When you’re starting a new job, it can be overwhelming to learn about all the benefits that are available to you. But the more you know about the types of employee benefits offered by your employer, the better equipped you’ll be to make informed decisions about health care, retirement plans, and other important financial matters.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 12 types of employee benefits, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance. We’ll also discuss how much these employee benefits costs employers and businesses alike.
What are employee benefits?
Employee benefits are one of the key features that companies offer to their employees, and they can help you make a more informed decision about where you work.
Employee benefits include a wide variety of things, including health care coverage, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, and even gym memberships. Each employee benefit has its own cost, but they can all vary depending on your company’s size and budget.
If you’re looking for a new job and want to make sure you get the best possible benefits package available—or if you’re just curious about what benefits other companies offer—you’ll want to know what types of employee benefits exist, how much they cost, and what examples are out there.
Why are unique employee benefits important?
Employee benefits are an important part of a company’s recruiting and retention strategy. They provide employees with various types of financial protection, which can include health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, vacation time, and paid sick leave. These benefits are key factors in ensuring that your staff remains satisfied and stays longer with your organization. It’s also a good way to attract top talents to your company through job ads. Although employee benefits costs can be a lot for organizations, it’s worth the spend.
What are the 12 types of employee benefits?
While these benefits may vary by industry and location, there are some standard employee benefits that are commonly offered in the United States. Here are some common types of employee benefits:
1. Health Insurance: Health insurance is one of the most common forms of employee benefit offered by employers. This type of coverage helps employees pay for medical expenses such as doctor visits, hospitalizations, and prescriptions. Some employers may also offer dental and vision coverage through their health plans.
2. Life Insurance: Life insurance is another form of employee benefit that can be provided by employers to help protect the financial security of their employees’ families if they die prematurely. The amount of coverage available varies based on what level of life insurance an employee chooses when enrolling in a plan through their employer’s provider.
3. Disability Insurance: Disability insurance provides income replacement if an employee becomes disabled due to illness or injury while working at an organization covered under its plan (i.e., it pays out monthly payments until they return).
4. Retirement Plans: Retirement plans help workers prepare for the future by investing their money in long-term investments like stocks and bonds. Workers can receive income from these investments once they retire.
5. Vacation Time: Vacation time gives workers a chance to relax after working hard all year. It can be used as an incentive for them to stay with your company instead of moving on to another job where they might get more vacation days.
6. Paid Time Off: Another unique employee benefit is the paid time off policy offered by some companies. Here, employees are allowed to take some time off from the office while still receiving some salary. They can either be paid full or half, depending on the organization.
7. Living Stipends: This option offers employees the ability to cater to their living needs, especially in the case of an employee relocating to the company’s location or maybe setting up a remote office space.
8. Paid Sick Leave: One of the 12 types of employee benefits an organization can offer is supporting a sick employee during their time away from the office. In this case, such an employee will receive their salary for the period of time they were away from work.
9. Flexibility Options: Flexibility is another great option companies can offer today. Many professionals are looking to work with organizations that can offer some form of flexibility, including hybrid work, remote work, a four-day workweek, and much more.
10. Paid Training and Development: This unique employee benefit is certain to profit a company in the long run. By investing in training your workers, you can rest assured that they’ll double your business revenue.
11. Travel and Spending Expenses: Some businesses require employees to travel from one place to another. For this reason, they’d offer this benefit to make their employees’ experience satisfying.
12. Company Transportation: Other organizations offer their employees vehicles to move around, especially from work to their homes. This makes it easier for them to commute to their offices.
What do employee benefits cost?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employee benefits cost about 31% of the total costs for an average civilian worker as of September 2022. While the costs might seem a bit intimidating, the benefits are worth the investment. By reducing turnover rates, companies can save themselves the money and time required to replace a potential employee. All that needs to be done is for companies to discover what benefits their employees need according to their locations and pockets.
Conclusion
When it comes to the types of employee benefits, there are a lot of options out there. Whether you’re looking for something more basic or something more advanced, you can find what you need at a price that works for your business as an employer, or it can help you find a good job as an employee.