Employee Benefits Will Help You Retain Your Great Employees

Every business owner knows that having the right employees can make or break your business, so careful selection is important. Conversely, a potential employee needs to decide whether you’re a desirable employer to work for. One of the biggest factors that influence employee retention is good hiring practices and great benefits.  No matter the size or type of business you have, an attractive employee benefits package can help to provide security for your current and future employees that can help you to optimize your investment in your staffing.

Some of the employee benefits you can consider include retirement income, workers compensation, short term disability, long term disability, healthcare coverage, dental and vision plans, life insurance, identity theft protection and paid time off. If you are a public company, or a company that is considering going public, your offering may include employee stock options as well.  Working with a good Trusted Choice independent agent can help you put together the right employee benefits plan.

Four Major Types of Employee Benefits

• Medical insurance: These plans can cover hospital visits, doctor visits, surgeries, prescriptions and possibly vision and dental. As the employer, you will cover the majority of the premium.
• Life insurance: If your employee dies, this benefit will provide financial payments to the employee's named beneficiaries; these benefits can help that person's family to cover funeral costs and ongoing living expenses.
• Disability Insurance: You can choose to offer short term and/or long term disability insurance. In the event that your employee is injured or has a lengthy illness, this benefit provides payment during the period of time your employee cannot work.
• Retirement Benefits: The most common type is a 401(k) which allows employees to deduct a certain amount of each paycheck to put towards retirement savings. Some businesses choose to match that deduction amount.

Employee Benefits Required by Law

• Social Security taxes: If you hire an employee, you must deduct social security taxes from that employee’s wages, pay the taxes to the IRS, and report the wages to the Social Security Administration (SSA). In return, your employee may receive Social Security and Medicare benefits later in life.
• Unemployment insurance: For each employee, you must pay unemployment insurance taxes to your state government. Those fees are given to qualified unemployed individuals. Procedures and requirements vary by state.
• Workers compensation: This is a type of employee benefits insurance that works for both parties. By agreeing to pay for injuries and illness that an employee may suffer on the job, you limit your risk of an employee lawsuit. Workers compensation is required by most but not all states; in states where it is required, typically companies that have over three employees must provide this coverage.

Employee Benefits Not Taxable 
      * Tuition reimbursement: If your business participates in an education program and agrees to
          reimburse an employee for tuition, that payment is not taxable income.
      *  Employer lodging: If you provide housing for an employee for business purposes and certain
          requirements are met, the rent amount cannot be included on an employee’s taxes.

• Services and discounts: If you have a partnership with a telephone company and employees receive 20% off phone bills, for example, the money saved is not taxable.
• Random perks: The occasional office lunch shouldn’t go on and employee’s W-2.

Your Trusted Choice Insurance Agent, SouthGroup Insurance Gulf Coast wants you to know you can call on us with your questions or concerns seeking more helpful advice or answers to your pressing insurance questions. A full insurance review is always your best bet to make sure you have all of the adequate coverage for your personal insurance needs. Remember, we offer a personalized insurance review to anyone who is interested at no charge – just visit any one of our 3 convenient coastal locations!

We are your LOCAL Trusted Choice Advisors, SouthGroup-Gulf Coast http://www.southgroupgulfcoast.com ,  SALES AND SERVICE AGENTS: Angelyn Treutel Zeringue, Tammy Garfield, Tammy Hogue, Brittany Jones, Denise Russell, Melissa Moran, Alex Treutel, Anne Gillam, Ashlie Moody, Mark Strickland, and Whitney Zimmerman at SouthGroup Gulf Coast. You can reach us by snail-mail or in person: 412 Hwy 90, Suite 6, Bay St Louis MS 39520, email: info@southgropugulfcoast.com , phone: 228-466-4498 fax:888-415-8922,  FaceBook www.facebook.com/southgroup.gulfcoast, or Twitter www.twitter.com/atreutel ! 

We have 2 Gulf Coast locations to serve you - 2505 Pass Road - Biloxi, and 412 Hwy 90 Suite 6-Bay Saint Louis, MS. We write coverage in 40 different states and can assist you with Mississippi insurance, Louisiana insurance, and Alabama insurance and many other states.

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