{"id":332,"date":"2018-04-13T21:31:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T04:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/?p=332"},"modified":"2022-02-06T21:37:55","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T05:37:55","slug":"your-employee-benefits-program-five-important-questions-to-ask-every-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/2018\/04\/13\/your-employee-benefits-program-five-important-questions-to-ask-every-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Your employee benefits program: Five important questions to ask every year\ufffc"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"332\" class=\"elementor elementor-332\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-03c1b43 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"03c1b43\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ef30044\" data-id=\"ef30044\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1db7162 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1db7162\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-info\"><ul><li>By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.immixgroup.ca\/employee-benefits-questions.html#\">Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group\u00a0<\/a>\/\u00a0April 13, 2018<\/li><\/ul><\/div><p>It is vital that you run a sustainable, healthy employee benefits program tailored to your organization&#8217;s needs. As your company changes and grows, be aware that one size does not fit all. Update your program to ensure you continue getting the maximum value in providing benefits.<\/p><p>Whether you&#8217;re the business owner, human resources manager, chief financial officer or cost controller, you want to keep your <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/07\/13\/hybrid-traditional-flexible-employee-benefits-a-sample-design-for-smbs\/\">employee benefits<\/a> program effective. Here&#8217;s how to do that. Every year, ask your broker the following five questions:<\/p><ol start=\"1\" type=\"1\"><li><strong><u>What is my <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/01\/15\/the-best-time-to-review-your-benefits-program-is-now\/\">benefits<\/a> program&#8217;s expense ratio, that is,\u00a0<em>target loss ratio<\/em>\u00a0(TLR)?<\/u><\/strong><p>Knowing and understanding your TLR allows you to <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/06\/14\/health-benefits-quote\/\">compare the expenses of an insured plan<\/a>, as opposed to comparing the rates\/coverage alone. TLR indicates how much money the insurers take away from your premium dollars to run the plan. When organizations compare only the\u00a0<em>actual<\/em>\u00a0rates, i.e., when they \u201crate shop,\u201d they get sucked into market-surveying every year, and possibly frequent carrier-switching. Don&#8217;t fall into this trap. It will lead to inefficiencies for both your organization and the insurers \u2013 and ultimately to significant financial costs.<\/p><\/li><li><strong><u>An employee assistance program (EAP) is the number-one way to decrease: a) absenteeism and b) long-term drug costs. Does our plan include an EAP?<\/u><\/strong><p>In Canada, anti-depressants are one of the highest-claimed classes of drugs. They could be the root cause for you<em>r<\/em>\u00a0group <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/02\/8-reasons-for-increases-to-your-employee-benefit-plan-premiums\/\">plan&#8217;s annual premium increases<\/a>. Depression and other mental illnesses may stem from issues outside the workplace that nevertheless influence the workplace. So, even if there is a healthy work environment, personal issues out of your HR&#8217;s control can affect absenteeism and presenteeism. When such issues are left unattended, employees often wait too long to seek help. The best way to combat mental illness is to be proactive rather than reactive (i.e., taking drugs). An EAP is the most cost-effective way to have a confidential third-party, professional resource for your employees to access, whether it is for personal or workplace-related issues. An EAP not only eases your HR burden; it also fosters a healthier mindset in the workplace.<\/p><\/li><li><strong><u>In case of an unfortunate life event, are my executives and I adequately covered by long-term disability (LTD) and key-person insurance?<\/u><\/strong><p>While most <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/11\/add-to-your-recruitment-and-retention-toolkit-with-a-group-savings-plan\/\">group plans<\/a> include group LTD, you want to ensure that the\u00a0<em>amount\u00a0<\/em>and the\u00a0<em>definition\u00a0<\/em>of coverage are adequate. A common mistake is failing to understand that, after the \u201ctwo-year own occupation\u201d clause, LTD <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/29\/top-8-faqs-for-business-owners-when-implementing-an-employee-benefits-plan\/\">benefits can end if the disabled employee<\/a> can do any other job. Furthermore, it is important to ensure that key persons vital to the operation of your business are covered in case of any unfortunate, unforeseen circumstance. Suddenly having to hire a replacement executive would not only be costly; it would drain much of your time and resources. Key person coverage is designed to pay the <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2020\/08\/05\/business-owners-how-to-pivot-your-employee-benefits-to-adapt-to-the-changing-landscape-of-employee-needs\/\">business in the event of losing a key employee or owner<\/a>.<\/p><\/li><li><strong><u>A health spending account (HSA) enhances benefits flexibility. Is HSA suitable for an organization of my size?