations / Jury Duty / Sick Leave • Election Official / Witness In Court • Military Duty / Funeral Leave / Marriage Leave

23. Employee Services • Illness In Family / Paternity Leave / • Wellness Leave / Time Off To Vote / Give Blood • Grievance And Contract Negotiations • Lunch, Rest, And Wash-up Periods

24. Time Off From Work Without Pay • The family and medical leave act passed in 1993 granted up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a variety of purposes, including a worker's own illness or that of a spouse or a parent.

25. Charitable Contributions Counseling (Legal, Financial, Psychiatric) Education Subsidies Child Adoption Child Care Elderly Care Parking Subsidized Food Service Travel Expenses Relocation Expense Emergency Loans Credit Union Income Equivalent Payments and Reimbursements

26. Costing Benefits • Costing is an essential prerequisite to any worthwhile benefits communication program. • Four methods are available for costing benefits and services: • Annual cost of benefits and services for all employees. • Cost per employee per year. • Percentage of payroll • Cents per hour

27. Flexible Compensation / Benefits(Cafeteria Plans) • Originally the flexible compensation / benefits plan was designed to enable senior executives, top professionals, and managers to choose individually many of their benefits and services.

28. Flexible Compensation / Benefits(CafeteriaPlans) • However, organizations are looking to the flex plans today as an opportunity to: • Contain the cost of benefits • Satisfy employee preference • Provide choice

29. Flexible Compensation / Benefits • Flex plans are designed to accomplish four goals that are considered fundamental to the development of a successful program. It increases or improves: • Appreciation of the interest and desire of the employer to improve the quality of life of each employee.

30. Flexible Compensation / Benefits • Loyalty and Motivation. • Understanding of Value of Each Benefit. • Understanding Of Value Of Total Program

31. Establishing A Flex Plan • Three Major Groups Must Participate In the Design of a Flex Plan: • Senior Management for setting objectives and determining policy. GOALS

32. Establishing A Flex Plan • Compensation and human resource specialists for guiding the development of and assisting in the construction of a program that meets organizational objectives and demands of the employees. • Employees for providing initial inputs about what should be included in a benefits program.

33. Employee Spending Accounts • This is a tax-free reimbursement account designed to moderate or possibly reduce the rising cost of benefits for the employee while at the same time giving the employer greater control over the benefit expenditures.

34. Employee Spending Accounts • Employee are allowed to convert a portion of taxable wages or salaries into nontaxable dollars to be used to pay for specific benefits.

35. Employee Spending Accounts • While reducing their taxable income, they can use the funds to pay for: • Uncovered medical expenses. • Premiums for health, life, and disability insurance. • Dependent care assistance. • Legal services. • Personal financial planning.

36. Benefits in the 90's • EAP’s • Adoption Expenses • Child Care Assistance • Paternity Leave • Long-Term Care • Flex Hours • Work-At-Home