Immix Group Benefits Insight Taxation of Benefits By Lindsay Byrka B.A., B.Ed, CFP | Vice President When an Employer “doing the right thing” backfires In our initial discovery meeting with a new client, we learned of a situation that had them re-examining their entire benefits offering, seeking a second opinion. This employer with a long […]
Category: Emloyee Benefits
Dental Benefits
Immix Insights • April 2026 Why Dental Benefits Keep Getting More Expensive and What Employers Should Know Dental coverage remains one of the most valued parts of an employee benefits plan, but it is also one of the areas where employers continue to see cost increases. Written by Howard Cheung Published April 2026 We’re often […]
Employee Benefits Fraud in Canada
Employee Benefits Fraud in Canada: Awareness, Impact & Prevention Lindsay Byrka, CFP® is Vice President at the Immix Group. She partners with employers to source and manage group life and health plans, and group savings and retirement plans, working with Canada’s leading insurers to support transparent pricing and flexible plan design. LinkedIn. March is Fraud […]
Key Conversations in Benefits
Key Conversations in Employee Benefits Lindsay Byrka, CFP® is Vice President at the Immix Group. She partners with employers to source and manage group life and health plans, and group savings and retirement plans, working with Canada’s leading insurers to support transparent pricing and flexible plan design.LinkedIn As we kick off 2026, we look back […]
Inclusive Benefits: Weight Management and Chronic Disease Support
Weight Management as a Benefits Priority: What Canadian Employers Need to Know By Lindsay Byrka, CFP®, Vice President, Immix Group About the author Lindsay Byrka, CFP® Vice President, Immix Group LinkedIn profile Obesity in Canada: A Rising Concern for Employers Excess weight and obesity now affect roughly one in three Canadians, a trend that continues […]
Six Common Benefits Plan Mistakes that can Cost Employers
by Lindsay Byrka, CFP® Vice President, Immix Group Part of our role as benefits advisors in Canada is advising employers on their responsibilities when it comes to the ongoing management of their benefits program–enrolment, terminations, updates, communication to employees, taxation of benefits and rules for benefits under the Employment Standards Act here in Canada. When we first work […]
What BC Employers Need to Know About Canada’s New Government Health Care Changes
At the Immix Group, every government announcement on healthcare changes sparks the same question from plan sponsors: “Will this shift claims away from our group benefits plan and reduce claim costs?” by Lindsay Byrka, CFP® Vice President, Immix Group Canada is known for universal healthcare, but each province and territory administers its own plan. While […]
Your 2025 Employee Benefits Audit Checklist
by Lindsay Byrka, CFP® Vice President, Immix Group When we first begin working with a new employer to review their benefits offering, it involves a bit of detective work. We need to uncover why you’re not fully satisfied with your benefits program, and why you’ve come to us for a second opinion. Employers often sense […]
A Better Way to Do Benefits
A Better Way to Do Benefits: Independent, Canadian, and Client-First As an independent, Canadian-owned firm, we’re free to build custom benefits solutions based solely on what’s right for your business. by Lindsay Byrka | B.A., B.Ed, CFP® | Vice President The Immix Group Employee Benefits is Canadian and Independent One thing that sets the Immix Group apart—especially in […]
Not Eligible for Employee Benefits? Four Types of Coverage the Self-Employed Should Consider
Learn the four essential coverages every freelancer, consultant, and contractor in Canada should know — and how to get protected fast. by Lindsay Byrka | B.A., B.Ed, CFP® | Vice President If you’re self-employed in Canada, you may be one illness, dental emergency, or unexpected injury away from a serious financial setback. Without the safety net of employee […]
Unmasking Mental Health: From Awareness to Action
by Lindsay Byrka | B.A., B.Ed, CFP | Vice President Mental Health Awareness Week in Canada takes place the first full week of May. This year’s theme—Unmasking Mental Health— is a reminder that behind every desk are real people with real challenges, struggles, and emotions—often not visible or obvious to those around them. As described by the […]
Supporting Women at Every Stage: How Employee Benefits Can Make a Difference
The Workplace Has Changed—Have Your Benefits? by Lindsay Byrka, CFP® March 8th is International Women’s Day, described as a day to “recognize and celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and girls.” This year’s theme is “Accelerate Action.” With this in mind, we wanted to highlight how employers can take action to […]
Key Conversations in Benefits 2024
Key Conversations in Benefits 2024 Once again, this year, we have compiled the top conversations in benefits, from our perspective as benefits advisors. These are the topics we heard about the most in the news, from our supplier partners, and that members of our Client Community inquired about most often. Each year, our Key Conversations […]
Your One-Stop Guide: Exploring Key Themes in Employee Benefits
A Guide to Immix Insights Articles Are you wondering what we’ve been writing about? Perhaps you haven’t had time to read the articles, but you’re hoping to gain some information on a particular topic. At the Immix Group, we strive to provide articles spanning a range of topics that are important to those in our […]
Financial Well-being: Valuable Resources through our Partnership with Ciccone McKay Financial Group
By: The Immix Group in partnership with Ciccone McKay Financial Group November marks Financial Literacy Month in Canada, and this year’s theme, “Money on Your Mind. Talk About It!”, focuses on encouraging open conversations about personal finances. This month, we want to highlight how employers can support their employees’ financial well-being, beyond standard employee benefits, […]
Expanding into Canada
Expanding into Canada? What Non-Canadian entities need to know when implementing an Employee Benefit program in Canada Key Takeaways A typical employee benefits plan in Canada includes life insurance, extended health care, dental care, and often additional offerings like disability insurance, health spending accounts and retirement savings plans. The healthcare component of employee benefit programs […]
