Bleary Benefits: Why Is Finding the Right Coverage So Confusing?

So I’m sitting here wading through benefits paperwork so I can cover myself and my family with anything and everything insurance (and retirement savings) and I’m amazed. There you are, a new employee, and though there’s orientation and human resource personnel to help, does it all have to be so muddled and full of jargon? This stuff has got to be easier to manage. And especially for those of you just starting your first job with benefits, surely this process isn’t fun. But, it’s vital!

Some employers are coming up with quick ‘CliffNote’ benefit handbooks, and that’s a great first step, but when you choose a medical plan, you’re locked in for a full year. That’s quite a commitment. The Financial Planning Association joined up with Aetna to build an informational website to make signing up for benefits a bit easier: AllAbouttheBenefits.com. The added-value of the site is that it addresses the fact that many young adults get kicked off their parent’s health care insurance plans and don’t know how to go about getting insurance if they don’t have a full-time job with benefits. Young adults are the group most likely to not be insured and medical bankruptcies in this group are growing.

Get coverage—don’t be intimidated by the forms and handbooks, and seek out information online as much as possible to sign up for even minimal high-deductible coverage.

Do you have some new resources or unions or organizations offering discounted group coverage? And if you don’t have coverage, what’s stopping you from getting it? If it’s cost, let’s find that money.