For the most part, benefits fall into categories designed to foster:
- Employee wellness and protection against catastrophic expenses (through various medical insurances)
- Income protection in the event of death or disability (through benefits such as life insurance and disability insurance)
- Financial security for the future (through a mandatory retirement plan and optional savings plans)
- Employee morale (by offering the convenience of payroll deduction for benefits such as auto insurance)
As a manager or supervisor, you are not expected to know all the details pertaining to benefits plans. However, you should:
- Understand the scope of benefit programs
- Be aware of eligibility issues when structuring new appointments or changing existing appointments
- Encourage employees to use telephone and web-based systems for getting information and taking benefits actions
- Know which events in the employee's life cycle trigger changes in eligibility
- Be sure that employees know about all benefits options available to them and that they are enrolled by applicable deadlines
- Assure that when eligibility or coverage ends, the employee has access to information on possible options
- Advise employees to contact the Benefits Unit to apply for benefits (such as disability and retirement) as soon as you become aware of special situations
- Encourage employees to consider their options when new benefits are introduced, or during special periods of eligibility such as the annual Open Enrollment Period