Tech companies with unique employee benefits

Given the great resignation, people increasingly want to work at places that not only offer flexibility but also for a company whose values align with their own. Tech companies are facing a shortage of qualified workers, and have upped the ante with a host of new benefits to entice top talent. 

Tech companies are well known for their nontraditional perks of employment, like ping pong tables, free food, and modern offices. They’re also known for generous salaries and equity compensation, but what are some unique benefits beyond that? 

Here are some tech companies to work at if you value…

Travel

If traveling and creating experiences with family/friends is a significant priority for you, then finding companies that offer travel perks may be best for you. 

  • Google gives its employees the option to take a sabbatical, work remotely, and covers travel insurance for personal trips. 
  • Airbnb offers a travel stipend of $2,000 per year along with a generous vacation policy.
  • REI offers their employees 30% off their trip if they book with REI Adventures. 
  • MOZ encourages its employees to go on vacation by covering vacation costs of up to $3,000 annually. 

Starting a family

If you’re planning on starting a family, taking time off to recover and bond with your new child is essential. While the government only requires companies with 50 or more employees to offer 12 weeks of unpaid family leave, tech companies are known to go above and beyond those limits. 

  • Netflix offers the longest paid family leave (52 weeks) out of all the tech companies. You’ll have to be an employee for 12 months in order to take advantage of this. 
  • Spotify and Adobe offer 26 weeks of paid parental leave.
  • Google, Amazon, and Microsoft each offer 20 weeks of paid parental leave. 
  • Twitter offers breast milk shipping. If you’re traveling for work and need to ship milk back home, Twitter’s got you! 
  • Both Google and Facebook offer an on-site clinic & mother’s room, and free on-site laundry. 
  • Facebook gives its employees a $4,000 baby bonus for each new child and a $3,000 reimbursement for child care. 
  • Google will reimburse you up to $40,000 of surrogacy fees; one of the highest amounts compared to other companies. 

Want to see what other tech companies are offering? Check out this list of parental leave in tech. Other common benefits include fertility support, such as egg freezing, adoption assistance, and surrogacy fee reimbursement. 

Financial wellness 

Carrying student loan debt can feel like a huge financial burden and may be stopping you from achieving your other goals. Luckily, it’s becoming more common for employers to offer student loan assistance to retain talent. 

  • Google will help you with student loans by matching 100% of contributions up to $2,500 per year. The amount will be applied to the principal balance, making an even more significant dent in the loans. 
  • Doma offers an even higher contribution towards your student loans of up to $5,250 per year. 
  • Slack offers legal services at no cost. This benefit is huge if you have yet to complete your estate planning documents or need to make updates. 
  • Duolingo offers a mortgage benefit of up to $10,000 for your first home in Pittsburgh.  
  • Google offers a one-on-one financial coaching program. 
  • T-Mobile offers a coaching program called LiveMagenta. They also provide gender-affirming services, including surgery and autism coverage, including Applied Behavioral Analysis services (ABA). 

Giving back

If giving back either with your money, time, or both is important to you, here are some benefits to factor into your charitable planning strategy. 

  • Google and Apple employees receive a 100% match of charitable contributions up to $10,000. 
  • Microsoft and Linkedin match charitable contributions up to $15,000. 
  • Netflix will double your charitable contributions up to $20,000!
  • Salesforce employees are eligible to take up to 7 days of paid volunteer time off per year. They also have the ability to win a $10,000 grant to give to the nonprofit organization of their choice (if they rank as one of the top 100 volunteers). 
  • Microsoft and Apple employees receive $25 per hour to volunteer.  

Other unique benefits 

  • Google, Linkedin, and Microsoft offer on-site car washing and detailing. You can go into work with a dirty car and leave looking fly. 
  • If you just got a new pet and want to take some time off, Reddit offers one week of paid leave to spend time with your new pet. 
  • Need assistance completing all your errands? Slack offers concierge and errand running while you work. 

