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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After a recent survey conducted by BayPoint Benefits in early February, it was very obvious that people are unaware of the difference between working with a Benefits Broker, working with a Carrier, or doing it yourself. Most of the confusion comes with the costs associated. Have you ever asked yourself, what is the least expensive way to do something? Most likely the answer is yes. People tend to gravitate to finding ways to cut costs and very often the natural thing to do is go directly to the person that is offering the services you are looking for, example would be Kaiser. However, this is not the case with benefits. By working with a Benefits Broker you are not only getting the extra personal touch and specialized services, but in some cases you are saving money.
So here is the breakdown to help you next time you are deciding how to implement employee benefits into your company.
1. The definition of a Carrier is as follows: the organizations that for a contractual fee underwrite the payment of losses or costs incurred by the policyholder within the conditions of the policy. For example this the type of company we know as Blue Shield, Kaiser, etc… Working directly with a carrier especially when you have a large amount of employees can be very confusing and you will not be getting the extra benefits a broker can offer and the specialized services.
2. The definition of a Broker is as follows: one that acts as an agent for others, as in negotiating contracts, purchases, or sales. In the case of a Health Benefits Broker you may think that you are spending more because you are getting more services, but this is not the case. You are getting the added benefits of working with a broker for the same amount of money. Some of these benefits may include, human resource services and specialized plans for your employees.
3. Doing it yourself: if you decide to implement health benefits into your organization by yourself be prepared for a lot of work. Although you may feel like you are spending less money, you are spending more because of the time it will take. For individual health benefits doing it yourself is okay, but when you are signing up an entire company it’s very important to use a Health Benefits Broker.
If you have any questions be sure to contact a Benefits Broker to help you understand the process.
“Yes, we still make things here in San Francisco,” as stated on the website of SFMade. We are excited to announce that recently BayPoint became a founding partner of SFMade. SFMade is headquartered in San Francisco and was established in 2010. They are a California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
SFMade’s mission isto build and support a vibrant manufacturing sector in San Francisco, that sustains companies producing locally-made products, encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, and creates employment opportunities for a diverse local workforce.
SFMade is the only organization of its kind focused on building San Francisco’s economic base by developing the local manufacturing sector. SFMade engages directly with entrepreneurs and growing small companies, all of whom are headquartered in and manufacture within San Francisco, offering industry-specific education, networking opportunities, and connecting these companies to powerful local resources.
SFMade also offers educational workshops, factory tours, and programs in the following areas of interest:
In press release sent on January 3, 2011 Brian Hassan, Founder and Managing Director of BayPoint Benefits said, “Working with SFMade seemed to be a natural fit. Given our involvement in advising emerging clients and incubator facilities, we felt that our skills and resources would provide great benefit to the SFMade portfolio of clients. They are an exceptional team with a brilliant vision. We strongly believe in their mission of keeping jobs in San Francisco and will dedicate the resources and capital needed to assist them in achieving their goals.”
If you are interested in SFMade’s events click here. Another great resource is SFMade’s blog – http://www.sfmade.org/sfmade-blog/
After reading a recent article written by editorial staff at Employee Benefit News titled, “Parity noted for online vs. face-to-face enrollment,” (link to article) it seemed necessary to get another expert opinion. Surveys and research has been done in order to understand the pros and cons of both of these enrollment methods. According to Employee Benefit News research suggests, “The value of cyberspace during open enrollment is at least on equal footing with face time, suggest two recent unpublished surveys of employees and carriers that sell voluntary benefit plans. Neither communication method appears to be proving itself superior.”
In a conversation on this topic with Brian Hassan, one of BayPoint Benefit’s founders he said, “I feel that both methods are important. It truly depends on the demographic of the employee base. For those companies that are more tech-savvy, there should be a greater emphasis on the efficient leveraging of technology. On the other hand, those companies whose employees are less tech proficient may prefer the face-to-face. A mix of approaches should be used for most companies. Especially considering that most benefits decisions are made at home, technology should not be overlooked as an effective communication medium.”
It’s very important as an employee or an employer to understand the pros and cons to both methods. If you are having a difficult time deciding on which method to use, you should speak with your benefits consultant.
It’s that time of year again, company holiday parties are happening and as an employer and an employee it’s helpful to know the do’s and don’ts. Here are 5 tips for your holiday party to make sure that you have a great time, but also leave on a good note and start the New Year with a smile on your face.
1. Do act like someone might be watching your behavior, one too many glasses of wine could be a very bad thing. Make sure you have fun, but stay in control.
2. Do keep all of the conversations upbeat and in the holiday cheer. Don’t be a downer and talk about things that aren’t going well at work.
3. Do keep one hand free for handshakes all night. Tip – make sure you keep your drink in your off hand so you won’t be offering people a cold, wet hand to shake.
4. Don’t bring an uninvited guest. Sometimes holiday parties change so even if in past years spouses and partners have been invited make sure to check. Some smaller parties may just be employees.
