How to factor health insurance cost into salary decision?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I work at a small company where we pay 100% of employees' health insurance premiums. The cost can vary dramatically depending on whether an employee waives coverage, wants individual coverage, or has a spouse and children they want on the plan. An individual on the plan might cost us ~$5k/year and a family ~$20k.

This means a dramatic difference in the net cost and benefits of similar employees at similar roles and pay grades. For example, if an employee is offered $80K as a salary, an employee who waived coverage will make $80K, while someone with a totally insured family will cost the company $100K - a 25% difference. What's a viable way to mitigate that discrepancy?

How do others deal with compensation offers given that the health insurance costs for employees can vary so much? Do you just determine the salary assuming the employee would use the most expensive insurance coverage (potentially weakening the offer you could make to an employee who didn't want so much coverage)? How have others solved this?

Note: I don't think switching to a system where employees pick up some of the health insurance premium solves this problem, since those who consumed more health insurance would still get a greater benefit as someone with the same salary but needing less coverage.

manpreet 2 years ago

Some companies require employees to pay some of the cost of health insurance. In those cases the company contribution can be held consistent for all employees. But you've eliminated this option.

Another way to address the perceived imbalance is to use a "cafeteria plan" for benefits. Employees get a fixed amount of benefit; they can "spend" that on family health care or on a 401(k) match or on tuition remission or something else. You pitch that as allowing each employee to craft the benefits plan that meets his needs. Right now it can seem unfair to your single employees that others get the same salary plus extra insurance; it may also seem unfair to those who don't participate in the 401(k) plan that others get a company contribution, and ditto for those who use or don't use other benefits.

Transitioning to a cafeteria plan from a no-limits package like you have now can be tricky, though -- you'll have to either add benefits or get flack from people who are now losing what you used to fully cover.