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Writer's pictureSteven Schoenberger

The Benefits of Planning and Planning of Benefits


We often say that financial health has an important connection to physical health. While we are not personal trainers, and certainly not doctors, that does not mean we might not be able to be of assistance to you when making certain decisions regarding your health insurnace and related employee benefits.

Each year as open enrollment comes up, employees are presented with a laundry list of plan options, most of which are hard to understand. And, differentiating between the plans can often be difficult and unintuitive. At Open Door Financial we want to help you make good decisions for you and your family. That is why we are here to help when things change that can impact your income, earnings, insurance coverages, and related items.

Given the constraints of many coverage plans, we do not always have great options, but we can strive to make the best choice from what is available. Understanding what supplementary coverage options are and how they work and impact your overall situation is central to our planning process.

Think about two different benefit packages from two employers, something that clients encounter when making career transitions. In one job you are offered a $200,000 salary, a 401(k) match of 6%, and a high deductible insurance plan with an employer contributing toward dependent medical coverage and making HSA contributions. Another employer offers a $225,000 salary, but without the same benefit package. Depending on your situation, the lower paying job may actually be much more valuable. Add in considerations for fringe benefits, Stock Purchase Plans, executive benefits, partnership opportunities, etc. and the calculation gets even more complicated.

At Open Door Financial, we strive to walk clients through these changes to help them maximize the benefits available to them. We do so in concert with the overall financial plan to make sure needs and value are aligned. If cash flow is the issue, for example, then a 401(k) match today is much less valuable. For a family with three dependents, the coverage benefits are very different than a single person. A partnership track for an employee who plans to leave in three years need not be considered the same way it does for another employee who wants to go down that path.

In the fourth quarter of this year we are going to focus on these types of conversations with existing and new clients to make sure those pieces of the financial plan, which often get overlooked, are getting the attention they deserve. If you have questions about your current benefits or are contemplating a job change, please reach out today, and we would be happy to assist.

-Open Door Financial

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