Employment Benefits

did you know that one of the most overlooked aspects of a job offer is the employment benefit package?

Sure a great salary is where you main focus should be. But the benefits can add up to a hefty chunk of change. So how do you go about evaluating what those benefit bucks are worth?

Depending on the industry and who you talk to the general rule of thumb is that for $1 spent on wages there are from $1 to $3 spent by employers for benefits. Since this will vary somewhat by occupation this page will give you an approximate idea of the value of the typical benefit package. I will assume a wage of $20 per hour for the purposes of this illustration. 

Vacation
Lets start with everyone's favorite benefit; vacation accrual. The average employer will give you approximately two weeks of paid vacation. if you earn $20 per hour that means you will earn approximately $1600. Obviously, if you work in a job where the ability to earn more vacation time, then the value goes up. If you earn 4 weeks of vacation then the value of the benefit becomes $3200.

Sick Time
Most employers will grant you sick time for the occasional flu, sick child and other short lived health crisis. If you are granted one week of sick time each year then you will have the potential to earn approximately $800 in value. Of course, not every one will use the whole week.

If you work for an employer who allows you to bank sick time as a type of short term disability bank you can potentially save up to 12 weeks of sick time to be used in case of emergency. The potential value of this employment benefit is $9600.

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance
There is no absolute standard for what employers pay for this benefit. The national average cost for medical premiums paid for by employers is approximately $500 per month. If you have an employer willing to spend the money this benefit is worth up to $6000 regardless of your hourly wage.

Employee Health
The majority of healthcare workers will usually work in a hospital or clinic setting. Frequently these employers will cover the cost of some preventive health tests and the cost of routine health care vaccinations such as the flu shot each year. Some examples of the types of things covered include PSA, blood work, chemistry panels and even routine EKG's. approximate value is $200-$500 per year.

Education
One overlooked benefit is education dollars. Many employers will pay for you to keep up with current happenings in your profession and to improve your knowledge. Of course, healthcare workers are required to know and maintain proficiency in CPR and advanced life saving techniques. Some examples of things paid for can include; travel expenses, books, fees and tuition and paid time while attending the class. Estimated value is $800-$1500 annually.  Be wary of employers who don't pay for continued education and ongoing certification.  That's an extra $800 to $1500 per year you will be paying for out of your own pocket.

Holiday Pay
The average number of paid holidays seems to be approximately 6. This adds up to approximately 48 paid hours per year for a benefit of $960 extra per year. Of course, many healthcare workers wind up working the holidays for an additional premium of being paid time and one-half for working the holiday. For some that's not considered an employment benefit and for others it is.

Retirement Plans
There are generally two types of retirement plans. One is the old style plan where you contribute nothing and the company puts in the money every month to a pension plan. These plans are virtually non-existent for healthcare so I will talk about the second type of plan called a 401K or 403B retirement savings plan. If you work at a hospital that offers this benefit be sure to find out how much they will match your contribution and what it takes to be vested or have 100% of the money be yours to keep. Some companies will match your contribution up to 7% of your base wages. This benefit can be worth up to $2912 per year deposited into your tax deferred retirement savings account. How soon the money becomes 100% yours will vary.  Some employers make you work as long as 7-10 years before all the money they put in becomes yours.

Social Security
Believe it or not this is a benefit. Because in addition to the hefty 6.7% that you pay for social security your employer is contributing a matching amount of approximately 6.7%. Kind of hard to believe that social security is going broke isn't it? Assuming you worked 2080 hours per year and earned the average wage of $20.00 that would be: (2080 X 20.00)X.067 = $2787.20

Employment Benefit Totals
Assuming a conservative estimate these benefits can add up to over $10,000 on the lower end and well over $20,000 on the upper end of the scale. One popular benefit and wages estimator site placed the median benefits at over $20,400 for a typical western medium sized community for a registered nurse. So, the next time you size up a salary offer be sure to ask about the  benefits too.

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