Get to know your benefits

How to score a raise by other means

With rising costs, lots of folks would like to get a raise this year. Unfortunately, not all workplaces hand these out as freely as we might hope!

However, if you work for a large organization, or your spouse does, or even if you’re a member of any professional trade associations, you might be eligible for various benefits. By availing yourself of them, you can give yourself the equivalent of at least a small raise, without having to negotiate anything with anybody.

So today’s tip is to go do some digging! Just like Monday’s tip to use those gift cards, unused benefits don’t do anyone any good. You may as well see what’s available.

Extra perks

Sometimes when a major employer offers health insurance, there are other health-related perks attached. So take a few minutes to read the fine print. Could either you or your spouse get reimbursed for a gym membership, or at least get a discount at an affiliated gym? Maybe your insurance doesn’t do such a thing, but your partner’s does, and then that gym offers family discounts. It’s worth taking a look. Or maybe one of you gets reimbursed for eyeglasses at a certain frequency. Even if your current glasses work perfectly well, you might be able to get a pair of prescription sunglasses as a benefit — and look cool for summer on your employer’s dime.

I think it goes without saying that you should maximize any retirement benefits. Many people make elections when they get hired and then don’t think about this for years. Now is a good time to think about it. If your employer provides a retirement account contribution match for a 401k or similar plan, make sure you (and your spouse) contribute enough to get that full match. If you or your spouse are not doing that, stop reading this and send a note to Human Resources right now. A one-to-one match means anything you contribute gets an immediate 100% return on investment, which is…not shabby.

You should definitely look into — and track — your paid time off. Working fewer days but getting the same salary is the equivalent of a per hour raise (sometimes a substantial one!). If you have a tendency not to take all the time you’re owed, go ahead and schedule a few random long weekends later in the year. If you work for one of those places with unlimited time off — but no one takes it because everyone feels worried or guilty about doing so — find out how many days friends who work for similar companies without such policies get off per year. Now go ahead and book that number of days for you, and dispense with the guilt.

Possibly profitable things

Beyond big benefits like insurance and paid time off, some companies have more unexpected perks. Perhaps an employee assistance program can help you research retirement homes for older relatives. That could save you considerable time. Some places offer commuting benefits. Buying a subway card with pre-tax money definitely beats buying one with post-tax money.

A number of places offer back-up childcare benefits — though I know from personal experience that these might not always be easy to use. When we had some childcare issues a few summers ago, we learned that my husband’s employer offered a few days of nanny care via a nanny service (fine if he or I were working from home to be available for someone who was screened and vetted but we didn’t know personally). His employer also offered a few days at a nice daycare center, but registering took a long time and on one of the days we booked they canceled on us last minute. Not cool! But your experience might be better. See what your options are for the next time your nanny goes on vacation. Not having to pay for your own back-up sitter could save you considerable cash.

Some large employers, and even some professional or civic organizations, negotiate discounts for random things from computers to car rentals for personal use. If you’re already a member, why not go check the section on the website where they list discounts or reciprocal agreements? A great many years ago when I was an intern at a major corporation in New York City, I learned we got free entry to a number of museums with our company ID. Who knew? Well, I did, because I am cheap and I asked.

But if you don’t ask, you won’t know. You won’t know that because you work for a particular employer, you can go to the local history museum for free. Since you don’t know that, you either buy the tickets or go somewhere else, when you could have had a free weekend family activity.

Now in the grand scheme of things, that’s not so big a deal. You shouldn’t join a gym you hate just for your corporate discount. But in situations where you don’t have strong preferences, why not take advantage of the equivalent of a raise you don’t have to ask for? It’s there for the taking. You might even ask your HR rep what benefits they think are great but underutilized. You might learn about something that you or your family members could use.

And if you are an HR leader, or lead an organization that offers benefits? I think it’s smart to let people know what is available. You might highlight a different benefit in each edition of the company newsletter, and showcase an employee who used the benefit in situations where that’s appropriate. Presumably you offer such benefits for a reason: they make people think your organization is a good place to work. When people know about the benefits and use them, they feel more tied to the organization. Let’s put it this way: if someone sticks around for an extra year, that gym discount was totally worth it!