Posts Tagged ‘BayPoint Benefits’

BayPoint Benefits partners with Emerge Workplace Solutions

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

We are happy to announce a new partnership with Emerge Workplace Solutions!

The Emerge financial wellness program helps employees focus on their jobs by providing practical solutions to everyday financial stressors, achievable recommendations, and customized resources for a full range of personal and job-related financial issues; 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information click on the LINK

The membership is exclusive for BayPoint Benefits clients. BayPoint Benefits clients will be able to access the premier workplace financial wellness benefit, Emerge Workplace Solutions (“Emerge”), FREE (for the lifetime of your company) for all Baypoint clients that currently employ less than 100 employees. We have established a relationship with Emerge to offer our clients an entire Financial Wellness Benefit Program with a complete Wellness Resource Center with best-in-class online multimedia, including interactive courses and quizzes, video e-learning, financial calculators, and webinars; as well as a fast, simple, and FAIR way for employees to receive up to $2,500 in case of a financial emergency.

The program has been designed to operate with NO EXTRA work for HR and absolutely NO liability–ever–to the employer. Emerge is currently retailing for $3.00- $9.00 per employee, per year, but through this partnership Emerge is offering their entire 100% turnkey Financial Wellness Benefit Program FREE (for the lifetime of each company) for any Baypoint Benefit client that currently employs less than 100 employees.

If you are currently a BayPoint Benefits client and you are interested in the program please email melinda.engelman@baypointbenefits.com.

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Posted in Employee Benefits | 2 Comments »

BayPoint Features Non-Profit of the Month: BayKids

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

We have decided to feature a non-profit of the month for the next few months. Each of these non-profits are organizations that BayPoint Benefits has worked with in some way. This month we are proud to feature an organization called BayKids. BayKids is an organization that BayPoint Benefits co-founder, Justin Roberts has been involved with for many years. Justin currently sits on the board of the non-profit and enjoys working with this wonderful organization.

BayKids will be having an exciting event on Saturday, August 27, ‘11, called “Moonalice Music Benefit”- LEGENDARY MUSIC for a LEGENDARY CAUSE! A night of music and fun with the popular band Moonalice. In addition to the music, there will be a Silent Auction, the proceeds of which will help BayKids to continue its work in support of hospitalized children. Doors open at 7pm, music starts at 8pm, Slim’s San Francisco. Tickets.

What is BayKids Mission? BayKids empowers children facing serious medical challenges to express themselves through the art and magic of filmmaking. They are committed to making a positive difference in the lives of hospitalized children by teaching them a wide range of moviemaking skills and helping them discover the power of self-expression.

What is BayKids Story? BayKids’ roots took hold in 1994 when founder Dave Spencer started a community outreach program for the San Francisco Giants. Inspired by the program’s success in helping children, Dave founded BayKids in 1997 with the goal of offering new and innovative ways to empower children through self-expression. Initially, BayKids developed cutting-edge multimedia programs to teach kids how to create websites, animated shorts, narrative films, documentaries, music and art.

Today, BayKids has evolved to focus its multimedia expertise on serving children in the Bay Area facing medical challenges. Working in partnership with Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland and UCSF Children’s Hospital, our digital filmmaking programs provide kids with the opportunity to explore their creativity while learning filmmaking, teamwork and leadership skills. As of July 2009, BayKids has helped over 5,000 children and their families get through cancer and other medical conditions.

Please visit BayKids website to find out how you can get involved – www.baykids.org.

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What are Multiple Employer Plans? Part 1

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

Have you heard people talking about Multiple Employer Plans? Are you curious as to what these are? This series of  blog posts will help you understand the terminology and the benefits of offering Multiple Employer Plans for your business.

Let’s start with some relevant terms:

Multiple Employer Plan (MEP): A retirement plan for businesses that typically have
a common interest, but are not commonly owned or affiliated.

Multiple Employer Plan Sponsor (MEP Sponsor): The organization that sponsors and maintains the MEP and master contract under which adopting employers may adopt a retirement plan; An example of organizations that may sponsor an MEP include a professional employer organization (PEO), or a professional association.

Adopting Employer: The term used to describe an employer that participates in an MEP.

A few Advantages of Multiple Employer Plans:

  1. MEP’s offer great potential as a savings option for small-business owners who want to provide their employees the same flexible features and benefits of a traditional 401(k) plan.
  2. If you are a small businesses you probably have a unique retirement plan-related needs, and very different concerns about the cost of administering a retirement plan than a larger company, therefore, a MEP would be very beneficial.
  3. The MEP structure also offers flexibility for small business owners to remain in this plan construct or to easily graduate to a stand-alone plan when they are ready.

