Benefits Consulting

As companies demand more and more of their workforce, a strong benefits plan becomes an increasingly valuable competitive advantage. Compass Consulting can help you design and implement programs that meet your cost-sharing goals, with the affordability your employees need and want.

Medical Plans
Health Savings Accounts
Disability Plans
Self Funded Plans
Section 125 Plans & Employee Voluntary Plans
Dental Plans
Retirement Plans

Medical Plans
These days, a medical plan is a virtual necessity to attract and retain good employees. As shown in the chart below, we offer plans that are diverse enough to satisfy almost any company’s needs. (For more information about specific features and benefits, we can furnish individual plan booklets.) For assistance in choosing the plan that’s best suited to your situation, please contact us.

Plan Type/ Features	HMO (Health Maintenance Organization)	POS (Point of Service Plan)	PPO (Preferred Provider Organization)	HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan)
Choose physician?	Yes (in network)	Yes (in or out of network)	Yes (in or out of network)	Yes
Co-pay?	Yes	Yes	Participating: yes; nonparticipating: may be a deductible or coinsurance	No; pay for each visit at time of service
Referral required for specialty care?	Yes	No (see plan booklet for details)	No (see plan booklet for details)	No
Preventative care covered?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some types (see plan booklet for details)
Advantages	Low co-pay limits out-of-pocket expenses	More physician choices	More physician choices	Lower paycheck deductions; can save in a tax-free HSA

Health Savings Accounts
A health savings account (HSA) is a savings account that must be paired with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). Employees and/or employers contribute to an HSA, then use the money to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. You must have a high deductible health care plan (with a minimum annual deductible of $1,100 self-only or $2,200 family in 2008) in order to open and contribute to a health savings account. Employees and/or employers can contribute to these savings accounts using pre-tax dollars (up to $2,900 self-only or $5,800 family annual contributions in 2008) and use the money to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses.Contributions and earnings are not forfeited at the end of each year, but stay in the account until used or withdrawn.

Among the advantages of an HSA:

Pre-tax contributions reduce the employee’s taxable income.
The employee chooses where to invest contributions.
Earnings grow tax-free.
Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free.
Taxable withdrawals for other expenses can be made with no penalties.
Funds are portable and can accompany the employee to a new job.
HSAs are not affected by a change in medical coverage or marital status.

To discuss the advantages of high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts with a Compass consultant, please click here.

Health Reimbursement Accounts
A health reimbursement account (HRA) is a plan funded by an employer that reimburses employees for medical expenses. Reimbursements up to a certain dollar amount are not included in an employee’s income. Unused balances in the employer plan may be carried forward each year.

HRAs offer employers tremendous flexibility to:

Set deductible and reimbursement amounts.
Select services to be covered.
Determine cost-sharing formulas.
Roll over or liquidate the account balance.

Like an HSA, an HRA is usually implemented in conjunction with a high-deductible health plan. However, the employee does not own the account. For assistance in determining whether an HRA would be right for your company, contact us to talk with a Compass consultant.

Disability Plans
With a disability plan, you can help protect your employees’ financial security if they become incapacitated. There are two types of plans: short-term disability (periods of six months or less) and long-term disability (greater than six months). We’ll be glad to help you decide whether to include one of these choices in your company’s benefits plan. Call or e-mail us today.

Self-Funded Plans
With a self-funded health care plan, you pay for the care your employees actually receive, as opposed to paying premiums for coverage they may or may not need. The big advantage of these plans is that you can tailor them specifically to your needs, for significant savings compared to paying insurance premiums.

Self-funding is most attractive to mid-sized and larger companies (250 or more employees) with a healthy workforce and low turnover. Employers typically buy insurance to cover any claims that exceed their projected liability. At Compass Consulting, we have the expertise to help you decide if self-funding is a good choice for your business. To explore the possibilities, call us or click here.

Section 125 Plans and Employee Voluntary Programs
Section 125 plans allow employees to pay certain qualified insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars. This can result in savings of 20% to 40% or more, depending on the participant’s tax bracket and the premiums selected. In addition, employees can avoid tax on income used to pay for medical and child care.

In addition to helping you select and design a plan for your company, we can develop administrative procedures that make it easier for you to:

Prepare required IRS forms.
Develop dependent care and medical reimbursement accounting processes.
Answer employee questions.

Employee voluntary programs are similar to Section 125 plans. They let employees contribute on a pre-tax basis to pay for such expenses as vision care and term life insurance, as well as specialized coverage for disability, cancer, and accidental death and dismemberment.

A voluntary contribution plan can help your employees save money and increase their satisfaction with their benefits program. For more information about adding this important extra to your health plan offering, please contact us.

Dental Plans
Dental benefits aren’t just good for oral health; they’re good for companies that want to recruit and hold onto high-quality employees. There are several kinds of dental plans to choose from, as shown in the chart below. We have a great deal of experience in navigating this benefit category, and can help you select a plan and provider that suit your company’s budget and the needs of your workforce.

Direct Reimbursement programs reimburse a percentage of the dollar amount participants spend on dental care. These programs usually allow employees to choose their own dentist, and typically don’t limit the kind of treatment covered.

"Usual, Customary and Reasonable" (UCR) programs also normally allow patients to consult the dentist of their choice. These plans pay a set percentage of the dentist's fee or the plan administrator's "reasonable or customary" fee, whichever is less.

Table or Schedule of Allowance programs pay a certain dollar amount for each item on a list of covered services. The plan participant pays any difference between the covered amount and the dentist’s usual charge.

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) programs require participating dentists to discount their fees. If the employee’s dentist of choice does not take part in the PPO, plan benefits are reduced or denied.

Capitation programs pay participating dentists a fixed amount (usually per month) for each enrolled family or individual. In return, dentists agree to provide specific types of treatment at no charge (or with a co-payment).

Call us or click here to learn more about the dental plans we can offer you.

Retirement Plans
Compass Consulting offers several retirement plans for employees as well as business owners. Here’s a brief overview of the features and advantages of two of the most popular programs: 401(k)s and profit-sharing plans.

401(k) Plans
Corporations, Subchapter S corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, and self-employed individuals are all eligible to establish these retirement savings plans. A number of advantages make the 401(k) plan a key tool for attracting and retaining employees:

Employees’ contributions are made on a pre-tax basis, allowing them to reduce their current income tax liability.
Earnings grow tax-deferred until withdrawn.
Many employers match employee contributions up to a specified amount, providing participants an immediate return on their investment.

Your Compass consultant can handle all the complexities of designing a 401(k) plan for your business, including selecting the plan administrator, platform, and investment choices. Call or click here to contact a representative today.

Profit-sharing Plans
These plans reward employees by giving them a percentage of what the business has earned that year. Employers fund the plan by contributing a portion of the company’s pre-tax profits, which are distributed annually to eligible employees.

By giving workers a stake in the company’s profitability, these flexible plans can inspire improvements in productivity and growth. Their many advantages include:

Tax deductibility of employer contributions.
Tax deferral of contributions and earnings until assets are withdrawn.
High contribution limits. – in 2008 contribute up to 25% or $46,000, whichever is less (subject to cost of living adjustments in later years).
Freedom to choose the contribution amount each year.
Flexible incentives (individual employee percentages can be weighted).
Compatibility with a 401(k) plan (companies can offer both plans if desired)

Let an experienced Compass consultant help you design a retirement plan that’s right for your business. To learn more, please contact us today.

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