5. Don’t not show up. Even though it may say “optional” it’s polite to show up. It may be the only gift you get all year from your employer, so show your appreciation of it. Show up on time and spend at least 30 minutes mingling.
Tomorrow is the first day of Fall, September 22, how are you feeling? Have you thought about your fall fitness goals? When the days start to get shorter and cooler are you ready for more indoor fitness. With much interest in featuring different types of fitness we would like to feature Hatha Flow yoga, taught by Mirabai Warkulwiz, at the Mindful Body Studio in San Francisco. Are you looking for that perfect class to help you unwind from a long Monday at the office? We have the perfect class on Monday starting at 7:30pm.
This Hatha Flow yoga class includes centering excercises, asanas (postures), pranayama (breath work), yoga nidra (deep relaxation), meditation, and Kirtan (Sanskrit chanting.) Mirabai Warkulwiz invites all of her yoga students to transcend physical, emotional, and mental blocks to experience more spaciousness, comfort, happiness, clarity, and inner peace.
Who is the instructor? Mirabai Warkulwiz planted her yoga and meditation roots in San Francisco at the Sivananda Center in 1998. Amazed at her healing of a back injury and many other positive life changes, she became yoga certified at the Integral Yoga Institute, and at the Greenpath Ashtanga. In July 2008, she completed another Teacher Training program in asana and pranayama through the Integral Yoga Institute in Virginia. With over 600 hours of yoga training, she has a passion for sharing these ancient yoga practices with her students.
In a recent conversation with the CEO of a start-up company in San Francisco, the words “voluntary benefits” were used in a discussion about benefits and he answered with “what?” If you are reading this, have you asked yourself what voluntary benefits are? We have the answer. BayPoint has done a few blog posts about voluntary benefits; however, it’s time to do another one!
So the question is what are voluntary benefits? Voluntary benefits are a cost-effective tactic for enriching a company’s offerings for employees. Voluntary benefits can include flexible spending accounts, pet insurance, entertainment and hotel discounts. For a small company that wants to establish its brand and be an employer of choice who is competing with larger more developed companies for top talent, voluntary benefits are an excellent offering. You can sell your company by saying, “Not only do you get all medical benefits, but you get voluntary benefits as well.”
An example of something a company could implement is a green fund. If you company is committed to being green and believes in sustainability you can reflect something of this matter through your benefits. You could add a green fund to your pension scheme by creating a “Benefits Extra” package to your employees, which would help spread your green message.
Some people believe that voluntary benefits require too much administration from your HR department, however, this is not true, if you are having problems with this issue, there may be some things that your employee benefits consultant can help you with. It’s important to work with an employee benefit consultant who can really help you improve your benefit communication and most importantly help educate your employees.
When summer hits we find ourselves enjoying the warm weather and sunny days. We put more sunscreen on when the sun is out, however, do you know it is very important to put sunscreen on all year long? Here are some questions you should ask yourself, how many times are you putting sunscreen on everyday? What SPF of sunscreen are you using? How much sunscreen should be used, and how often should it be applied? What type of sunscreen should you use? Does SPF 30 have twice as much sun protection as SPF 15? There are more than 1 million cases of skin cancer diagnosed in the United States every year. This is very important information so please keep reading.
1. When should sunscreen be used?
Sunscreen should be applied every day to exposed skin, and not just if you are going to be in the sun. It is good to know that UVB rays cannot penetrate glass windows, but UVA rays can, leaving you prone to these damaging effects if your skin is unprotected. When you are indoors, apply sunscreen on the areas not covered by clothing, such as the face and hands. Sunscreens can be applied under makeup, or alternatively, there are many cosmetic products available that contain sunscreens for daily use.
2. How much sunscreen should be used, and how often should it be applied?
Sunscreens should be applied to dry skin 15 to 30 minutes BEFORE going outdoors. When using sunscreen, be sure to apply it to all exposed areas and pay particular attention to the face, ears, hands, and arms. Don’t forget that your lips can get sunburned, too, so apply a lip balm that contains sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.
3. How often should sunscreen be applied if you are outside?
Sunscreens should be reapplied approximately every two hours or after swimming or perspiring heavily. Even so-called “water-resistant” sunscreens may lose their effectiveness after 40 minutes in the water. Sunscreens rub off as well as wash off, so if you’ve towel-dried, reapply sunscreen for continued protection.
4. Does SPF 30 have twice as much sun protection as SPF 15?
It is interesting to know that UVB protection does not actually increase proportionately with a designated SPF number. For example, an SPF of 30 screens 97 percent of UVB rays, whereas an SPF of 15 screens 93 percent of UVB rays, and an SPF of 2 screens 50 percent of UVB rays.
5. Is sunscreen all I need to do to protect myself from the sun?
No, it is very important to wear hats and cover your skin when you have extended amounts of exposure. Sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer.
Sun protection is the principal means of preventing premature aging and skin cancer. It’s never too late to protect yourself from the sun and minimize your future risk of skin cancer. Enjoy the sun, but always wear sunscreen even when it is cloudy out all year long.
