Corporate considerations when implementing employee benefit plans

Many of today's job seekers are not only looking to work for company offering a competitive salary while being a good fit for them both personally and professionally, but they are also being swayed to take positions being offered that include a robust employee benefits program. However, there have been a number of changes made at the governmental level that have employers scrambling to find providers that will not only be cost effective from an organizational perspective, but provide health insurance and other benefits that employees can feel comfortable with as well.

In Met Life's most recent "U.S. Employee Benefits Trends Study," the insurance company revealed that 50 percent of those participating in the poll stated that their current benefits package is one of the key reasons why they remain employed at the company, while 43 percent stated that it was one of the deciding factor in choosing to work for the organization. This highlights the importance for companies to offer more than just a competitive salary in order to attract and retain talent.

The responsibility of employers to provide benefits education
The recently passed Affordable Care Act has essentially reshaped the rules governing benefits administration. Arguably the most important regulation is with respect to the length of the waiting and orientation periods that must be met before workers can begin taking advantage of health insurance elections.

The Law firm of Hodgson Russ recently quoted a ruling set forth by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Treasury and the Department of Labor which states that employers are legally within their rights to establish a 30-day waiting period before an employee can become eligible to sign up for a group health plan. Additionally, once the waiting period has been met, the standard 90-day time frame before benefits can be used was also universally agreed upon by the three governmental agencies.

However, these rulings do not affect corporations that have already implemented shared responsibility plans under the ACA. Dubbed the pay-or-play rule, companies that are typically larger in size must offer health benefits at a cost deemed to be affordable by the employee, no later than the first day after four full calendar months have passed with the worker on the payroll.

For staff to understand these options, organizations must properly communicate this information to allow those who have been hired to understand clearly what their benefits options are.

The Met Life survey found that 37 percent of employees would like for their employers to fully explain their benefits packages to them. However, when it comes to millennials, individuals between the ages of 18 and 34, 54 percent stated that they required more help in understanding their plan options and how they can benefit from them.

How employees pick their corporate benefits packages
Since no two workers are alike, individual elections will spread across a broad range. Met Life discovered that there are a number of different factors that employees consider when making a decision on what options they will need with respect to health insurance, 401K and other associated benefits.

The most important factor stated by 74 percent of study participants was cost. Employees want to elect benefits that doesn't substantially affect take home pay. However, the least mitigating factor was marketplace competition between plan providers. This was only a consideration made by 40 percent of respondents.

Corporations must take steps to ensure that the benefits options they provide to employees are wide-ranging so that they will satisfactorily meet the individual needs of the workforce as opposed to implementing a one-size-fits all solution.