Consider voluntary benefit options: for many employers, they're a way to ease the pain of cutbacks in health-care coverage.Employee benefits--particularly health benefits--have become a financial burden to most employers. As a result, many are making the agonizing decision to reduce plan benefits and increase employee contributions. To ease the pain, however, some are offering voluntary benefits. Voluntary benefits are plans offered by the employer but paid for entirely by the employee. Common types include: * Term and Whole Life Insurance Coverage * Accidental accidental /ac·ci·den·tal/ (ak?si-den´t'l) 1. occurring by chance, unexpectedly, or unintentionally. 2. nonessential; not innate or intrinsic. Death and Dismemberment dismemberment /dis·mem·ber·ment/ (dis-mem´ber-ment) amputation of a limb or a portion of it. dismemberment amputation of a limb or a portion of it. Coverage * Dental Coverage * Vision Benefits * Legal Plans * Additional Disability Coverage * Critical Illness Policies Voluntary benefits are becoming increasingly popular with employees because of: * The convenience of purchasing coverage via payroll deduction deduction, in logic, form of inference such that the conclusion must be true if the premises are true. For example, if we know that all men have two legs and that John is a man, it is then logical to deduce that John has two legs. . * The simplicity of not having to provide proof of good health for a certain amount of life insurance coverage. * The access to a voluntary life benefit that some employees would struggle to purchase on their own. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] * The opportunity to enroll in a voluntary vision or dental plan when an organization does not offer either of these benefits. * The enhanced protection of additional disability coverage if your organization provides a base level of coverage that will not meet all employees' needs. * The insulation insulation (ĭn'səlā`shən, ĭn'sy  –), use of materials or devices to inhibit or prevent the conduction of heat or of electricity. from high out-of-pocket costs out-of-pocket costs Managed care Health care costs that a covered person must pay out of pocket–eg, coinsurance, deductibles, etc. See Copayment. by offering the
ability to purchase critical illness policies. These policies may become
an essential coverage, especially for employees in businesses that are
launching Consumer Driven Health Plans with high out-of-pocket out-of-pock·etadj. 1. Calling for the spending of cash: out-of-pocket expenses. 2. Lacking funds: hungry, cold, and out-of-pocket travelers. Adj. maximums. Voluntary benefit plans enhance overall benefit packages with limited cost. Although the employee pays the full cost of coverage, the employer must administer the plan and institute payroll deductions. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]</p> <pre> Why employers like voluntary benefits * Enhances attractiveness of benefit plans 44% Cost-effective cost-effective, n the minimal expenditure of dollars, time, and other elements necessary to achieve the health care result deemed necessary and appropriate. way to meet needs 45% No medical exam 45% Better rates 50% More convenient than shopping on own 53% Payroll deduction is convenient 60% * Percent who strongly agree Source: MetLife Employee Benefit Trends Survey, 2004 Note: Table made from bar graph. </pre> <p>RELATED ARTICLE: Good communication is the key to success Communication with employees is critical when launching a new voluntary option to ensure enough employees participate to meet the carrier's participation requirements. Your employees will not want to plow through to execute a difficult or laborious task steadily, esp. one containing many parts; as, he plowed through the stack of correspondence until all had been answered. See also: Plow volumes of information to understand the benefit, so a brief plan description is more effective. Also, employees will tend not to enroll if they need to figure out how much the benefit will cost them. You can boost participation by offering employees customized enrollment forms that calculate their cost for various voluntary life insurance options. If you dread the communication work, vendors are available to help you roll out multiple voluntary plans. Sometimes called worksite marketing firms, they support the launch of the products and provide one-on-one one-on-one adj. 1. Consisting of or being direct communication or exchange between two people: one-on-one instruction. 2. Sports Playing directly or exclusively against a single opponent. benefit meetings to educate employees about the total benefit package offered with an emphasis on the voluntary plans. These vendors are typically paid by retaining a portion of the commissions built into the products they sell. Sue Mathiesen There are several people with the surname Mathiesen:
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