It's that time of year again, annual benefits enrollment for benefits. While it can be easy to continue the same benefits as the previous year, we wanted to encourage spending additional time to truly make sure your benefits are tailored to your personal needs.
Below are a few coverages/items to consider and evaluate:
Medical Insurance
Make sure you are covered for what you could need, but be careful of overspending on benefits. If you have options, take time to understand the trade-offs between coverage options and what fits your needs the best.
Some considerations may include:
What plans are your doctors accepting?
What prescriptions do you take and how much would they cost under each plan?
What plans are accepted at nearby hospitals?
Do you only need local coverage or coverage with a nationwide network?
Long-Term Disability Insurance
This type of insurance may be one of the most overlooked and skipped employer benefits. Long-Term Disability coverage provides insurance to replace a salary if you are no longer able to work. A long-term disability could come from an accident, a health emergency, or a new illness, amongst other causes. If you have the option to purchase coverage through your employer, we usually recommend doing so, as it can be the most affordable option. At the same time, ensure the offered coverage is sufficient to meet your possible needs.
Group Life Insurance
Many employers provide 1x-9x an employee's annual salary in group life insurance benefits. This coverage may be helpful if you are unable to obtain term life insurance through an independent policy or if your current coverage is no longer sufficient. While group coverage can cost a little more than a stand-alone insurance policy, the ease of adding the coverage to your benefits plan by having it taken directly out of your paycheck makes it an appealing option to consider.
Health Savings Accounts (HSA)
If eligible, we recommend contributing to an HSA account as part of your health insurance plan. These accounts provide a way to save pre-tax dollars for your current or future medical expenses. They may also be invested over the long term to provide for healthcare expenses in retirement.
Flex Spending Accounts (FSA)
Flex spending accounts can help pay for healthcare and medical expenses by contributing pre-tax dollars to these accounts. The funds can then be used for qualified healthcare expenses throughout the year. Also, if you have children who attend a licensed childcare center and your employer has a childcare flex spending plan, consider using a FSA plan to pay for some childcare expenses with pre-tax dollars. One thing to be mindful of when using these accounts is they must be used in the benefit year, so be careful not to overfund these accounts or the dollars may be forfeited.
Beneficiaries
Verify all beneficiaries are correct on the plan.
Retirement Savings
While this may not be present in the annual enrollment process, we recommend reviewing your retirement plan contributions going into 401k/403b accounts. If you are able, try increasing your retirement plan contribution by a few percentage points.
If you have questions about your benefits, please let us know and we would be happy to help.