Employee benefits, also known as fringe benefits or perks, are given to employees over and above their wages and salaries. Benefits not only let your employees know that you are invested in their health but that you also care about their future. Therefore, a good employee benefits packages will not only help you attract talent but also retain it.
There are many perks that you can offer your employees to keep them motivated and productive. However, there are four major types of benefits, that if offered, could help improve their job satisfaction and ensure they stay loyal to you. These benefits include:
Medical Insurance
One of the most important and most common types of benefits you can offer your employees is medical coverage. The costs of hospital and doctors’ visits, prescriptions, health insurance, vision care, and dental care have increased considerably over the last few years. As a result, employees are finding it harder to cater to healthcare-related costs.
Since an unexpected medical expense can easily and quickly cripple an uninsured employee, most talented workers today have been cultured to expect, at the very least, a basic medical cover. As an employer keen on retaining your workforce, you need to consider helping out your employees with some of these expenses by offering them a savings plan like the Health Reimbursement Account. Such accounts cover eligible expenses like:
• Eyeglasses and contacts
• Copays and prescriptions
• Daycare expenses
• First aid kits
Life Insurance
Another common yet essential employee benefit is accidental death and dismemberment insurance or life insurance. This coverage helps ensure that the families of workers who lose their lives get the funds they need to cater to funeral costs and move on with their lives.
AD&D or accidental death and dismemberment insurance provides a lump sum payment if a worker’s dismemberment or death is the direct result of an accident. If a worker has both AD&D and life insurance and they die or get dismembered in an accident, then both covers will pay benefits to the worker’s beneficiaries or family.
Disability Benefits
Both long-term and short-term disability benefits can help protect employees from the financial implications that arise after a lengthy illness or after suffering a serious injury. Disability insurance pays benefits to injured workers throughout the duration they aren’t at work.
Short-term disability coverage pays a percentage of the injured worker’s salary if they are unable to work or become temporarily sick. Long-term disability coverage, on the other hand, covers workers with more severe injuries or permanent illnesses that keep them out of work for over three months or longer – that includes permanent disabilities that make it impossible for them to return to work.
Retirement Benefits
When it comes to retirement benefits, the 401(k) plan is one of the most common types of benefits that you can offer your employees to help them secure their future once they retire. 401(k)s allow employees to dedicate a certain percentage of their monthly pay to a retirement account in a tax-advantaged manner. The monies saved in a 401(k) are not taxed until after the worker retires.