Ancillary Benefits: A Quick Guide for Employers

Ancillary benefits are often a type of secondary health insurance coverage. They can help to reduce the financial burden of those insured when traditional health insurance does not cover co-pays, deductibles or out of pocket expenses. Today, there are various unique ancillary benefits that are becoming more popular in the workplace. Many companies are adding ancillary benefits to their packages and providing employees with the opportunity to enjoy the perks associated with them. If you are thinking about offering ancillary benefits to improve your ability to attract and retain top talent in your company, here’s what you should know.

How Ancillary Benefits Work

Ancillary benefits are also known as voluntary benefits, and they can also be classed as employer-contributory benefits, depending on who pays the associated premiums. Voluntary benefits mean that the employee pays one hundred percent of the premium, so this type of benefit is quite easy and simple to offer for businesses. The premium is deducted from employees’ paychecks and companies are not required to make contributions, although they can if they want to. On the other hand, employer-contributory benefits usually have the employer paying between fifty and one hundred percent of the premiums, with any remaining premium deducted from paychecks.

Common Ancillary Benefit Types

There are various types of ancillary benefits that you may be interested in offering to your employees. These include:

Health Insurance

Ancillary health insurance packages provide employees with further voluntary health insurance options. Along with general health insurance, employers may want to consider offering extras such as vision and dental insurance, disability cover, and more. Vision and dental coverage is one of the most common types of ancillary benefit to offer, giving employees the option to get cheaper dental and vision care through their employer.

Life Insurance

This is another commonly offered ancillary benefit. Life insurance pays a fixed amount of money in the event of the insured party passing away. This is a benefit that many people look out for when they are searching for jobs as they get older or start a family of their own and realize its importance.

Pet Insurance

With more of us owning pets these days, this type of ancillary insurance is fairly new but becoming more and more popular. As pet-friendly workplaces become more commonplace with lots of employers having office dogs and cats or even allowing employees to bring their pet to work with them, it’s no surprise that being able to get pet insurance to protect your four-legged friend is a popular benefit option.

Wellness Benefits

More companies today are offering a wide range of health and wellness ancillary benefits. This could include free or reduced-price gym memberships, access to employee assistance and therapy programs, or providing healthy meal plans and access to food prepping facilities during break time. There are lots of potential benefits that you can offer to encourage your employees to live healthier lives and enjoy a better work-life balance.

Ancillary benefits can either be funded by the employee, employer, or both. There are lots of great options to consider that may make your workplace a more appealing place to work.