Employees are the most valuable assets for any organization regardless of its size. When you focus on building a great team of employees, the most important thing is to know how to retain them in your company. One of the most effective ways to retain and keep your employees happy on the job is to offer employee benefits. However, choosing the right employee benefits plan in Austin and managing it can be tricky and costly for a small business.

Though an insurance company offers assistance, you may feel like there is some gap and you don’t have the kind of support from the insurance company that you need. This is where an experienced and reputable licensed employee benefits broker in Austin can help you. With proper guidance and planning, you can build a package of employee benefits that will help encourage loyalty and great performance. It, in turn, will ultimately impact your bottom line.

This short guide will walk you through the rules and regulations for mandated employee benefits and common employee benefits.

Essential Employee Benefits

Following are the employee benefits that you must offer to comply with federal and state requirements:

1. Social Security Taxes:

As an employer, you must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes at the same percentage rate as your employees. The tax payments of a company are business expenses and, therefore, businesses must withhold the employee’s share of tax payments from gross pay.

2. Unemployment Insurance:

This type of insurance pays a benefit to workers who are laid off. The federal and state governments in the USA run unemployment programs that are funded by business tax. So, depending on your state requirements, you might have to pay unemployment insurance taxes. In that case, you will first need to register with the workforce agency or department of revenue.

However, the rules of unemployment insurance in Texas have been changed since the announcement of Gov. Gregg Abbott about opting out of all federal unemployment assistance programs. So, consult your licensed broker in Austin to ensure that you fully understand the recent changes.

3. Disability Insurance:

Many states and territories in the USA require businesses to provide partial wage replacement insurance to eligible employees for non-work-related sickness or injury. Such programs are called short-term disability plans.

4. Family and Medical Leave Act:

Employers in the United States are required to comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under this act, workers are entitled to up to 12 weeks of job-protected and unpaid leave during a 12-month period for reasons, such as birth and care of the eligible employee’s child, placement for adoption, foster care of a child with the employee, care of an immediate family member who is seriously ill, or care of the employee’s own serious health conditions.

Common Employee Benefits

There are various other company benefits that many employers give to their employees to attract and retain talent; however, these benefits are not mandated by the state and federal governments. Some of these are health and dental coverage, flexible spending accounts, paid leaves, retirement savings plans, tuition reimbursement incentive for intelligent and motivated employees, transportation and parking benefits, food, discounts and offers for a variety of expenses, and great work environment.

The type of employee benefits you offer typically depends on the type of work environment you are trying to cultivate and the types of employees you want in your company. Thus, seeking the help of a licensed employee benefits broker in Austin will help you prepare a great employee benefits plan.