Bills are piling up, rent is due, prices are rising, and you don’t have a job. It’s hard to argue with anyone unemployed taking the first position that comes along.
But that job you get offered may not be the best one, even for young Canadians facing the highest unemployment rate in decades. There’s one major factor to consider when job hunting. Top of mind should be total compensation, not just base pay.
The value of benefits
Statistics Canada has reported that about 64 per cent of Canadians aged 12 and older have private supplementary health insurance. In most cases, that coverage is paid for by the employer. Some people do buy their own private coverage, and that should also be in calculations.
Table stakes in benefits have often included dental care, some coverage for services such as braces, physiotherapy or other health services, basic disability and life insurance, and a big-ticket item such as a pension program. These can add thousands of dollars to your total compensation.
Jennifer Foubert, head of product and growth for group benefits at Manulife Financial Corp., describes it as “benefits literacy,” which is a great way to think about the extras your employer might offer that boost total compensation significantly.
“Overall, a comprehensive benefits package can be worth over several thousand dollars per year in real savings for employees,” said Foubert, adding that an increasing area of coverage has become fertility procedures, which can cost $20,000 per round.
Tailored benefits
She said tailoring benefits to employees has become more important because not everyone has the same coverage needs. That has meant coverage that might target previously ignored health issues specific to women.
“Benefits have moved from being at the back of the offer to a bit of front page decision factor,” said Foubert, adding that discussions about benefits can take centre stage once an offer is presented. “Some (benefits) can be negotiated,” she said, such as the waiting period for benefits to kick in on hiring.
Karen Klein, the co-founder and chief executive of HealthCasa Ltd., which operates like a mobile health-care clinic, said health-care spending accounts, which give employees flexibility over how they spend their benefit dollars, are becoming more popular.
But her company estimates that employees only use between 30 per cent and 60 per cent of their total HCSA allotments.
“The big ones are obviously the dental care and prescription drugs, but then you have all the other paramedical services like physio, massage and mental health services, and they all add up,” said Klein.
