Highlights of Benefits Enrollment Package from work

What a wonderful time of the year; football, cool brisk mornings, state fair, and of course benefits enrollment.

I actually don't think I am going to spend much time this year analyzing my choices. I spend a lot of time last year going through my choices and the plans didn't change significantly this year. The only differences I can detect are on the cost side:
-monthly cost is going up $4 for healthcare insurance
-prescription copay is going up $5/prescription
-flexible healthcare spending account is now extended an extra 2.5 mos to 3/15 the following year (this is great news for me, I won't need to be as conservative with my estimates)

Highlight of Benefits:
Health Plans (High Level)
-No Health Plan -(IBM gives you $30/mo)
-PPO - Free
-PPO Plus - $44/mo
-High Deductible PPO w/ Health Savings Account (IBM contributes $500/yr) - Free
-EPO (similar to a HMO) - $52/mo

Some other benefits IBM plans offer:
-Vision Plan
-Dental Plan
-Healthcare Spending Account/ Dependent Care Spending Account
-New employees are offered $150 rebate to sign up as a non-smoker, or enroll in a smoking cessation plan.
-All employees are eligible for a $150 rebate if they complete a fitness diary for a period of 12 weeks showing that they exercised 4 days a week for 10 out of the 12 weeks.
-All employees are eligible for $150 rebate if they participate in a prevention program that involves filling out an online questionnaire and taking actions recommend actions (not sure of all the details yet).
-IBM also allows employees to enroll in a 401k disability protection plan that will continue to make 401k contributions if employee goes on disability.
-IBM also employees to buy up disability from 1/2 to 2/3 salary replacement.


So here are my elections:
-EPO Insurance Plan (similar to HMO)
-Basic Dental
-I am passing on vision plans
-Enrolled in rebates for fitness & prevention
-Enrolled in 2/3 disability insurance
-Passed on 401k disability protection


*Note: Some info listed was what was listed in my package, I don't know if these some/all of these prices/benefits where tailored or standard.

Related in General:

Save Money on Overhead Garage Storage (Aug 28, 2012) With the upcoming expansion of our family, my wife and I have been discussing the space in our home. While we have a good size home (~2,600 sq ft), its currently laid out with 3 bedrooms and 1 bonus room...

When is a SmartPhone the Right Financial Decision? (May 14, 2012) I last purchased a typical cell phone back in October 2008 with a 2 year contract when we returned from China. My old cell phone broke while we were on assignment in China and I needed something once we...

Black Friday Shopping Highlights (Nov 27, 2011) I have little interest in going out and standing in long lines to pick up a few deals on Black Friday. However we did pick up a few deals over the weekend mostly online: $159 GE Front Loading Washer @...

Comments (1)


What are your thoughts on EPO vs the High Deductible PPO? The nice thing about the HDPPO is that you can put *pre-tax* dollars into it that *roll over* year to year. Plus, they give you $500 and you can invest the money you put in. While the fees are much higher, it might be a good idea to grow this health nest egg now (while I'm healthy) to use later?

Post a comment

(Comment moderation enabled.)

About 2millionblog.com

A personal finance weblog of my journey to reach my goal of $2 million + the value of my primary residence.
Current Net Worth: $1,938,393

Sponsors

New Personal Finance Articles




PF Blogs