Civilian benefits explained p1 - Military Transition - Military Times EDGE

Before you accept any job offer, carefully evaluate the entire compensation package based on your priorities. That includes the basic salary offer as well as a company’s policies on paid leave — it’s unlikely you’ll start at any civilian company with the same five weeks of leave you rated in the military — as well as insurance and retirement programs. While you’re interviewing, be sure to ask the following questions. (Hint: These may be more appropriately posed to someone from a company’s human resources department than to your potential future supervisor.)

Paid leave

• What it is: Time off from work during which employees receive their regular pay. This can include vacation days, holidays, personal leave, sick leave and at some companies, even paid family leave — for moms and dads — in the event of a new child. The average number of paid days of in the U.S. for an employee with less than one year of service is 14, according to the Web site Salary.com. A company may offer a set number of days of each type of leave per year: For example, one week of paid vacation, five paid “personal days” and five days of paid sick leave.

• What to ask: There may be rules associated with each type of leave, including requirements that you coordinate days off with co-workers or request days off in advance. Additional vacation time in particular may accrue more quickly at some companies than others. Ask about rules associated with paid leave that may be specific to your position, and find out how long you’ll have to work at the company before you accrue more vacation days. Some organizations can’t shut their doors on holidays, so find out if you’ll qualify for overtime pay during those times.

Health plan

• What it is: An employee welfare plan maintained by an employer that provides medical care for participants and/or their dependents, usually through insurance, according to information from the Labor Department. A company may pay all of an employee’s insurance costs or may require that the employee pay a contribution toward the cost, which is usually more for a family than an individual and is deducted from the employee’s paycheck at regular intervals. In addition, insurance plans vary by amount of coverage — some include dental and vision plans — and some companies offer options, so you won’t necessarily have to pay for a benefit you don’t use.

• What to ask: First of all, be sure to find out how much you’ll be required to contribute to participate in the plan, says job-search expert and author Alison Doyle. If you have to pay several hundred dollars a month toward health insurance, that’ll make a big difference in your take-home pay. There may be rules governing which family members you can include in the plan, such as stepchildren and domestic partners. If the company seems willing, ask if you can take home a booklet that describes the plan, and potential coverage options, in detail. Find out whether there will be a waiting period before you’re eligible to enroll.

Retirement plan

• What it is: A savings plan that may or may not guarantee a specific monthly benefit at retirement. Defined benefit plans, also known as pensions and frequently offered by governments and unions, guarantee a certain dollar amount per month, often determined by a formula based on an employee’s salary and length of service. Employees generally don’t pay a contribution toward these plans, according to the Labor Department. Under defined contribution plans, however, employees contribute a portion of their pay, often to a 401(k) investment account that a worker can take with them when it’s time to change jobs. The employer may or may not match all or a portion of that contribution up to a certain percentage of the employee’s pay.

• What to ask: If the prospective company offers a pension plan, find out whether there have been recent changes to it. Many companies are reducing pension benefits to save costs, and they’re allowed by law to reduce promised benefits at any time, according to the Labor Department. If the company offers a 401(k) savings plan with a company match, find out how long it’ll be until you’re fully “vested” — the amount of time you must spend at a company before the company will match your contribution at its maximum rate. Percentages of matching contributions vary from company to company. Ask whether you’ll receive the match in cash or in company stock and whether you’ll have a hand in managing the portion of your plan that may be invested.

— Amanda Miller