Tech companies will offer extensive benefits and perks to retain top talent and stay competitive. If you’re evaluating job offers, make sure to look at the full benefits package. You can use this information to compare competing offers during your negotiations. 

Source: Levels.fyi 

What Should You do with Extra Cash?

One of the questions we get asked all the time is “where should I keep my emergency reserve (aka rainy day fund)?” or “What should I do with my extra cash?”

How Can I Get My Cash to “Work for me?”

If you haven’t already, I suggest setting an emergency reserve target. I generally recommend establishing a target of 3-6 months of living expenses. Although, like with all things related to personal finance, this is a highly individual decision and there is no right answer. There are many factors that can influence the target, including whether you are a single-income household or have highly variable income.

Before we move on, let’s establish up front that you’re already in good shape with regards to consumer debt (i.e. you don’t have significant credit card bills). That said, it bears mentioning that it is possible to build your emergency reserve and pay down high interest debt at the same time.

Where to keep your emergency reserve

High Yield Savings

My top recommendation for an emergency reserve (as of this writing) is a high-yield savings account. I always check bankrate.com for the best rates and as of April 2022, most banks are offering something like .60% – .70%. I prefer this account being separate from whichever bank you use for your checking account; I like the idea of it being ever so slightly harder to access these funds. Please do not be fooled by Bank of America (and some of the other big banks) whose “high yield” savings account actually only earns .05% interest. Don’t get me started on the inaccuracy of that claim!

CDs

In the past, CDs were a reasonable option for an emergency reserve. I, myself, used to have laddered CDs that came up each quarter, which I would then renew. Based on the current rates, CD rates are only fractionally higher than high yield savings accounts, so there’s no compelling reason to have your money “tied up” in a CD.

I Bonds

I bonds are all the rage the past few months. Rates are at 7.12% through April 2022 and will increase to an estimated 9.62% in May which is frankly jaw-dropping! 

There are a few stipulations that you should be aware of: 

  • The rates reset every 6 months. The current rate is good on new I bonds purchased through April 2022. 
  • You can only buy $10,000 in I bonds per individual, per year. Depending on how much your emergency reserve target is, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to buy enough I bonds to hit that target, but you could always supplement with a regular high-yield savings account.
  • Note: You can cash the bond in after 12 months. However, if you cash it in before it is five years old, you lose the last three months of interest. So it’s not quite as liquid as a traditional savings account. 

Finally, in my opinion, it’s quite a bit of work! But if you’re up for the extra logistical steps required, you can buy bonds directly from the US Treasury.

Beyond the emergency reserve

Ok so you have a high yield savings account set up for your emergency reserve. Go you! What about any extra cash? How and where should you keep it?

Cash for short-term needs

Here’s where we start to talk about timing. Let’s take a step back and revisit your goals. What is that cash for? Are you earmarking it for something in the next, say, 3 years? (Think new car, big vacation or significant house project). If so, you should probably keep it in cash. The above ideas are still great options for anything you’ll need in the next 3 years. I know, I know, you really don’t want your cash “just” sitting there. I get it. However, this is where I get to put on my financial planner hat and remind you that investing in the stock market is inherently risky. If you invest excess cash (which you know you’ll need in the short term) and the market takes a nosedive, you could be in a real bind. In other words, you may have to sell for less than what you put in and/or less than you need.

FDIC Insurance

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention FDIC insurance, and the importance of making sure your emergency reserve (and other cash) is fully insured. Federal limits provide FDIC insurance of up to $250,000 per individual, per institution. If you’re single, that’s pretty straightforward: $250,000 per bank. If you have more than $250,000, be sure to open an additional account at a different bank to make sure all your funds are insured.

If you’re married, you can have up to $500,000 per bank (assuming joint accounts). As above, if you’re keeping more than $500,000 cash, spread the money across banks to make sure you’re fully insured.

