You are probably well aware of health insurance and 401K benefits offered through work. However, there are several lesser-known benefits that can be super useful and help save a lot of money.

Flexible Spending Accounts

These are employee benefits that allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars for qualified health and dependent care expenses. There are 3 types of FSA accounts:

Health Savings Account (HSA): is an investment account that allows people to save pre-tax dollars and a part of their premiums. HSAs are usually coupled with a high deductible medical plan. Contributions are tax-free, money grows tax-free and withdrawals are also tax-free. The saved amount can be used to pay for deductibles and other qualified medical expenses and the remaining amount can be rolled over year to year and used in retirement for medical expenses.

Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA): You can set aside pre-tax money for healthcare related expenses such as deductibles or qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses. It is important to note that the money has to be used within the same year, so it is a ‘use it or lose it’ benefit. You can try to estimate your out-of-pocket medical costs based on prior years plus any other additional costs expected in the current year to determine how much to set aside in FSA – so that you don’t set aside too much and risk losing any extra money that you end up not using.

Dependent Care FSA: This is an employer sponsored benefit to let people save pre-tax dollars for dependents such as children up to age 13 or a dependent spouse or parents. This money can be applied to daycare, preschool, after-school care summer camps or elder daycare.

Company match for charity

Many companies offer a match for charitable contributions to eligible non-profits. So if there is a charity or cause that you are interested in, check to see if your company will match your contributions. That way you can get the tax benefit from making a charitable contribution as well as get your company to match the contribution to your favorite cause.

Professional development programs

Some companies offer education benefits such as college tuition reimbursement or other types of professional development programs such as professional coaching. Make sure to review your company’s policies and see how you can benefit from any such offerings.

Legal services

This is a lesser-known but very useful benefit. You might be able to save 1000s of dollars on legal fees by enrolling in your company’s legal service plan. This can be useful if you want to set up a will or trust or are looking for any other type of legal service.

Wellness programs

Mental health: With all the recent focus on mental health, companies are prioritizing the mental health of their employees and families. Check to see if your company offers mental health or therapy programs.

College counseling: Some companies even offer college counseling programs for their employees’ children. If you have a high schooler or even a late middle schooler in your family, you should definitely check if your employer offers this benefit.

Fertility & egg freezing: These days, it is common for companies to offer benefits related to egg freezing, IVF, pregnancy and post-pregnancy care, and adoption services.

Planwell

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