Topic 11 Flashcards
Benefit Benchmark Survey
A tool that helps organizations better understand how employee benefits may impact their ability to attract and retain qualified employees.
Benefit Level Strategy
Refers to the level of each benefit type provided as well as the overall company expenditure.
Benefit Mix Strategy
Refers to the particular combination of benefit types that an organization offers.
Co-pay Policy
A policy that requires employees to pay a set amount for each time any service is used.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
An Act which established that employees have a right to continue their employer-sponsored health care plan, at the employees’ expense, for up to 18 months.
Cost-sharing
An approach in which the insurance only pays for a portion of medical expenses.
Deductible
The full amount of medical expenses up to a set amount, that must be paid by the employee.
Defined Benefit
A plan in which an organization uses a time-based formula to calculate how much pension an employee has earned, and upon retirement the organization pays the employee a guaranteed amount per year throughout retirement.
Employee Benefit Preference Survey
A survey used to ask employees directly about their benefit preferences.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
An Act that regulates retirement plans offered by organizations.
Employer Mandate
A Mandate which states that organizations with 50 or more employees are required to either offer health insurance to their employees or pay an additional tax for not having done so.
Employer Matching
When an organization matches an employee’s contribution to a retirement account, typically up to 3-5% of an employee’s salary.
Employment-based Reward
Rewards that are only contingent on an employee maintaining employment with the organization.
Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) Plan
A plan in which any expenses an employee incurs outside of the network are not reimbursed.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
An Act which specifies that employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of time off to recuperate from medical conditions or to handle qualified family needs such as the birth of a child or to care for an elderly relation.
Flexible Benefit Plans
Flexible benefit plans provide employees options in which benefits they receive.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Employee accounts used to set aside pre-tax funds from their wages that can then be drawn upon to receive reimbursement for health related expenses.
Geographic Pay
Connects to the total reward philosophy and global compensation by providing employees a high pay rate for taking assignments in less desirable or inconvenient locations.
Hazard Pay
Provides employees a premium increase in pay for jobs that involve a higher degree of risk to the employee.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
An Act which restricts the use of preexisting condition clauses from being used to deny new employees coverage for a particular medical condition that was previously covered under an insurance policy.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
An organization that creates a more restricted network than the PPO and creates pre-paid services contracts with those health services providers.
Health Savings Accounts
Organizational or employee accounts where pretax funds are deposited, upon which employees can draw for medical expense reimbursement.
Holiday Pay
Pay provided for many federally-recognized holidays.
Indemnity Plans
A plan that allows employees to go to any physician and create costs for the organization only when health services are utilized.
Life Insurance
Provides a payout to survivors of the employee upon his or her death. The amount of coverage paid for by the organization is often limited to a percentage of the employee’s salary, but many organizations provide employees the option of purchasing higher amounts of coverage.
Long-term Disability Policy
A policy that will replace a portion of an employee’s salary if injuries prevent them from returning to work for a longer period of time, up to 3 months.
Managed Care Plans
Plans that are adopted by organizations trying to slow the increasing cost of healthcare.
On-call Pay
Compensates employees for being available to work based on short notice from the organization.
Paid Leave
Refers to various forms of pay for time not worked.
Paid Time Off Bank
A bank of hours in various forms of paid leave, from which the employee can draw time from for any purpose.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)
An Act whose objectives are to reduce the cost of health insurance and expand its coverage to all Americans.
Perquisites
There are an almost unlimited number of ways that employers can provide value to the employees through unique forms of benefits. Often referred to as Perquisites, or Perks, many of these are not ‘standard benefits’ that employees necessarily expect.
Personal Days
Days which the employee is free to not come into work, even if they are not sick.
Point-of-Service Organization (POS)
A plan similar to the PPO with the exception that the plan specifies a medical services point of contact for employees.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plan
A plan in which the organization or health benefits provider establishes a network of health services providers with whom they have negotiated cost-saving terms in exchange for inclusion in the network.
Premium Sharing Policies
A policy in which the employer does not pay the full premium for the health insurance.
Psychological Contract
Refers to the informal expectations and agreements between an employee and an organization.
Shift Differential Pay
Employees working the evening or night shift receive a high pay rate.
Short-term Disability Policy
A policy that will replace a portion of an employee’s salary if injuries prevent them from returning to work for a relatively short period of time (e.g., three weeks).
Sick Days
Days that an employee is paid even though they do not attend work, with the expectation that an employee is actually unwell when the days are used.
Social Security
Enacted in 1935, it is a program that provides a retirement safety net for retiring employees who are of approved retirement age and have worked for a specified number of years.
Unemployment Compensation
Provides temporary income to employees who have lost employment.
Unemployment Insurance
A program in which organizations pay an unemployment tax at a rate that is partially determined by the organization’s history of employment practices that contribute to unemployment (such as layoffs).
Vacation Time Off
A break from work, with no constraints on how the employee wants to use the time.
Workers’ Compensation
Laws that require employers to make provisions for employees who are injured at work.