Cash that you don’t need within 3 years (long-term needs)

For cash that you don’t need in the next three years, you’ll definitely want to have a conversation with your financial advisor. Depending on your risk tolerance, goals, etc. it’s likely that investing anything “extra” makes good sense. If the cash is for very long-term goals (such as retirement), you could invest and there are a variety of account types that may or may not be available to you (such as a brokerage account or Roth IRA).

There are also options like paying down your mortgage or other debt (I’ve already assumed you don’t have significant consumer debt, such as credit card debt). Using a combination of several strategies mentioned above will help you make the best use of your cash. There are so many factors at play here, it’s impossible for me to give a general recommendation. The good news is, if you have your emergency reserve fully funded and still have extra cash, you have plenty of options!

Organizing your financial life: Beginner’s guide

Last month on our IG Live, Danika and I talked about negotiating job offers, why you should do it, and how to go about it. In case you missed it, you can view it here.

Now that you’ve landed your dream job, advocated for yourself, and got the salary you deserved, what now? First off, way to go. Great job!

Take some time to celebrate your success in a meaningful way and set aside some time to organize your finances. Yup, you read that right, celebrate and finance in the same sentence. 

Getting your financial house in order is an act of self-love. What better way to celebrate than setting yourself up for long-term success? It’s not going to happen overnight. So give yourself some grace, and if you’re reading this, you’ve already made that initial step of seeking guidance. Below, is a 6 step guide to begin organizing your financial life.

How to get started:

Step #1: Know your financial flow

“Budgeting” gets a bad rap, but we think it’s vital whether you’re just scraping by or earning six figures. If you don’t know where your money is going, how can you make the most informed decision with everything else? 

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Budgeting is a huge challenge for most people. Danika writes about this phenomenon and how to handle cash flow here. You may also find it surprisingly empowering to know exactly where your money is going.

Be kind to yourself. Don’t judge yourself for the financial decisions you may or may not have made. Instead, ask yourself if your past holds you back from building healthy financial habits moving forward? If someone ever does shame you about how you spend your money, especially if it’s a financial professional, it’s time to reassess that relationship.  

Action steps:

Have a recurring money date (alone or with your partner if you have one). Set an hour aside. Pour the tea. Pick out the playlist. Spend time looking over your spending history from the last few months.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Is there anything you spent money on but don’t enjoy?
  • Is there anything that looks off (i.e. an amount that is too high/low or doesn’t make sense)? 
  • What is one small thing that you can do today to improve my spending picture?

Step #2: Take advantage of your employee benefits

If you’ve just started working at a new company, you’ll be eligible to choose your benefits. However, keep in mind that after the initial 30 days or so, you can’t make any changes until the next enrollment period; pick wisely. 

Action steps: 

Obtain your employee benefits booklet and all necessary information to make an informed decision. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your employer for clarification or seek out professional advice. 

  1. Enroll in the 401(k) and contribute at least as much as the company matches (free money!) One of the fastest ways to build wealth is by taking full advantage of your company’s match. 
    1. If you have a 401(k) from a previous employer, consider consolidating it into the current 401(k). See Step #6. 
  2. Evaluate the health insurance options. If the plan offers an HSA, consider choosing a High Deductible Health plan. Why? Read here
  3. Opt into life insurance, short-term disability (STD), and, most importantly, long-term disability (LTD). 
  4. Check to see what other perks you’re eligible for. Some companies offer access to legal help and even financial planning! Other unique perks we’ve seen include reimbursements for fertility treatment, health club costs, and travel stipends, to name a few. 

Step #3: Build a rainy day fund

Emergency savings is a must-have and is non-negotiable. It can make a big difference in handling life’s unexpected moments without moving further away from your financial goals.  

The rule of thumb is to set aside between 3-6 months worth of living expenses. However, if you’re single, we recommend aiming for the 6-month mark as you don’t have the buffer of a partner’s income. 

You don’t have to fund an emergency reserve all at once. Start putting aside a small amount each month until you hit the target. If you have high-interest debt, you should still fund your emergency savings. The last thing you want to happen is an unexpected expense where you don’t have the cash on hand and have to put it on your credit card, resulting in more debt payments. 

