| Larger
Companies
 As
a larger employer with 50 or more employees, you are already keenly aware
of the importance of your employee benefit plans to attract and retain
good staff. However, as premiums rise, it becomes more difficult to
balance the conflicting demands of cost and coverage. Creative plan design
and good cost management are important to your success in this ever
changing arena. You must constantly stay in touch with new laws, new
product trends and new challenges as the needs of your employee workforce
change and the business environment changes around you. Plan designs
for larger companies vary greatly and will depend on your workforce.
Programs often include:
LIFE/AD&D
MEDICAL
DENTAL
LONG TERM
DISABILITY
SHORT TERM
DISABILITY
SUPPLEMENTAL
SHORT TERM DISABILITY
VOLUNTARY
PAYROLL DEDUCTION PLANS
SECTION
125 PLANS INCLUDING MEDICAL AND DEPENDENT CARE SPENDING ACCOUNTS
Some companies also offer Group Long Term Care Insurance, Employee
Assistance Programs, Group Travel/Accident Plans, Group Auto, Homeowners
and even help for Financial Planning, Group Legal Services or other
Benefit enhancements. Traditionally, many of these programs traditionally
haven't been available to companies of your size.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about how a
company like yours can get more value for your employee benefit dollars, please
fill out our Information Request Form and we will be in touch shortly
with a response.
Group Term Life/AD&D is often the only life insurance many
employees will carry. It is an inexpensive way to enhance your group
employee benefit program and provides significant value for an employee's
peace of mind. In today's competitive environment, many employers offer
not only employer paid based life insurance but supplemental or voluntary
group life insurance which allows employees to purchase additional amounts
of coverage at attractive group rates through payroll deduction.
Medical and Prescription Drug Coverage is often the foundation for
most employee benefits plans provided today. Surveys have shown that it is
often the most asked-for benefit coverage by employees and prospective
employees today. At the same time, pressure on premium rates has been
increasing in recent years and employers are now regularly faced with
double digit rate increases on their group medical and prescription card
programs. In order to better manage your costs, creative benefit plan
design is required. In some cases, employers are choosing to offer
multiple plans to their employees with varying contribution schedules to
support the program. Other employers have switched to a
"defined contribution" cafeteria plan approach, while still
others have explored self-funded and partially self-funded insurance
Dental Insurance is often requested by employees, however, many
employers have found it necessary to reduce or in some cases eliminate
their dental plan due to the premium increases they are facing for their
medical plan. In order to make your company stand out among the
competition when recruiting new employees or to retaining existing
ones, consider adding dental to your program today. Depending on the size
of your company and the location(s) of your employees, plans can be
designed on an employer paid, employee paid or a combination
employer/employee paid basis.
Long Term Disability Coverage provides benefits for an employee who
becomes disabled and is no longer able to work. While most employees are
covered by the Social Security disability program, benefits can be hard to
obtain and are generally restricted to people who are considered
"totally" disabled when their disability has lasted at least 5
months. Most employees in New Jersey or New York also have coverage
through the state short-term disability plan. However, this program only
pays for a maximum of 26 weeks and cannot be extended. Therefore, many
large employers enhance this coverage by offering Group Long Term
Disability insurance which will help take care of an employee's income
loss in the event of a qualifying Long Term Disability event.
Under NJ law (and in several other states) there is a state mandated Short
Term Disability Plan that employers must provide for their employees.
In some cases, it is possible, and may be more economical, to purchase
this mandatory coverage through a private disability insurance plan. Ask
us for information about whether this option will work for your company.
Some employers feel that the benefits offered under the NJ State Short
Term Disability program do not provide adequate short-term disability
protection for their employees. One way that employers address this
problem is by offering a company paid Supplemental Short Term
Disability plan. Depending on the size of your company, plans can also
be designed to offer coverage on a voluntary or employee paid basis.
Many employers are interested in providing additional Voluntary
Coverages on a payroll deduction basis as a way to enhance their
benefits offerings. Popular programs offered by some employers today can
include vision, dental, additional life insurance, supplemental disability
insurance, and other programs. Participation requirements vary and pricing
is generally at affordable group rates. We would be happy to provide you
with additional information upon request.
Some companies will also offer a Section 125
Cafeteria Plan that could include pre-tax premium contributions,
flexible spending accounts (FSA) for unreimbursed medical expenses and FSA
for dependent care. On occasion "waiver bonus" plans are also
included. A FSA program allows an employee to receive cash in lieu of
benefits as partial compensation for "waiving" the medical plan
or other employee benefit plans. There are numerous factors to consider in
designing these programs. Please consult our professional staff if
you would like more information.
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