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:

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 @...

Roomba Accessory Upgrades (Jul 05, 2011) Well my Roomba finally succumbed to a common issue with the cleaning head module (CHM) that plagues many of these devices. We've been using the Roomba for over 2 years now and have been generally pleased with our investment. See...

A Simple Way To Re-Invigorate Yourself at Your Job (Jun 01, 2011) Lately I have been feeling a bit run down at work. Some things haven't gone my way in the past several months and I've been in the doldrums about my position in general. Lets just say my feet have been...

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?

Posted by Benjamin Chodroff | November 28, 2011 4:11 PM