Action steps:

  1. Open a high yield savings account earmarked for emergency savings. Then, start putting aside as much as you’re able to until you hit your target.  
  2. Automate savings. Consider setting up an automatic transfer to the emergency reserve each month.

Step #4: Break the debt cycle

If you have significant credit card debt or other consumer debt, you’ll want to devise a plan for paying it down. There are multiple ways to go about paying off credit card debt. Some key ways include: 

  • Stop using your credit card(s). Shred it if it’s too tempting seeing it in your wallet. Use debit cards for purchases moving forward until you get a handle on your debt. 
  • Come face to face with your debt by making a list of the account(s) that carry a balance. Note the balance, minimum payment, and interest rate. 
  • Look at your budget and determine how much more money you can allocate towards the monthly payments. Ideally, you will pay off anything with high interest as aggressively as possible.

Action steps:

  1. If you carry a credit card balance, stop using your card. 
  2. Make a plan to pay off your high interest debt. If you don’t pay more than the minimum, your debt will only increase. 

Step #5: Set your money intentions

You can afford anything but not everything. Get clear on what you want and why you want it. It’s okay if you don’t know precisely what you want yet. Be flexible and understand that goals change all the time. Values, on the other hand, tend to change less frequently. Start by deciding what truly is essential to you. 

Action steps: 

  1. Write down what your goals are. Be specific and determine whether they are short-term (less than 5 years) or long-term (5 years+) goals. Ask yourself these questions: 
  • What’s important to you? 
  • What do you value?  
  • Where do you want to be in 5-10 years?
  1. Make a plan to invest towards your goals. Whether it’s buying a house, starting a side hustle, or simply growing your net worth, start saving as soon as your emergency reserve is fully funded. 

Step #6: Keep track of your account(s) 

Making sure you know where all your accounts are might be an obvious point. However, life gets busy, and before you know it, thirty years have passed, and you can’t recall where that 401(k) from your first job out of college is, or that you even had one to begin with. If you get into the habit of organizing your finances now, your future self will thank you. 

One easy step you can complete today is to start a finance folder (physically or electronically). Label it however you want; Finances, My Rich Life, Financial Stuff. I labeled mine S.H.I.T.: Salary, Home, Investments, Taxes. The point is to have fun with it. Finances don’t have to be boring unless you want them to be. Store any financially related document in there. Think tax returns, insurance policies, estate documents, budgeting worksheets, etc. 

Action steps:

  1. Set up a secured online folder to store all your financial information.
  2. Know where all your accounts are and make sure you have access to them. I strongly suggest using a password manager like 1Password or LastPass to keep track of login and passwords. 
  3. Consolidate 401(k)s from former jobs into your current 401(k) or a rollover IRA. 

Getting your finances in order is an excellent way to set yourself up for future success.

Negotiating Job Offers

Woman Shaking Hands

If there’s one thing I love, it’s negotiating. I know it can be intimidating and scary, but I tend to see it as a game to be played. I’ve negotiated every single job offer I’ve received (some successfully, and others less so!) as well as various car/house purchases and so on. I am by no means an expert, but I’ve learned a few things, and have helped both friends and clients with the process.

WHY should you negotiate?

I’m not going to get into reasons for the gender disparity here, but suffice it to say women are less likely than men to negotiate. Women are also more likely to face blowback when they do negotiate. That said, if you don’t negotiate, you’re facing a long term reduction in salary and benefits that can compound significantly over the course of a 30+ year career.

