Employee Benefits Planning

For years, the team at Roche has been examining every employee benefit package in search of the best value for both you and your employees. Too often, we've found deficiencies in the 'packaged' plans available on the market today... so we've created our own model based on this philosophy:

Businesses need employee management strategies, not just benefits packages.

Traditionally, employee benefit packages include various types of non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries and can include:

• Housing (employer-provided or employer-paid)
• Group insurance (health, dental, life)
• Disability income protection
• Retirement benefits
• Daycare
• Tuition reimbursement
• Sick leave
• Vacation (paid and non-paid)
• Profit sharing
• Discretionary benefits, such as car and entertainment allowances

Benefits are often considered as part of a 'reward management' strategy for business owners to increase the economic security of employees, and in doing so, improve retention.

What's missing from this traditional model?

What's missing from this traditional model are the tools to help employees to manage their own finances successfully.

We believe the most valuable benefit you can offer your employees is a service that helps them manage their own financial affairs, including taxation, better.

If you give them access to a financial planner, you are giving them the gift of professional guidance that will last a lifetime.

Why is a benefits strategy important?

All of these benefit options have a financial impact on the business and a solid strategy is, therefore, helpful. Once you establish a benefits offering, you set 'precedence' against which all future packages will be evaluated.

In addition to the financial implications, there are also emotional issues that will surface related to the 'fairness' of employee treatment across the board.

For instance, in the case of age differences, a young person may not use the health portion of a benefits package the same as an older employee. One key benefit of the Roche package, is this: what the employee does not spend on teeth, he can re-allocate to drugs or some other area, potentially. Or, in the case where his benefits are not spent in traditional ways, we will put 80% of the unspent portion into his RRSP.

Roche can help you sort through all the options.

The financial planning experts on the Roche team are at your service to discuss the possibilities for your current benefits program, as well as planning for the future. We'll help you evaluate pros and cons and ensure that you understand how each option impacts the big picture of your business' financial position.

Contact Roche Financial Planners