After looking at employees' wants and needs for benefits, employers can begin to think outside the box and plan their specialty accounts. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Companies are constantly looking for ways to enrich their employee benefits. To support employees during these challenging times, policies need to reflect what's happening in an active work environment without compromising employee happiness or productivity. It's becoming commonplace for employers to turn to fringe benefits like FSA, HSA, commuter benefits, etc. A study of business leaders from Care.com found that nearly 98% of employers plan to offer a new benefit or expand at least one employee benefit in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With so many employers looking to expand benefits, many are asking what to do to make their benefits package stand out? It's not enough to just look at the current usage of a company's benefits; employers will miss a lot of key information about their employees' wants and needs. Instead, they need to ask how to create their own unique benefit programs. Yes, it is possible. Specialty Accounts allow employers to design all aspects of the benefit, such as how it's funded, who can participate, what's eligible, and more!
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Step 1: Evaluate your employee base
The first step to creating a specialty account for employees is to examine the entire employee base demographics and determine what employees are looking for. Employers should consider their industry, employees' general age range, housing (house vs. apartments), whether employees have children, other life events, and pain points employees may be experiencing.
The pandemic has forced employers to act, as they know that benefits are essential for employee productivity and success at work. In fact, 57% of senior leaders said their organizations will now put a higher priority on providing a better support system by way of increased child care policies as well as new flexible workplace options.
Other employers are supporting employees working from home as well, whether permanent or temporary, by offering to cover virtual professional growth classes and wellness offerings. One Texas-based company even offered to cover the cost of pet adoptions for employees because more employees were working from home and were feeling more isolated. The company said this new adoption coverage benefit was the most utilized and well-received by employees. Take a step back to view employees needs holistically. This will help identify the right specialty account.
Step 2: Pick a plan type
After looking at employees' wants and needs for benefits, employers can begin to think outside the box and plan their specialty accounts. They shouldn't just look at what's being used in current benefits, or they're going to be missing out!
Health & wellness
Employers can select a health and wellness account to cover activities and items that promote healthy living. This is already becoming a popular post-tax fringe benefit, so get creative. Instead of only covering familiar offerings like gym memberships, which many plans do, cover fitness apps and apps that support mental health. Unfortunately, mental health is often overlooked in overall health and wellness, even in benefits. These perks can give workers healthier options for working out and staying active.
Food delivery
With the recent pandemic, a third of HR professionals are having trouble maintaining company culture. Recently, 76% of employees said "eating and socializing with colleagues" is their most missed food-related benefit, showing how much they valued enjoying a meal together now that they're working from home. A food reimbursement program could include local restaurants or covering DoorDash/GrubHub/etc., meal prep boxes like HelloFresh, and others. This type of specialty account would serve as a beneficial offering for employees.
Utility assistance
Employers can help cover part of an employee's utility bill while they are working from home. Since the increase in employees working remotely, utilities have significantly increased. Some employers are incorporating benefits accounts to help ease the burden of the costs for internet, electricity, etc. for employees.
"Green" transportation
Not all types of transportation are eligible under a Commuter Benefit Plan. Encourage employees to go green by reimbursing them for biking or carpooling with coworkers to work.
Down-payment assistance
Assist employees in specific down payments for cars, houses, or other "milestone" purchases. Another great option could be covering a portion of car or mortgage payments for employees.
Life & death
From the beginning until the end, births & funerals are part of life, and they are both expensive. Employers can help employees during the happiest and saddest times with payment assistance.
Employers don't have to stick to just these examples, and they should reach out to their plan provider and get creative! The above ideas can be used and tailored to something similar, or employers can develop something entirely new! Think about what their employees would like.
Step 3: Finalize plan design
Now that employers know how to get started and what options they would like to offer, let's determine the plan specifics.
Eligibility
Employers need to begin by assessing who will be eligible for the plan and how eligible employees can enroll. Will employees enroll automatically, during Open Enrollment, or after working at the company for 90 days? If the plan is not eligible for all employees, then employers must outline requirements for enrollment in the specialty account. Once employee eligibility is clear, employers should also specify what specific items are eligible within the plan. This step will have to be well thought out to ensure a smooth rollout of the benefit with minimal questions and confusion from eligible employees.
Funding
When rolling out a plan, the other consideration is how the plan is funded. When are employees getting the funds (all at once, once per month, every paycheck)? How much will employees receive, and what is the max spend per person per year or month? Employers will also need to consider whether or not funds will roll over month-to-month and year-to-year. If employers just give employees a stipend without monitoring how they spend it, then their plans might not be used as intended.
If collecting receipts is part of a select plan, then employers should review whether they will be responsible for evaluating them and approving/denying claims for reimbursement. Depending on the complexity of the plan, it might make sense to partner with a third-party administrator (TPA) who can process claims and reimbursements for the plan. TPAs can often help complete steps 1 and 2 as well, reducing the burden on employers and allowing companies to focus on other HR duties.
A look into the future
Utilizing the steps above, employers can provide a robust new benefit offering that can solve pain points for employees. Specialty accounts give employers the competitive edge to attract top talent and keep current employees happy. With unique benefits packages, businesses can set themselves apart from other companies in today's hiring market!
Becky Seefeldt is vice president of strategy at Benefit Resource LLC (BRI), a leading provider of dedicated pre-tax account administration and COBRA services nationwide.
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