If you are interested in Multiple Employer Plans it’s important to contact your Employee Benefit Adviser.

Stay tuned for the next blog with more information on MEP’s.

Resource: TRANSAMERICA Retirement Services

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Posted in Employee Benefits, Multiple Employer Plans | 1 Comment »

Are you protecting your skin from the sun?

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

The days start getting warmer and most of us spend more time outside- it feels great! But the questions is, are you protecting your skin from the sun? Are you putting sunscreen on everyday? And are you eating the right foods to protect you from skin cancer? Here are a few tips to help you stay safe over the warm summer months and most importantly all year long.

1. Stay out of the midday sun (from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon), which is the strongest sunlight. Find shade if you need to be outdoors. Wear hats and protect your skin with light long sleeve shirts.

2. Make sure you have sunglasses with UV ray protection. Many cheap brands don’t have this and it’s always good to check.

3. Use a sunscreen that has a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 15 or higher. Sunscreens that say “broad-spectrum” can protect the skin from ultraviolet A and B (UVA & UVB) rays. Sunscreens come in lotions, gels, creams, and ointments.

4. Apply the sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going in the sun. Make sure you put your kids sunscreen on in the morning when they wake-up and then reapply as the day goes on. Keep track of when you last put the sunscreen on.

5. Apply sunscreen every 2 to 3 hours while in the sun and after swimming or sweating a lot. The SPF value decreases if a person sweats heavily or is in water, because water on the skin reduces the amount of protection the sunscreen provides. Sunscreen effectiveness is also affected by the wind, humidity, and altitude.

6. Citrus Fruits – Lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits are some of the fruits with the highest content of vitamin C. Getting enough vitamin C in your diet can help prevent illnesses such as the common cold and the flu, but may also have skin cancer preventative benefits as well.

These are just a few tips to remind you to take care of your skin. Protecting your skin is part of your overall health and wellness.

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Starting with a 5K – Ending with a Triathlon, Part 4

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

We are now into part 4 of our blog on preparing for a Triathlon. Our last blog provided a training schedule for a half marathon, we hope this helped you start training. Instead of focusing on the training schedule for a full marathon we are going to give you some tips for training and running a full marathon. Hopefully these tips will inspire you to push yourself to a full marathon.

1. Shoes & Socks - Select the shoes–and the socks–you’ll wear in the marathon. The shoes should be relatively lightweight but provide good support, and the socks should be the type you wear in other races. If the shoes aren’t your regular training shoes, wear them on at least one 10-mile run at marathon pace. Make sure you are very comfortable in the shoes and socks and if you are not be sure to change them before the marathon and do another practice run.

2. Run a Half Marathon – Don’t just break into a full marathon, make sure you run a half before. Aim to run the half-marathon slightly faster than your marathon goal pace. If you can’t find a tune-up race, recruit friends to accompany you on a long run, with the last several miles faster than marathon pace.

3. Drink on the Run - Make sure you stay hydrated and remember that sports drinks do triple duty when compared with water by providing fluid, carbohydrates, and electrolytes, the most important being sodium. Find out how often your marathon will have aid stations, and practice drinking at that rate. If you don’t run with fluids, place bottles along your training route. It’s important to do this so you are prepared for drinking during the real race.

4. Pick the right outfit - Once you’ve picked your marathon outfit, make sure it doesn’t irritate your skin. It’s a good idea to do a practice run with your outfit on, including shirt, shorts, socks, etc… being comfortable will help your marathon performance.

5. Clock Work – If possible, run at the same time of day as the start of your marathon. This way, your body’s rhythms–including the all-important bathroom routine–will be in sync with marathon needs come race day. The more times you can do this, the better, but shoot for at least the last three days before the race.

Good luck running a full marathon and accomplishing your health and wellness goals.

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Starting with a 5K – Ending with a Triathlon, Part 3

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Training for a half marathon is the third part of our sequence of blogs. Now that you have completed a 5K and a 10K a half marathon is next step in order to ultimately complete a triathlon. Before you start any training be it for a 5K or a half marathon 13.1 miles, you should regularly run. If you’re a beginning runner, it’s always a good idea to consult your doctor before starting anything as strenuous as training for a half marathon especially if you’re over age 35 or 40.