Given the potential for a negotiation to go sideways, a lot of people simply accept the offer as given. A couple reasons to consider asking for more include:

  • More money (or other benefits, such as more PTO)! Of course, an increase in pay is the most likely ask. The vast majority of offers presented are in a range. The company giving the offer to a prospective employee rarely presents an offer at the top of the range to start. If the salary range is $100,000 – $120,000 they might offer $105,000 (for example). The company generally expects you to negotiate. It’s built into the process and their initial offer.
  • Depending on the type of role, your negotiating skills can be seen as a tremendous asset. Showing your ability to have the conversation and successfully bargain can be a huge benefit. When my sister, an attorney, was offered a job recently, I coached her through the process and her prospective employer was incredibly impressed with her bargaining skills. Not only did she get more money, but they were even more pleased about their hiring decision.

How to go about the process

The absolute most important thing you can do is PREPARE. I definitely do not recommend just categorically asking for additional salary with no basis for the request.

  • Do as much research as you can. Use sites like Salary, Glassdoor and Indeed to find out what typical ranges are for the role. For tech roles, I especially like Levels.fyi as a reference. Also, feel free to share some of the things you have successfully achieved in the past and how you might bring your skills to the new role. For instance, “I can bring value to this organization by implementing XYZ.”
  • Do not demand more money or threaten the hiring manager. I view this as part of the process and the ultimate best outcome for both sides is a mutually satisfactory job offer. The goal is for you to be compensated appropriately, not to extract as much money as you can from the company such that there are unrealistic expectations or any financial burden on the employer’s part.
  • I prefer to have this conversation a bit later in the process. It’s helpful to know what their range is, as early as possible. If you’re expecting $120,000 and find out after 3 interviews that their range is $90,000-$100,000, then you’ve wasted a lot of everyone’s time. But if the range is in line with your expectations, I wouldn’t throw out a number too early. That said, if there’s something else you’re very attached to, I think it’s fair to signal that to the employer on the early side. Don’t wait until you’ve been offered a role to mention that you only want to work part-time or need to work from home 50% of the time.
  • PRACTICE!!!! If you’re at all nervous, practice with a friend or family member by role playing. Have a very good idea what you’re going to say and how you’ll respond to the possible answers. You should know ahead of time if there’s a number you just won’t go below. Also, be prepared for them to essentially say, “No, this is the best we can do.”  Again, I know this part can be scary but it doesn’t have to mean you’ve botched the whole process and ruined your prospects. This has happened to me and I have typically responded with something like, “Well, I’m disappointed but I’m still very excited about the opportunity and I look forward to working together.”

What exactly should you negotiate FOR?

Salary is the most typical thing to negotiate for but there are plenty of other things to consider. Not everyone cares all that much about a few extra thousand dollars. You might prefer extra PTO, flexibility in your work schedule or even a different title. What are the options? Again, it depends what your priorities are, but you could consider negotiating for:

  • A higher starting salary
  • Equity in the business (or a path to equity)
  • A signing bonus
  • An extra week or two of PTO per year
  • The ability to work from home
  • Flexible work hours
  • Travel expectations (how often, what level of travel)
  • Professional development/continuing education budget
  • Frequency and timing of reviews 
  • Bonus terms and target (i.e. X percentage of salary)
  • A different title or other modification to the job duties

Some final thoughts

I recently had a conversation with some other financial planners on this topic and there were some great gems from our discussion.

  • Consider interviewing for a job you do NOT actually want. It’s great practice and can give you more confidence negotiating as there’s not a big risk.
  • Remember that there is a LOT more to your success in a role than the money. 
  • The skills used in negotiating are transferable to so many other areas of our lives, both professional and personal. Take the opportunity to work at advocating for yourself in as many settings as possible. Again, not just for the sake of it, but because it’s great practice to be able to voice what you need and why.

I will always make myself available to women who are struggling with this. If you ever want to role play or ask me a question, please email me: danika@ xenafp.com

Being flexible in life, and in financial planning

If there’s one lesson we’ve learned from the pandemic, it’s how to be flexible. Whether your life was completely upended, or barely impacted at all, there’s no question that the world around us has shifted dramatically in the last 13+ months. When this all began, many businesses and even industries were forced to pivot and engage with their audiences in a new way.

