Working for Perks and Benefits—Revised for 2008

Receiving benefits and perks in lieu of actual $$ saves on cash outlay for the business, and tax outlay for you. Benefits and perks are not taxable.

Some examples:

• Employer-paid medical premiums: Even at HMO prices, $300/month x 12 = $3600 annually, and family rates at $600/month x 12 = $7200 annually. With or without family premiums employer-paid, it could come to $3600-7200 or more annually, depending on going rates.

• Employer-provided mileage/commuter reimbursement would yield approximately $944+/- annually (no maintenance figured in) when a 22-mile round trip is used when gas is estimated at $2.75/gallon, and 330 days of work/year are used. An employer-provided car would save us this much in gas, travel/maintenance, and reduce our insurance premiums if our car is no longer used to commute.

To calculate your cost per mile: cost per gallon divided by miles driven (maintenance not included in this calculation—to add this, go to a car comparison site and find your average annual maintenance cost, and add it in).

$2.75 (example cost of gas) divided by 22 (miles driven per day) = .13 per mile

$.13/mile x 22 miles x 330 calendar days a year = $944 (rounded up)

• Disability insurance policies usually run in numbers equal 1-2 or 3 years of salary as the face value of the policy (annual salary x 2 is the optimal amount). I don’t know what the monthly premiums run nowadays, so you’ll have to look this one up. Multiply this figure by 12 to get annual benefit amount, then add annual figure to this list of bennies/perks value. Disability insurance will pay for your living expenses (other than medical) while you recover.

• Employer-paid expense allowance, if available, should cover your clothing care/maintenance, special work clothes (safety-related and/or not wearable in public every day), and any other business-related expenditures you plan to rack up during your year (software, books for additional reading/training, industry magazines for staying current with new trends, etc.) Add this annual guesstimate to your list. (Laundry costs can be figured by cost of supplies + cost of machine use (if using a laundromat), or by cost per load.

Finding the cost per load: 1 measure required for a load, multiplied by 8, then multiplied by cost per ounce = cost per load. Example: Purex liquid soap takes 2/3 cup to make 1 load according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 2/3 cup x 8 = 5.36 with decimal rounding. If Purex soap is purchased at $2.50/gallon, then the cost per ounce is .02 for this soap. 5.34 (2/3 cup x 8) multiplied by .02 (cost per ounce) = .11 per load (with decimal rounding). This particular soap at this particular price costs .11 a load to use, not counting any Laundromat costs per load.

$2.50 (cost per gallon) divided by 128 ounces (one gallon) = .02 (cost per ounce)

5.34 (decimal equivalent of one capful) x .02 (cost per ounce) = .11/load

Estimating laundromat costs at $1.75/load to wash and $1.25 to dry, plus dryer sheets at .005 each, total laundry costs (.11 for soap, .01 for dryer sheet, $1.75 to wash, and $1.25 to dry) = $3.33/load. Figure how many loads you plan to do each week, and multiply by 50 (the number of workweeks in a year). This can be nearly $500 or higher annually if 3 loads a week are done using these figures and these materials.

$2.00 (est. cost of dryer sheets) divided by 250 (est. number of sheets in box) = .01/sheet

Needless to say, dry cleaning would be more expensive, and you should seek reimbursement or some sort of cost defray for this. The alternative is to buy clothes that don’t need dry cleaning.

• Life insurance can cost you a miniscule amount now, but what will it cost to transfer, lose, or re-start the policy? Multiply this figure by 12 to get an annual number—employer-paid, preferably. Make sure your employer is NOT the beneficiary of any employer-paid life insurance policies by designating one of your own in writing.

• How much are your current retirement savings expenses? Add up the contribution ceilings of all IRAs, 401k’s, saver’s tax credit, and so on (as eligible) to determine you total annual retirement savings expenses. Seek to have some of these defrayed through employer contributions, employer reimbursement, or salary addition. This number could be as much as $5000 per person (IRAs) + a percent number of $15,500 (401k).

• Employer-paid tuition or reimbursement is also a nice-to-have. It would be nice to get some defrayment in the future.

• Paid time off (known as “comp time”) in addition to the usual annual allotment would help for appointments, crises and emergencies, etc. An estimated $55,000 salary divided by an estimated 330 work days/year = $166.67+/- per day for excess paid days off. Just think—you could be at home in your PJ’s earning $166.67/day because you negotiated comp time into your contract.

• Opportunities for learning outside of and beyond your current field will prove immeasurable when you go for your next job. Skill enhancement with an eye for making you worth more in the eyes of an employer are priceless until you land that next job—then we know what they’re actually worth. This would be a good way to spend that “comp time.”

• Title and status need to be examined and selected with care. Certain titles are worth more in the eyes of the employment world, and titles need to change with added or changed responsibilities. The value of that, too, won’t be known until you land the next job.

• Excess unpaid time off from work in the form of shortened workweeks, shortened work days, or just more unpaid time off per calendar year. This would make your total work year salary much higher, because you’d have to work less to average more pay per hour or day. God knows what you could do with more time away from work—make money elsewhere or just rest (to save personal energy and health).

• Employment contracts and/or termination agreements should be pursued in lieu of job security, because they allow for more money to be made in the form of signing bonuses, departure parachutes for soft landings, and an exact specific list of terms which you will work or depart under. Basically, you get more money shoved at you for coming or going. When working up a termination agreement, specify 2 weeks’ pay for every year of employment AT MINIMUM for severance pay. Employment contracts are worked up based upon salary and benefit negotiations at the start.

You get to write your own job description, what conditions you will perform the job under, and what amount of money you will leave the job under. While on the job, perform it with the boss’s needs foremost in mind—the only form of job security nowadays. Seek out how you can help beyond the job completion and fulfilling the boss’s needs—ask how you can help raise the bottom line. Such activities will not go unnoticed come performance review time (and if so, then remind him). Do not wait for a performance review when asking for a raise or promotion—if you do your job well, see to his needs, AND help raise the bottom line, THEN ask for a raise (because that’s when you deserve it). Keep careful documentation of bottom-line-raising activities as proof—you may need it come re-negotiation time. More money to the company means more money to you.

All these things should be taken into account when selecting a job or deciding between more than one job offer. Salary dollars don't always mean the entire salary—take perks and benefits into account as well. There's hidden money in "them thar" things—sometimes thousands of dollars—when you add it all up! Don't forget--perks and bennies are tax-free to you.