Here is a schedule that is based on a simple philosophy — using the mid-week runs for conditioning and feeling out your proper pace, and using the once-per-week long runs to get you mentally prepared for running 13 miles.

Make sure that you keep in mind the terms from our last blog post such as rest days, water consumption, walking and taking breaks. Training for any type of race should be fun and it can help you complete your overall health and wellness goals. Good luck training for a half marathon.

12-Week Training Schedule

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Week 1 off 3 miles 3 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles
Week 2 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles
Week 3 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 5 miles
Week 4 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 4 miles 6 miles
Week 5 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 7 miles
Week 6 off 4 miles 4 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 8 miles
Week 7 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 9 miles
Week 8 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 10 miles
Week 9 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 11 miles
Week 10 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 12 miles
Week 11 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 6 miles
Week 12 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 2 miles 13.1 miles!

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Starting with a 5K – Ending with a Triathlon, Part 2

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Last week we posted a blog about training for a 5K. This week we are featuring part 2, training for a 10K. If you have done a 5K already then your training will be very similar, just more distance and more training.

Let’s start with some key terms to help with training.

Rest: Rest means no running. None. Give your muscles and synapses some serious R&R so all systems are primed for the next workout. Better two quality days and two of total rest than four days of mediocrity resulting from lingering fatigue. Rest days give you a mental break as well, so you’ll come back feeling refreshed.

Easy Runs: Easy runs mean totally comfortable and controlled. If you’re running with someone else, you should be able to converse easily. You’ll likely feel as if you could go faster. Don’t. Here’s some incentive to take it easy: You’ll still be burning 100 calories every mile you run, no matter how slow you go.

Long Runs: Long runs are any steady run at or longer than race distance designed to enhance endurance, which enables you to run longer and longer and feel strong doing it. A great long-run tip: Find a weekly training partner for company. You’ll have plenty of time to talk about anything that comes up.

Speedwork: Speedwork means bursts of running shorter than race distance, some at your race goal pace, some faster. This increases cardiac strength, biomechanical efficiency that translates into more miles per gallon, and the psychological toughness racing demands. That said, you’re not trying to kill yourself. Keep it fun.

One of the ways to train for a 10K is by doing a run/walk schedule – see below. Your workout instructions will displayed in run/walk intervals. The first number displayed will be the amount of minutes to run and the second number is the amount to walk. So, for example, 1/1 means run for 1 minute, then walk for 1 minute. Make sure that you always start your workouts with a 5 to 10 warm up.

10 Week Training Program for beginners:

Week 1:
Day 1: 1/1 x 10 (1 minute run, 1 minute walk x 10, for a total of 20 minutes)
Day 2: 1/1 x 10
Day 3: 1/1 x 10
Day 4: 40-45 minutes cross-training

Week 2:
Day 1: 1/1 x 11
Day 2: 1/1 x 12
Day 3: 1/1 x 13
Day 4: 40-45 minutes cross-training

Week 3:
Day 1: 1/1 x 15
Day 2: 1/1 x 15
Day 3: 1/1 x 15
Day 4: 45 min cross-training

Week 4:
Day 1: 2/1 x 10
Day 2: 2/1 x 10
Day 3: 2/1 x 10
Day 4: 45 min cross-training

Week 5:
Day 1: 2/1 x 10
Day 2: 3/1 x 10
Day 3: 2/1 x 14
Day 4: 45 min cross-training
Day 5: 30 min cross-training

Week 6:
Day 1: 3/1 x 10
Day 2: 3/1 x 8
Day 3: 3/1 x 11
Day 4: 45 min cross-training
Day 5: 30 min cross-training

Week 7:
Day 1: 3/1 x 10
Day 2: 3/1 x 8
Day 3: 3/1 x 13
Day 4: 45 min cross-training
Day 5: 30 min cross-training

Week 8:
Day 1: 3/1 x 10
Day 2: 3/1 x 10
Day 3: 3/1 x 15
Day 4: 45 min cross-training
Day 5: 30 min cross-training

Week 9:
Day 1: 3/1 x 10
Day 2: 3/1 x 10
Day 3: 3/1 x 17
Day 4: 45 min cross-training
Day 5: 30 min cross-training

Week 10:
Your 10K is this week! You’re going to take it a little easier this week, so that you’re well-rested for your big race. Good luck! Day 1: 2/1 x 10
Day 2: 30 min cross-training
Day 3: 3/1 x 5

Good luck training for a 10k!

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