Does your agency provide free insurance?

NurseRies, BSN, RN · May 28, 2013

Hello,
I was just wondering, does your current agency provide free healthcare insurance? What I mean by "free" is that do they completely pay for you or your family healthcare insurance without taking it out of your paycheck. I'm just wondering if there are other "free" benefits I am not aware of that is out there. What about 401k, do you provide it yourself? Or does your agency actually put in the money that they do not take out of your paycheck? Thanks in advance!

Ugh I wish! Both agencies I've worked for cost me about $500 per month out of my check for health insurance. That's for myself and my husband. This latest company has terrible insurance too, I am still paying full price for prescriptions and doctors appointments. Not even sure what I'm paying for. I've been looking into self insurance options. The 401k is usually available but they don't exactly make it easy to sign up. By the way, both my companies are dialysis specialty specific so nobody probably uses them. I'd love to hear if anyone can find any decent insurance or has a company that they can self insure with? Obviously I'm willing to pay $500/month if it means I get decent coverage.

BluntForceTrauma · May 28, 2013

Don't know your age and if you have pre existing conditions, but you can check out websites for Cigna, Blue Cross, United Healthcare, etc and at least try to get a quote!

NurseRies, BSN, RN · May 28, 2013

Don't know your age and if you have pre existing conditions but you can check out websites for Cigna, Blue Cross, United Healthcare, etc and at least try to get a quote![/quote']
Thanks, I'm 27 and have been more or less in perfect health my whole life.. You would think it'd be easier.

dar115 · May 28, 2013

I know exactly what you mean. Nothing is ever free anymore with travel nurse. I also spend $500 a month for me and my wife. We have the most expensive but very reliable insurance. We both don't have any pre existing conditions. Maybe I'll take a look at calling all other insurance to get a quote.

whd13b · May 29, 2013

There are no "free" benefits out there to be had. No matter the agency, all either give you a stipend if you have your own benefits, or they allow you to sign up under their insurance, in which case they will include whatever the charge is, in your hourly pay. So for example, if they offer you a hourly rate of $35.00/hr, $ 5.00/hr could be for your health benefits which means you will only actually be getting $30.00/hr in your paycheck. Make sure the numbers are clear to you before you sign on the dotted line.

Now, as far as 401k, I've researched dozens of agencies and only one offers a company match, all the others just allow you to contribute to with your own money. DO NOT TO THIS. Never...and I mean never contribute to ANY, and I mean ANY 401k unless there is a company match. Why you ask? Because if you want to open up a retirement account, a ROTH IRA is the only way to go. A Roth IRA you can open up with ANY investment company, Fidelity, Schwab, Merrill Lynch, etc, however a 401k is only through your employer. What does this mean? If you leave that employer or just don't like the investment choices being made by the investment firm your company uses...well tough luck. You cannot withdraw that money in many cases without large penalties. Do you research on this one because 401k's are turning out to be one of the biggest investment scams out there.

NedRN · May 29, 2013

Roth IRA contributions are fully taxed and is severely limited as to how much you can contribute ($5,500, $6,500 over 50 years old). By contrast, 401 contributions can be as much as $17,500 ($23,500 if over 50 plus any agency contributions) and reduce your taxable income by that amount. My total contributions for last year were over 30K via agency and personal contributions to a 401, and a personal IRA. As you might imagine, my income taxes were very low but they would have been very high if all those contributions (if even possible) were to a Roth.

Yes, there are significant advantages to Roth IRAs, and about half of my retirement accounts are held in Roth IRAs. But to say that regular 401s are a scam is wrong. They reduce taxes to the government by billions of dollars, so you might say that they are a scam that way.

whd13b · May 29, 2013

Well if your comparing apples to apples than you should have mentioned a traditional IRA because contributions are pre-tax just like a 401k. The benefit of a Roth? If I invest 10k and it grows to 1 million, I pay NO tax on the growth. Huge benefit. All your contributions toward a 401k is before tax, so any growth (and contributions) are taxed when take payments at retirement. In any event, with both a Roth IRA and Traditional, and CD's, and Bonds and so many other investments, I stand by my statement, that unless there is a company match of at least .50 to the dollar, a 401k is a money pit compared to other investment options. By the way, next time you get a chance, find out what your fees are on your 401k, cause a difference of 1% to 2% is roughly 50k over the course of 30 years with compounding. That's a lot of money.

PS ..Not sure how much money you make, but I sure can't afford to contribute more than 17k a year to my retirement. I'm lucky if I am able to get 7k a year in mine. Really fantastic that you have that opportunity, but I don't think the average American is that fortunate.

NedRN · May 29, 2013

I agree that my finances are unusual (I've been a traveler for 20 years and save more than I spend thus landing me in a rather sweet spot now), but I disagree that you cannot afford to put that kind of money (17K you mentioned) in retirement accounts. You make far more than the average worker. The excess can be invested rather than spent. Of course, you can't put 17K a year into any kind of IRA, traditional or Roth.

Traditional IRAs and 401s (and 403s) have been around for decades helping people save for retirement. The general theory is that it is the rare retiree that requires the same income after retirement, thus the distributions are taxed at a lower marginal level after retirement than they would have been when first earned during peak earning years. In addition, as you put them in the pot without income taxes, they start out as 20 to 30 percent higher capital amounts as initial investments. I'd love to have the 20 to 30 percent you paid to the government to grow for the next 30 years! Free money, even if taxed after withdrawal!

That theory hasn't changed or become a scam since the invention of Roth accounts (technically also available as a 401 but I don't know anyone doing it). Contributing to traditional IRA/401s reduce your taxes overall. Almost always. Using a Roth costs more, but can certainly pay off in the very long run. Both are worthwhile, even in the absence of a company match. Choosing what vehicle to use and the distribution takes a lot of care and planning, and none of them can be dismissed out of hand. Typically, average earners cannot afford Roths, only above average earners like us. But often for low earners, the amount they put into an IRA approaches the actual tax savings. Which makes it a no brainer. For us, it is a bit more of an intellectual challenge and everyone is unique in their goals and abilities to save and invest.

Company matches are great, but remember it all comes out of the same pot. A match, or a longevity bonus, or any other benefit comes out of your hourly pay.

My 401 has zero overhead and I can choose any financial product, stocks, bonds, funds, options, etc. You may be thinking (rightly) of many corporate 401s that are set up in an annuity shell that do have hidden costs of about a percent a year. Generally those only carry funds you cannot buy on the open market, but are based on popular funds. When I used to agency hop, there was a way around those fees. Simply choose the money market account option to preserve your capital, and roll it over to your own IRA when you leave. I talked a number of agencies into increasing my personal contribution from some small percentage of income to the IRS contribution limits instead.

The vast majority of my income is 1099 so I have my own 401 small business account. Google Fidelity small business 401 if you want details. Vanguard has something similar, but I believe they charge $100 a year maintenance (I use both companies for IRAs, traditional and Roth). This allows me to control the company match (highly desirable because not only is there no income tax, but also no FICA - at least with my business form), and pick any amount of personal contribution I need that year to minimize my taxes.

whd13b · May 29, 2013

That's a lot of great retirement investment information! Thanks Ned!