What are voluntary benefits?

Voluntary benefits are services and/or goods that the employer provides at a discounted group rate, but that are paid for (either in whole or in part) by the employee  through payroll deductions  . Voluntary benefits complement other traditional benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc.) and have no direct cost to the employer.

Voluntary benefits may also be called employee-paid benefits or supplemental insurance.

What are some examples of voluntary benefits?

Here are some examples of voluntary benefits under each of the seven general types:

1. Health:  This category includes additional health insurance options, such as:
   1. Critical illness insurance
   2. Accident insurance
   3. Emergency Hospital Transport Insurance
   4. Telehealth Access
   5. disability insurance
2. Dental care:  Supplemental dental care options help bridge the gap between covered procedures and non-covered procedures, which may include the following:
   1. sealant
   2. the crown
   3. To extract the tooth
   4. Dentures
3. Vision:  This covers or discounts routine eye exams and other procedures, such as:
   1. Glasses
   2. Contact Lenses
   3. Laser eye surgery
4. Health and lifestyle:  This provides free or subsidized services for employee health. Examples include:
   1. Gym Membership
   2. legal services
5. Financial:  This supplementary benefit helps the employee to manage his finances better.
   1. Financial Planning Services
   2. Tax Help
   3. investment advice
   4. Student Loan Repayment Program
6. Protection:  Options in this category provide protection for an employee in the event of death or identity theft.
   1. Insurance
   2. Identity theft protection
7. Personal and Miscellaneous:  These benefits can be anything that the employer feels will benefit the employee and increase retention rates.
   1. Flexible work hours
   2. remote work
   3. Pet Insurance
   4. Travel Accident Insurance

Why are voluntary benefits important?

It's important for employers to offer voluntary benefits to their employees, because it benefits everyone.

Voluntary Benefits:

• Bridge the gap between general insurance coverage and additional needs.
• Relief from rising health care costs.
•  Help  recruit and retain top talent .
• Reduce time away from work and increase employee productivity while at work.

What are the benefits of providing voluntary benefits?

 Employers can reap several benefits from offering voluntary benefits  :

• They attract and retain loyal employees.
• This helps your company compete with other companies, including large companies.
• There are no or very few direct costs.
• Employees who take advantage of these are more productive and more invested in their work.

When you offer voluntary benefits to your employees,   explain these advantages of having voluntary benefits:

• Services are discounted due to special group rates.
• Providers and their offerings are already vetted for legitimacy, cost-effectiveness, and utility.
• The coverage is flexible, customized and tailored to the employee's needs and desires.
• They help provide financial protection if traditional insurance is insufficient.
• Some are deducted pre-tax.

What are the limits on voluntary benefits?

Like traditional benefits, voluntary benefits also have some limitations, namely:

• Some voluntary benefits policies have no minimum staffing requirements, but others require a minimum of two to five employees.
• Employees are eligible to enroll for this only through their employer.
• Generally,  part-time  employees (and remote workers) are eligible, but there may be a minimum work hours requirement.
• Independent contractors  are generally disqualified.
• There may be minimum or maximum age limit applicable.
• Pre-existing conditions or other exclusions may limit the coverage available.

How can you determine which voluntary benefits to offer your employees?

To determine which voluntary benefits to offer your employees, you’ll need to identify company objectives, determine your employees’ needs, evaluate providers and their benefits, and review the current (and emerging) legislative agenda surrounding issues covered by both traditional and voluntary benefits.

Here are some questions to ask when going through this process:

• What are the present and future objectives of HR?
• How does our current benefit plan compare to our competitors' plans?
• What benefits are valuable to the demographics of our employees (age, income level, location, etc.)?
• Do we have any legal obligations that these benefits will help fulfill?
• Will our employees understand the reason and value of these benefits and take the time to register for and use them?
• Is there any current or upcoming legislation that may impact traditional and/or voluntary benefits?

Doing all of this may seem like a lot of work, but if you want the value and benefits that both you and your employees get from voluntary benefit options, it is worth the effort. However, insurance/benefits brokers and specific software for administering voluntary benefits can make these tasks much faster and easier.