And as individuals, many of our lifestyles changed significantly. We may have experienced one or more of the following:

  • Working from home 100% of the time, which for many people led to the purchase of a bigger home or renovations of an existing home.
  • Radical changes to spending, such as reduced/eliminated travel, gas, parking, eating out and entertainment costs.
  • Perhaps most profoundly, a reexamination of what is most important to us and whether we want to make any shifts, professionally or personally.

How does this relate to financial planning?

There are a couple of parallels here. You may have noticed that I do NOT offer a standalone/one-time financial plan. Why not? It’s TOO STATIC! One of the primary reasons I structured my engagements with clients to meet on an ongoing basis: life changes ALL THE TIME. 

In the last year, how many of these things have you experienced?

  • Major house repairs/renovations, 
  • A large bonus or salary increase, 
  • A job change or new business opportunity,
  • Significant changes in your spending (see above, but largely travel/entertainment=down, home improvements=up),
  • A refinance of your primary mortgage, reducing your monthly payment amount,
  • An IPO, merger or other significant change at your employer,
  • Hiring a nanny/educator or beginning private school for your child(ren).

There’s certainly some value in a one-time 75-page plan, but it’s fairly limited, in my opinion. I prepared some of these standalone plans for clients in January and February 2020 (at my former firm). Many of these were totally obsolete within a couple months.

The process of financial planning is just that: a process. And a highly dynamic process at that. The exercises I work through with new clients, around goal-setting and defining values, are likely to be revisited and reviewed every single year. While some people are unwavering and single-minded in their focus, the vast majority of people I’ve worked with have shifting priorities.

Walking the walk

If anyone had told me 18 months ago that I would quit my job (which I very much enjoyed) to launch my own firm, I would never have believed them. Here I am, almost 9 months in with nearly 50 clients and tremendous growth; you better believe my situation is different. My cash flow has changed profoundly, and I’ve had to thoroughly revise my plans for everything from work-life balance to retirement. And that’s OK! In fact, it’s more than OK. Among other things my job satisfaction is dramatically improved. As I said, I liked my former job, but the ability to create something from the ground up is satisfying on a different level. 

My financial situation has changed and I’ve had to incorporate those changes into my “plan”. Again, I don’t love the idea of a static plan, but having something that one can adjust as needed is much more impactful. Imagine working with a planner and having an annual meeting cadence. In my case, my life a year ago could not look more different. Would my planner be able to adapt to my changing circumstances mid-year? Or would that have prompted a response like “we’ll review the changes at our next meeting” (in, say, 9 months)?

Takeaways

If you’re looking for a financial planner, I’d encourage you to consider working with someone who has this mindset around the dynamic and flexible nature of this work. Financial plans are not set in stone. If the planner or firm doesn’t have a mechanism to easily manage updates and changes to “the plan”, I’d consider continuing to search. 

If you already have “a plan”, remember that, while useful, it is likely to need regular updates and modifications. As planners, we make assumptions all the time: about inflation rates, and longevity and all sorts of things which are ultimately “unknowable”. Our job is to react to changing information and help you continue to move forward with confidence and reassurance that your money is set up to help you live your most fulfilled life.

Life Planning aka “Financial Planning Done Right.”

When I was about 13 years old, my mother attended a weekend spiritual retreat, and I tagged along with her. While on the retreat I had a powerful experience in the woods and these words came to me: “You will become.” 30+ years later, I am reminded of that experience and focused anew on what I will bring to the world.

Over the past couple months, I have had the good fortune of attending two training courses led by the Kinder Institute for Life Planning; first the 7 Stages of Money Maturity and then a four-day EVOKE Life Planning training. To say these experiences were powerful is an understatement. The training process is specifically designed for financial planners and promises to help “uncover your clients’ most exciting, meaningful, and fulfilling aspirations and engage them in the work of creating their own vibrant futures, based on a solid financial architecture.”

