There are two basic ways to start evaluating an employer's set of benefits. The first is to look at trends in the employer benefits to determine what’s likely to be available. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Employee Benefits Survey is a good starting place to learn about trends in employer benefits. Aside from retirement plans the other key benefit is the employer’s health plan. Typically, you and the employer share both of these. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Employer Health Benefits survey provides good information on the costs and splits of different types of health plans.

The second way is to review a comprehensive list of possible benefits. It’s useful for spotting potential gaps in coverage so you can determine if you need to bridge them. You can easily Google the term “comprehensive employee benefit package” to learn more. The variety of potential benefits is large and changes. (Caveat: some provide information on the subset of benefits they represent.) 

There are three broad benefit categories to look at: 
•    Medical and Wellness (medical, dental, vision, telemedicine, gym membership, etc.), 
•    Financial (retirement, education, medical spending accounts and insurance)
•    Paid Time Off (vacation, sick, and family leave).

 

You will want to see all three. The tools you need to manage and finance your family’s health and care may be spread across all the categories. 

 

These benefits are at the employer’s option. Mandatory employee benefits include; Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment benefits, these are not optional, they are federal and state programs, and the costs are deducted each paycheck.