hand holding a pen on a planner with "planning" written in it
no-pacents PA Career

2020 PA Employee Benefits

2

A Run Down of My Benefits for 2020

It’s the time of year that we have open enrollment for our benefits. This is the time we are allowed to make changes to our benefits. Although changes to 401k contributions can be done throughout the year I typically review this as well at this time.

The list of benefits included for myself are medical insurance, dental insurance, life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance (AD&D), long-term disability insurance, contributions to flexible spending or health saving accounts and 401k matching.

We also have voluntary benefits that we can elect to contribute to that include; life and dependent insurance, vision insurance, short-term disability, additional AD&D and dependent AD&D.

This year our health insurance premium is increasing slightly. The cost for the high deductible plan is $365.98 per month for family coverage, which is an increase of about $15 compared to last year. I have been electing to participate in the high deductible plan as it allows me to contribute to an HSA.

An HSA is a savings account for health expense. The money that goes into the account is before taxes and if used on medical expenses the money out of the account is not taxed. For 2020 the maximum amount that can be contributed to an HSA annually is $3,550 per individual and $7,100 per family. In retirement medical expenses are typically the largest expense. An HSA gives you a tax advantaged way to save for medical expenses in the future.

[jetpack_subscription_form title=”Don’t miss out on information about the PA career ” subscribe_text=”Enter your email address to receive future posts by email for FREE” subscribe_button=”Sign Me Up”]

If you’re fortunate to be maxing out your 401(k) the maximum elective deferral is $19,000 for 2020. If you’re over the age of 50 you’re allowed a catch-up contribution of $6,000 for a total of $24,000 annually. If you’re not maxing out your 401(k) it’s a great time to review your current contributions and possibly increase you contribution amount.

New to our benefits is an option to contribute to a 529 college savings plan. Although my employer does not contribute to this we are able to have money deducted from our paycheck for college savings. The advantage to using a 529 plan is that withdrawals are tax free for qualified education expenses. Also, in some states you are able to deduct a portion of your contribution. If you have children and are planning to financially help them with college, a 529 college savings plan is something you’ll want to look into.

Other benefits I have that are not reviewed during open-enrollment include; twenty days of paid time off, five days for CME time off, $2,500 in CME allowance, cell phone and paid license and certification.

How do your benefits compare? Please comment below the original post, sign up to receive future posts by email and share with your friends!

2 comments

    1. The HSA does not have a deductible. It is a savings account for health expenses. In order to contribute to an HSA you must be taking part in a high deductible health plant “For 2020, the IRS defines a high deductible health plan as any plan with a deductible of at least $1,400 for an individual or $2,800 for a family. An HDHP’s total yearly out-of-pocket expenses (including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance) can’t be more than $6,900 for an individual or $13,800 for a family. (This limit doesn’t apply to out-of-network services.)”
      https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/high-deductible-health-plan/

      Our plan has a deductible of $5,600 per family and $2,800 per individual.

Comments are closed.