Employer Benefits -- The Military Spouse Perspective

So you have landed that job and you are so excited to be there!  And then you sit down with Human Resources on that first day and they give you the fire hose treatment of policies and benefits.  As if your life as a military spouse isn't already full of initials and acronyms, now you get more at work.  So here are a few things you want to know, but are afraid to ask.

What does vesting mean?

Vesting refers to how much of the employer contribution to your retirement plan you get to take with you when you leave the job.  Any money that you contribute to the plan is yours; there is no time commitment for that money.  The money that the company puts in may be subject to a vesting schedule.  One type of schedule is called graduated.  For example, you may be vested in 20% of the employer contributions after your first anniversary, 40% after your second, and so on up to 100% vested after five years.  Some companies have a cliff vesting schedule, where if you leave before your two year anniversary you don't get to keep any of their contribution, but if you stay until after that two year mark you keep 100% of their contribution.  The reason this is important to consider is because you know that you will likely have to PCS in two to three years, you know that you will not be able to take all of your employers contributions with you.  So if the employer is taking a hard line on salary negotiations because they have such a good retirement contribution you need to keep that timeline in mind.

What are my health care options?

The hiring manager or human resources representative will tell you about the type of health plan(s) the company offers.  Even though you may have TRICARE you should pay attention to these options, particularly the cost of the premiums for the plan.  It is another piece of information to help you with your salary negotiation.  Some companies have a cash-in-lieu of health care option, usually between $100 and $200 per month.  The dollar amount will not be the equivalent to the cost of the premium, it likely won't even be half.  If they don't offer such an option then use the fact that you may not need medical coverage to try to get the salary bumped up.  If you do choose to take the company sponsored health plan, then that plan will be the primary coverage for you and TRICARE will become a secondary payer. 

What is an FSA?

FSA stands for Flexible Spending Account.  These accounts allow you to take money out of your check pre-tax in order to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses and child-care expenses.  At the beginning of the year you can elect a certain dollar amount to go in to the account, once you incur an expense you send in a claim form and a receipt and you get your money that you paid in to the account back and you have not paid taxes on it, so it is like a 20-30% discount depending on your tax bracket.  The catch to these accounts is that you have to use the money that you elect to put in to them or else you lose the money.  For example, I put $300 in to my medical FSA to buy new glasses and then I never get around to getting my eye appointment by the end of the year.  Unless I can come up with $300 of other out-of-pocket medical expenses (co-pays, deductibles, dental work), then I lose that money.  Talk to your HR department about specific dollar limits for the medical FSA.  These accounts are really good money savers as long as you have a handle on how much your out-of-pocket costs are.

So what questions do I ask?

Hopefully many of these questions will be answered in your orientation, so you should try to take some notes because there is likely to be a lot of new information on those first couple of days at work.  So pay special attention to the following:

• Recognized holidays - Not all companies recognize federal holidays like President's Day or Veteran's Day, though schools and day cares may be closed on those days so you may have child care issues.

• PTO (paid time off) or Vacation and Sick pay - Many companies have gone to a combined bucket of PTO days rather than vacation and sick days. Either way, make sure you find out how those days are earned and when you can start using them.

• My next raise - How often are salaries evaluated? And what are they evaluated on, timing, merit, production? Is there a bonus structure and what criteria have to be met for those, a manager's discretion or on performance measures?

• Probationary period - What does it mean to this company? Can I use vacation during this time? Do my benefits not starts until it is over? Do I get a review in 90 days? Is there a potential for an increase at the end of the period?

• Potential for flexibility - If your spouse is doing work-ups or is deployed, he or she may not be available for household or child care emergencies. Is your new employer understanding that you are essentially a single parent? What are the options for working from home or staggering hours to help you run your household more efficiently?

• FMLA - This is the Family Medical Leave Act and does provide some protections for military spouses, but the rules are very specific. Make sure you ask your HR person if your new company qualifies under the Act.