Independent Agent Michele Thompkins

Enhancing Benefits Without Spending a Dime

A free guide on implementing employee benefit enhancements

Having Fun at Work

Wellness Programs

Voluntary Benefits

Independent Agent Michele Thompkins

Be enrolled in high deductible health plan.

Your HAS can be an HMP, PPO or indemnity

plan.

Your not covered by other health insurance

Under age 65, or if older, not elected Medi-

care Parts A or B.

Cannot be claimed as a dependent on an-

other person’s tax return; and

Any income amount qualifies for HAS contri-

butions.

Basic Eligibility

Enhancing Employee Benefits EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM

Establishing a HSA

Benefits of an HSA

Can be used in combination with a high-deductible health plan.

contributions are not includible in gross in-come - they are tax-free.

help employees become better health care consumers.

payouts for qualified medical expenses are tax-free.

savings are owned by the individual and can move from employer to employer.

can "roll over" year-to-year to create a sizable retirement nest egg.

accumulated interest and dividends are tax-free or tax-deferred.

contributions by employers are exempt from payroll taxes.

"the better rainy day fund" health care savings plan.

An HSA is particularly well situated to help

small firms without medical plans to offer

them to their employees. An HSA is a form of

tax-deferred retirement accounts that can be

more easily drawn upon for emergencies than

their IRA counterparts.

A simpler way to put it, make it easy on yourself and your employees by de-veloping a telecommute program for your business.

Employer Benefits

Increase office staff, not space

Reduce additional parking

Shifts on office computer system to off-peak hours

Improves community relations

For more information on Telecommute for your business visit advocacy groups such as the International Telework Association & Council (http://www.workingfromanywhere.org/ ) pointing out these benefits: reduced ab-senteeism, increased productivity, better work/life balance, potential savings in real-estate costs, and reduced costs for recruiting and retaining workers. I would argue that the last benefit is the most critical—workers today want this option and the empowerment that goes with it.

Many employers report that healthier employees show up to work more often,

are more productive, and visit the doctor less frequently.

Wellness programs should excite and encourage employees, not threaten them.

Replace junk food in vending machines with healthier treats.

Consider initiating a wellness contest to encourage employees to lose weight

or exercise.

Invest in pedometers, encourages employees to keep track of daily steps,

which may encourage additional walking.

Fast Food Facts– Employees may think twice before heading to their local

fast food spot once they realize the calories and fat involved.

Review claims—Looking over your claims data can help you with health con-

cerns, such as; blood pressure, diabetes and more. In addition, companies can set

up health screenings with local hospitals and clinics.

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM

Attracting and keeping key employees is a challenge for any businesses to stay

ahead in today’s economy. Implementing a employee benefit plan is one of the

main components to retain employees and attracting new ones.

Company Potluck

Lavish holiday celebrations may be a thing of the past. Some employees may have trouble finding childcare or can't afford the expense of an evening out with co-workers (buying holiday clothes, dry cleaning, restaurant and taxi costs, etc.). A potluck at the office may be the best way to celebrate the holiday with all of your co-workers. A potluck lunch or dinner is where everyone attending brings a "covered dish" or other menu item to the party. Because everyone chips in on the cook-ing, it's a low cost way to cater a large meal for everyone you work with. The dishes are set on a table and everyone serves them-selves, buffet style.

Another way to use potluck is for office fund raising. By asking each employee to donate $5 for the potluck can cut down on late lunches from going out and raise funds for company events for employees.

For tips on how to coordinate a company potluck click here

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER (Bi-weekly or Monthly)

Publishing a employee newsletter is great communication tool and FREE. If you use Microsoft Outlook you can download free newsletter templates here. You may choose to send your newsletter via email to cut back on printing expenses. Get free templates here.

Motivate employees and establish an effective work culture

Demonstrate appreciation of every individual and the role they play

Keep employees up-to-date with company development

Inform employees on specific issue(s)

Any or all of the above, or others not listed Newsletter Content

Personal message from managing director

Profiles of departments or employees

Company news (your employees want to hear about), e.g. products, organizational changes, new appointments, company performance

Social news

Contributions from employees, letters, etc

Independent Agent Michele Thompkins

FUN AT WORK

Most focus in a company is pro-duction and profit, leaving out the fun stuff for employees. Em-ployers who embrace their em-ployees having fun at work will find improvement in productivity, work quality and fun is the best way to make money!

Wii Bowling Tournaments

Bring your kids to work day, with games

Wall of Fame, acknowledging employees for a job well done

Video monitors, photos of employees working together and company events.

Sitcom and Karaoke lunches, the break room is playing episodes of The Office, 30 Rock or a Karaoke theme to have some fun during lunch or other employee event.

For more fun ideas visit here.

Group Discounts

An employee discount shopping program is the one employee benefit that an employee can use every day of the year.

Group purchases can be an extra incentive for local events, ticket purchases and discounts.

You may hire a professional company that carefully selects its partners in order to pro-vide only the very best goods and services with the deepest discounts possible.

Discounts on company’s goods or ser-vices.

Cellular phone purchases

Theme park and movie ticket discounts

Travel

Shopping

OFFERING VOUNLTARY BENEFITS

Difficult economic times mean tough choices for business owners. Adding voluntary benefits to cutting back on benefits, laying off key employees or losing them to a competitor with a richer benefits package. Instead of paying for disability insurance, life insurance, dental insurance and the like as core employee benefits, business owners have begun to provide those kinds of benefits on a voluntary basis.

After implementing the plan, regularly communicate with employees to get feedback and update them on changes. Giving employees easy ac-cess to the broker and the carrier is critical.

Prioritize broad offerings (disability insurance) over niche-type benefits, which can be relatively expensive for what they deliver.

Offering voluntary benefits is an excellent way to enhance employee bene-fits, it can also cut back on healthcare expenses. Offering voluntary benefits to employees can include:

Accident

Life

Cancer

Critical Illness

Hospital Indemnity

Dental

Vision Instead of having the expense of additional health coverage for employees, giving employees the option of choosing which benefits they want at no ex-pense to the company.

Independent Agent Michele Thompkins

Michele specializes in individual/group supplemental plans, in-cluding accident, critical illness, cancer, life and dental insurance. A member of Houston LEAD, she enjoys being active in her local community. Originally from Memphis, TN, she attended University of Mem-phis and Lemoyne Owen College and studied in the field of Busi-ness Management/Communications and has an Associates de-gree in Computer Science. Michele has represented companies such as Nationwide Insur-ance, AAA Insurance and Allstate Insurance. Michele joined Aflac after moving to Texas in 2007. Her interests include blogging, marketing, presentations, busi-ness, and family.

INDIVDUAL AND GROUP SUPPLEMENT INSURANCE

CONSULTING & SALES

Representing Aflac 3350 Hwy 6 Suite 403

Sugar Land, TX 77478

832.463.0525 ph 281-903-7590 fax

Independent Agent Michele Thompkins