INDUSTRY
INSIGHT
IN A COMPETITIVE
HIRING MARKET,
BONUS BENEFITS
CAN WIN THE DAY
The two foundational pillars of employee benefits are health insurance
and retirement. They are the most fundamental to any benefit package
and will most certainly be among the considerations of potential
employees for your business. However, because they are both integral
and necessary, your competition will also likely have decent off erings
in those spaces. So, how do you set yourself apart, especially in today’s
competitive hiring market? There are a number of ancillary options
available in the benefits space to help you do just that.
By Josh Fiorini
DISABILITY INSURANCE
Long ago, when I worked as a fi nancial advisor, I
used to ask clients what they thought their biggest
asset was. Inevitably, most would answer their
home or, in some cases, their portfolio. In almost
every case I had to tell them they were wrong.
Most people’s biggest asset is something they
very much take for granted, and that’s the ability
to get up and go to work every day. If a person is
35 years old and plans to work until age 65 earning
$50K annually, that person’s remaining working
life is worth between $1.5 and $2.4 million dollars
(depending on how much they spent or invested
and infl ation). Th is is a huge asset to protect, and
an employer can help their employees protect that
asset very economically.
Many large employers off er short-term
disability insurance, coverage of lost income due
to disabilities lasting less than 90 days, at no cost
to the employee, and it can be very low-cost to
do so. Additionally, long-term disability, coverage
for permanent or semi-permanent disabilities,
is off ered often as well (either subsidized or not
through employee contribution). Just the ability
to purchase such insurance plans through a group
(as opposed to as an individual) can be a powerful
savings to an employee whether the employer
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contributes anything toward the premium or not,
as simply belonging to a group creates discounts.
Th is can be a very cost-eff ective way to make
your employees feel valued, while simultaneously
helping them to hedge a risk that is very often
ignored.
LIFE INSURANCE
Life insurance is a somewhat boring and also
somewhat morbid topic that few people enjoy
discussing. However, it is a cornerstone of a healthy
fi nancial plan for an individual. While disability
insurance protects the asset of a person’s earning
potential if they are injured, it doesn’t if they pass
away prematurely. Th us, life insurance protects
that same asset in the event of an untimely death
and can be a powerful tool to help loved ones cope
fi nancially with the loss of a provider.
Again, employers can help with this simply by
off ering a policy for which they pay nothing for –
the simple act of creating a company group gives
employees access to cheaper rates. Very often, at
companies with more than 20 employees, a basic
life insurance and AD&D (accidental death and
dismemberment) policy that provides for one
or two years’ salary payout per employee can be
off ered by an employer for a pittance. Of course,
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