One of the key components of the life planning process is to answer George Kinder’s 3 questions:

1) I want you to imagine that you are financially secure, that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. The question is, how would you live your life? What would you do with the money? Would you change anything? Let yourself go. Don’t hold back your dreams. Describe a life that is complete, that is richly yours.

2) This time, you visit your doctor who tells you that you have five to ten years left to live. The good part is that you won’t ever feel sick. The bad news is that you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining to live? Will you change your life, and how will you do it?

3) This time, your doctor shocks you with the news that you have only one day left to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What dreams will be left unfulfilled? What do I wish I had finished or had been? What do I wish I had done?  [Did I miss anything]?

I’ll be honest; I had heard these 3 questions many times before in podcasts and articles about life planning. I didn’t feel particularly compelled by the questions. In the course of the training, I sat down and actually answered each of the questions for myself. It was question 3 that had the biggest impact on me. My answer, simply, was “I’m not done becoming!” Actually there was a bit more to it than that, but the basic message was to continue the work I am doing with Xena Financial Planning and help my clients live their most fulfilled lives.

In the four-day, intensive training each of us was paired with another planner. We spent the next several days guiding each other through the EVOKE (Exploration, Vision, Obstacles, Knowledge & Execution) process. Each member of the group was able to fill the role of both client and financial planner. 

My experience was exhilarating. Every single member of our group left feeling energized and inspired. Not only am I motivated to go live my own life plan, I am thrilled to bring this into practice with my clients. 

Investments, tax planning and cash flow are certainly part of this process; but they are usually less important than your family, friends and true passions. With a more profound understanding of your goals, we can devise finely tuned strategies to help you make those goals a reality.

In our next meetings, I will work with each of my clients to design the life you want to live and take steps to start living it right now.

Open Enrollment is Here Again!

It’s October and that means pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween decorations and…open enrollment time. 

For many of us, this is the month when we have the chance to make decisions about our health insurance, life insurance, FSA/HSA accounts and more. How do you sort through all of it, and more importantly, how do you make sure you’re taking full advantage of your employee benefits?

401(k) match and the After-tax 401(k)

First and foremost, I hope you’re taking FULL advantage of your company’s 401(k) match. This is something you can’t afford to miss out on. If your company matches 3%, make sure you are contributing at least that much, or you’re leaving money “on the table”. Of course, I’d like it if you were saving the maximum amount to your 401(k)/403(b) but this is a bare minimum.

Many companies are now offering an after-tax 401(k) option as well: Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Salesforce all do (to name a few). I wrote a recent article on how this option works. If you’re already maxing out your 401(k) contributions, I highly recommend taking advantage of the after-tax option (with an in-plan conversion to Roth). 401(k) contributions can be changed at any time, so this one isn’t tied to open enrollment (it’s just a good reminder to double check your contributions).

Health Insurance

You’re faced with multiple options regarding medical, disability and life insurance. The decision around which health care option to choose can be complex, and depends on your health status. That said, if your company offers a high deductible health plan (HDHP), it’s worth considering. If the HDHP is an option, it is usually accompanied by a health savings account (HSA). HSAs are a fantastic way to save and the account balance can be invested with NO future tax due. EVER. Not only that, many companies will automatically contribute $1,000 or more to your HSA every year.

HSAs deserve a post of their own, but if you have access to one, and you’re reasonably healthy it may be a great option. Unlike a flexible savings account (FSA), you do NOT lose the money you contribute if you don’t spend it. If you are using an HSA, I recommend contributing the maximum per year.

Disability insurance

Disability insurance is one that is often overlooked or misunderstood. I sincerely hope your employer offers disability insurance, and if it’s optional, PLEASE opt in. Disability insurance is right up there with health insurance in terms of importance. If you’re young, your future earning potential is one of your biggest (if not THE biggest) assets. Disability insurance, specifically long-term disability (or LTD) protects you in the event you are unable to work for a period of time. 