Disability Insurance
by Lindsay Byrka, BA, BEd, CFP® Dig Deeper into Disability Insurance Trying to wrap your head around Long-Term Disability insurance? Wondering about the differences between your group Long Term Disability and an Individual Disability plan? Group benefits plan administrators, have you done your part to ensure your employees understand their coverage and the monthly […]
Mental Health Support: A Simple Guide to Providing Mental Health Coverage within your Employee Benefits Program
How employers can support employee well-being within an employee benefits program As defined by the Canadian government: mental health refers to one’s general state of psychological and emotional well-being. We acknowledge this is a complex and nuanced topic, and that an employer’s role in supporting positive well-being extends far beyond the insurance coverage they offer […]
Claim Confusion
Claim Confusion: Common Reasons Why Your Benefits Claim May Leave You “Out-of-Pocket” Uncovering why you may be left ‘out-of-pocket’ when claiming under your benefits program Wondering why you’re left ‘out-of-pocket’ despite having a robust benefits program? There is nothing more frustrating than submitting your claim, only to find it’s not covered, or not covered up […]
Three Reasons to Implement a Group Savings Plan
We write often about Group Savings Plans, as it’s our belief that one of the best ways employers can assist their employees is by offering them the opportunity to plan and save for the future. This is a sentiment that is echoed by many in our industry. In their recent 2023 recap, iA’s Director of […]
Key Conversations in Benefits 2023
Last year our blog “Top Conversations of 2022” proved to be among our most popular articles for the year! Once again, this year, we have compiled a recap of the Top Conversations in Benefits, from our perspective as benefits advisors. Last year we recapped the top conversations in benefits, which can be summarized as: The […]
Understanding Cost-Sharing in Employee Benefits
Understanding Cost-Sharing in Employee Benefits: The Employer’s Role in Premium Contributions and Standard Practices Introduction In the fiercely competitive job market, employee benefits play a crucial role in attracting and retaining top talent. Among the many decisions that employers face in crafting an appealing benefits package, one of the most significant is determining the […]
Virtual Health Care is Everywhere
Virtual Health Care is Everywhere: Employer vs. Free Options, and the latest in Offerings. Back in 2020, we wrote about virtual care offerings, at the time prompted by the pandemic and the lockdown we were experiencing, which made routine doctor visits close to impossible. While virtual care was available pre-pandemic (in fact, it dates […]
8 Reasons for Increases to your Employee Benefit Plan Premiums
Pondering the question: “Why do my benefit plan costs keep going up?” We’ve got answers. If you’ve walked away from your renewal meeting scratching your head at the rate adjustment, you’re unfortunately not alone. Many advisors don’t do a great job explaining a rate change, and the math used by insurers can be quite (unnecessarily!) […]
One size fits all? Not when it comes to employee benefits.
Yes, it’s possible to gain the pricing advantage found within a benefits pool while also having control over your plan design! When we begin discussing the strategy that Immix has created when it comes to group benefit plans one of the first questions we are asked is whether belonging to a benefits pool means having […]
Check to Ensure your Benefits Quote is Actually for a Comparable Plan
5 Key Areas to Check to Ensure your Benefits Quote is Actually for a Comparable Plan Inflation is on everyone’s mind; wherever you look, prices are rising. Unfortunately, benefit plans are not exempt from this. When the cost of dentist visits, medical items and procedures goes up, the result is often higher claims. This can […]
Business Owners: How to pivot your employee benefits to adapt to the changing landscape of employee needs
By Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group: An Employee Benefits Company The year 2020 has certainly been a year of change. All aspects of life have adapted to a new normal, and this includes businesses and what it means to provide valuable benefits to employees. As business owners and managers of employee benefits, what can you […]
New Year, New Benefits?
A fresh year — and a refresh opportunity By Lindsay Byrka, Vice President, Immix Group: An Employee Benefits Company At the start of a new year, we all make resolutions. With 2020 also being the start of a new decade, perhaps we’re even more motivated to make improvements! When it comes to benefits, consider: Is this the […]
Employee benefits for start-ups: the long-term vs. short-term outlook
By Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group / March 14, 2019 Once they grow above three employees, many small businesses start thinking about getting a benefits program. After all, benefits are a key attraction in hiring the best talent. From a human resources perspective, small businesses scaling up should make sure the benefits package they settle on […]
HR managers: Here are three useful tips to help you efficiently manage employee benefits
By Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group / May 23, 2018 Employee benefits are an integral part of both the employee-value proposition and the overall working experience. As an HR manager, you might well ask, “Just how deeply should I be involved in employee benefits?” Let’s be frank. The discipline of employee benefits can be overwhelmingly […]
Employee benefits renewal is simpler than you think – here’s the key
By Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group / Oct 18, 2018 You may be an accountant, or work in human resources. Or perhaps you are a cost controller, chief financial officer or small-business owner. In any of these roles, you face the same daunting challenge every year: At employee-benefits-renewal time, how best to deal with rate adjustments while […]