<\/u><\/strong><p>HSAs are a great way to provide flexible benefits under a controllable financial structure for a small start-up. They&#8217;re also an excellent supplementary benefit for larger organizations with an existing traditional benefits program. Members get a set annual amount that can be used for anything Canada Revenue Agency deems eligible as a medical expense. Furthermore, a related type of account, a\u00a0<em>lifestyle spending account<\/em>, may even be used for wellness-type expenses, such as yoga classes, supplements and gym memberships (i.e., non-CRA eligible). As of March 2018, setting up HSAs is also one way to provide coverage for medical marijuana.<\/p><\/li><li><strong><u>At<\/u><u> what point should I look into shifting benefits money into Administrative Services Only (ASO) funding in order to minimize insurance administration <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/04\/20\/renewing-employee-benefits-in-2021-here-are-things-to-know-going-forward-to-keep-costs-down\/\">costs to run the benefits<\/a> program?<\/u><\/strong><p>ASO is indeed a way to reduce the administrative costs in running your benefits program. It shifts the risk from the insurer to your organization. Based on the <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2020\/10\/01\/business-owners-how-to-design-the-best-group-savings-plan-for-your-company\/\">plan design<\/a>, you pay the provider to administer and manage claims for you. Why do this? Because you optimize the reach of your healthcare dollars. Note: This is only appropriate for larger groups. Once your organization comprises more than 100 people, claims volatility is typically low enough for a group to take on the risk. This is especially applicable if you consider ASO for just dental, where there is typically a cap in usage. ASO can immediately save 5-15% of your benefits costs, provided your group has low enough claims volatility.<\/p><\/li><\/ol><p>By asking the above questions, you will have a much better understanding of how your benefit program should run for maximum optimization. If you would like further clarifications, please feel welcome to contact me:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:howard@immixgroup.ca\">howard@immixgroup.ca<\/a>. I will be more than happy to answer your inquiries in detail!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-206b18d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"206b18d\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-68adbf0\" data-id=\"68adbf0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4f1f45b elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-227 elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4f1f45b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script src=\"https:\/\/apps.elfsight.com\/p\/platform.js\" defer><\/script>\n<div class=\"elfsight-app-83f14fdc-92b5-4456-9af4-0934ad166639\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b992aba elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b992aba\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-acb314b\" data-id=\"acb314b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22fe0f4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-287 elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"22fe0f4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-683x1024.avif\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1986\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-683x1024.avif 683w, https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-200x300.avif 200w, https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-768x1152.avif 768w, https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard.avif 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-86208d2\" data-id=\"86208d2\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a78e713 elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-290 elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a78e713\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span class=\"cert\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/howardch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Howard Cheung BBA<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\nEmployee Benefits Consultant, Immix Group: An Employee Benefits Company\n<strong>A<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2602.5699178039927!2d-123.12053598382099!3d49.28454617855886!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x54867181f97930d5%3A0x9797e526e8704198!2s888%20Dunsmuir%20St%20%23450%2C%20Vancouver%2C%20BC%20V6C%203K4!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sca!4v1583124389424!5m2!1sen!2sca\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">Suite 450 &#8211; 888 Dunsmuir St. Vancouver V6C 3K4<\/a><\/p><p>\n<strong>Ph<\/strong> <a href=\"tel:6046885559\">604-688-5559<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>E<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:info@immixgroup.ca\">info@immixgroup.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>W<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.immixgroup.ca\/\">www.immixgroup.ca<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group\u00a0\/\u00a0April 13, 2018 It is vital that you run a sustainable, healthy employee benefits program tailored to your organization\u2019s needs. As your company changes and grows, be aware that one size does not fit all. Update your program to ensure you continue getting the maximum value in providing benefits. Whether [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employee-benefits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":877,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions\/877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}