Disability insurance is fairly complicated and there are all sorts of terms that may sound foreign if you’ve never encountered them- own vs. any occupation, elimination period, percentage of replacement income. In a future post, I’ll dig into those details further. In the meantime, if your company offers LTD, sign up for it! The ideal coverage will include the following provisions:

  • replace 60% or more of your income, 
  • have an elimination period of 90 days, and 
  • cover you for anything that prevents you from doing your own occupation.

One of the local colleges in Seattle (University of Washington) recently offered a special one-time open enrollment for LTD with NO medical review. This is HUGE. It meant that individuals who were previously denied coverage due to their medical history could sign up. If this happens in your company, I cannot stress enough, that you should sign up!

One final thing to be aware of, especially for those in tech who a) have high salaries and b) receive a significant portion of their income from equity comp: your coverage likely will be pretty limited. For instance, if you work at Amazon and your annual salary is $160,000, but you receive another $250,000 in RSUs, the disability coverage is only replacing salary income. If you rely on that $250,000 in equity compensation, you may want to consider a private policy.

Life insurance 

I generally prefer clients to have private term insurance, which isn’t tied to an employer. But your employer provided insurance can be an important component, and often does not require underwriting (in other words, they may not look at your medical history). It’s worth speaking to a financial planner to confirm how much life insurance you need.

Other benefits

Companies are offering a whole range of cool benefits these days, which you might not even know are an option. 

  • Access to legal insurance. This can be a great way to get a basic will completed. 
  • Discounted movie tickets or passes to Disney can also be a fantastic benefit (if and when we ever want to actually GO to Disneyland or a movie again). 
  • If you’re planning to have children, ask about the company’s maternity/paternity leave options. 16+ weeks is becoming more common with everyone from Deloitte to Lyft expanding their leave policies.
  • Financial planning benefit! I might be biased, but I love to hear about companies that reimburse for financial planning (Thanks, Nordstrom).
  • Travel stipend. (hmmmm. Maybe I should get a job at Airbnb!)
  • I recently learned that Goldman Sachs will pay for gender reassignment surgery. I had no idea they were so progressive. Go GS!

While open enrollment is the obvious time to review your company’s benefits, it’s a good idea to ask about the full breadth of benefits any time you are interviewing for a job. 

Xena Financial Planning is Born!

Xena Financial Planning blog introduction

Welcome to Xena Financial Planning (Xena FP).

I am so very glad you are here! Allow me to introduce you to my new firm.

I honestly did not set out with the intention of creating my own practice. In 2014, when I first entered the industry, I was eager to learn from more seasoned planners and get as much experience as possible. Fast forward 6 years and I feel called and emboldened to offer a new kind of planning firm.

My focus is on women (and their partners) in the early to middle stages of their careers. Specifically, I absolutely love helping clients who receive equity compensation as part of their income. It’s extremely common in the tech world and while there are plenty of brilliant people working in tech, many of them do not have the time or inclination to manage the influx of stock. I also offer a unique perspective and advice for women who own small businesses, based on many years of working in finance for small businesses and start-ups.

Not only do I feel compelled to serve a more specific demographic, I can improve on the process, which is in dire need of a facelift. The world of financial planning is in the midst of a seismic shift; the way that advice is delivered is dramatically different from the way prior generations received it. 

What I love about financial planning is the relationships and the process. I’m not overly focused on investment performance, nor do I plan to deliver a massive financial plan which might be better used as a doorstop. In my view, financial planning is a highly dynamic process, with many moving pieces that are constantly in flux. At Xena FP, I work with my clients on an ongoing basis, to help them navigate whatever life delivers. I strive to both educate and empower clients as we develop a collaborative relationship.

My desire to specialize, as well as build a process that works for our highly volatile world, led me to found Xena Financial Planning. Largely based on the fact that I founded the business in the midst of a global pandemic, my intention is to be 100% virtual. One of the things I have loved about the pandemic is not having to spend a lot of time in traffic; I am sure my clients can appreciate that! I’m so happy to have you here for some part of the journey. Together, we will build something extraordinary.