The word “benefits” has a lot of baggage. I remember first hearing it in some movie, where the holy grail of prepubescent relations was the “friend with benefits”. Not only did you have a friend, you had benefits! Of course, as movies, television, and real life show us, the “benefits” in that situation usually means “ticking time bomb of relationship destruction”. From then on, the word “benefits” was usually used in an almost positive context. By that, I mean it would be associated as a silver lining to an already bad situation, not as a stand alone good situation. For example, I lost both my hands in an accident, but the benefit is I don’t have to worry about making myself dinner anymore.
So forgive me if I didn’t exactly leap with joy when my job provided me with “benefits”. From my perspective, all the employee benefits amounted to was extra paperwork, annoyingly repetitive emails informing me that I didn’t send the correct form to the correct address, and the vague promise of reward amidst constant co-worker complaints regarding said benefits. To be honest, I didn’t understand what all the fuss about these fabled “benefits” were about. Until now.
This past weekend my wife got her wisdom teeth out. They’ve been bugging her for a couple of years now, but she couldn’t exactly afford dentist appointments, let alone getting wisdom teeth extracted. So she put up with the pain and waited. This last winter I got a slightly more permanent position at my job, which took away a percentage of my pay so that they could provide me with “benefits”. I thought it was a bit of a rip off at first, but now that I’ve seen the dentist bill we would have paid, I’m more than thankful for our benefits. All in all, we’re going to be paying about $80 for a $2100 dental surgery procedure. That’s like getting an extra paycheck for two grand! The crazy thing is, without my wife absolutely having to go through this process, I probably never would have taken advantage of my benefits.
This awakening process has allowed me to take a closer look at my benefits, in hopes of maximizing the benefit. Instead of sitting back and passively waiting for the benefits to come to me, I’m going to go through exactly what is covered, and make sure that I use up every benefit that I can. Even if I don’t need new glasses, you can bet I’ll be getting about $200 worth every two years. Even though my teeth are healthy, you can bet I’ll be going and getting a checkup every 6 months.
I guess I just didn’t realize that my employee benefits are a part of my paycheck, they just come a different way, and I have to be proactive about taking advantage of that payment. What benefits are you missing out on? I suggest taking a half day one weekend and figuring everything out. Grab whatever paperwork your office has provided you, boot up your computer and start sifting through the provider’s website. They are all confusing and overly complex, but you should be able to figure out how much of what is covered. Don’t stop there, however. Stay proactive by pre-scheduling whatever appointments are necessary. Write down on your calendar when you are available for more glasses; call up your dentist and schedule your next cleaning. If you get involved now, you’ll reap the benefits of all your benefits later.
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Alan Schram writes about personal finance and his encounters with it in his everyday life. Alan is recently married and is looking to save money on expenses and reduce his debts.
This is good info. We only use our benefits when we were sick. I’m gonna check out what else we are paying for.
Great information Alan. Your benefit plan is an integral part of your financial plan. Just ask people like me who are self employed and have to pay for my own benefits. Everyone should be more aware of their benefit plan through work!
If you take Alan’s advice and take a good look though your benefits package you may find all sorts of things you could benefit from. Make sure to look at the optional items as well, not just the ones you automaticly get. There is often optional insurance coverage for you and your spouse which can be far cheaper the getting a policy elsewhere. Also make sure if there is any savings plans that your employer will match a portion of what you put in you are taking advantage of it, never turn away free money. Often work savings plans require you to choose your own invetments which turns some people off becasue they do not know what mutual funds to pick. If that is the case make sure to talk to a professional to get some advice on what options would be best for your unique circumstances.
Taking advantage of every single benefit available to you is a little like index investing — it works as long as only a minority of people are doing it. Benefit packages are as generous as they are because so few of the benefits are actually accessed. If there is a significant spike in use of benefits, then that may lead to increased costs for the employer, and possibly future reductions in the benefit package. Just something to keep in mind.
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I’ve actually been using an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all of my family’s benefits, to make sure wee max out as much as we can and not go over the limit for each service.
Thanks,
Richard
Employers who recognize the value of providing comprehensive benefits and communicate the plan effectively to enrollees and their families, reap rewards in many areas. The sole proprietor can achieve similar benefits thru the use of health spending accounts, like that offered by Custom Care, linked to personal coverage for
Life, Accident, and Disability Benefits. The tax advantaged savings are huge, and employee and family physical and mental health are assured. Topped off with a retirement saving plan, the employee is well set.