Benefits and pensions, offered to nurses

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

Specializes in Surgical, CVICU & Oncology, Med/Surg.

There's something that's rarely talked about as nurses and I've recently been thinking about it. What benefits and pension plans are offered at your hospital? What should I consider in terms of benefits and pensions? I had intentions of leaving a hospital after 2yrs then I found out they offer a pension (whether you leave or stay) but after 5yrs. At the hospital, starting pay is lower but benefits kick in immediately you start (health/medical, dental, vision & pto). I was literally able to take pto on my 3rd week of employment. After 5yrs, your pension kicks in (taking the average of your highest paychecks over 3yrs). What are some of the considerations you have when choosing benefits and pension plans. What are some of the best benefits and pension plans you've encountered?

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

vA- hospital system

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Specializes in Case manager, float pool, and more.

VA or other government employment.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care-Family Medicine.

PTO accrual begins on day 1, health insurance begins day 1 (I pay just over $200 per month for me and my spouse), retirement match 50% on the first 6% that you contribute, fully vested after 3 years.

Current employer is pretty comparable to others in my area.

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Specializes in Hematology-oncology.

Government jobs often have public employee pension, and workers are not part of social security. While any sort of group retirement is seen as shaky with the aging of our population, state retirement is generally better funded than social security. This is a big reason why many employees (that I know) stay in the public sector. Taking my state for example, employees contribute 10% of their gross pay, and the state contributes 14%. Like what you described, Ohio public employees receive an average of our last 3 years income before retirement as our annual pension upon retirement. Hopefully that sentence was clear as mud!

Priorities when finding meaningful employment are highly personal. Some people want personal fulfillment, some want a fun work environment, some want a generous vacation package, and some want a secure retirement. Lucky people find a job that meets more than one of those categories. For me personally, I don't want to work full time forever, so having a job with a pension was very important to me.

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Specializes in LTC.

I wish we got benefits and pensions in private duty. We get a whopping total of 3 paid days off a year. It's laughable. Unfortunately, this is the only area of nursing I'm comfortable working in due to my anxiety issues so I'm stuck. =\

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.

Sounds like a nice thing but ultimately it is a fleeting promise...

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

The OP raises a good topic. Too many nurses look only at the cash when they are thinking about jobs, compensation, etc. Benefits are important, too. Nurses who "job hop" often lower their overall compensation by remaining ineligible for the the best benefits.

Years ago, I worked for a hospital that had a traditional plan that "vested" after 5 years of employment. I was ready to quit that job and go to grad school after about 4 years. But I stayed that extra year to qualify for the small pension that I would earn a the 5 year mark. I haven't cashed it in yet, but when I actually retire in a few years, I'll have the choice of taking a 1-time payout of approximately $20,000 or taking about $150.00 per month for the rest of my life. Staying that extra year will pay off nicely.

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There are so many variables to consider when taking benefits and pensions. I would suggest approaching it under 3 perspectives.

1) What you want personally, both financially(house, car) and lifestyle (kids/family)

2) The level of stress you can/want to handle

3) Career

City jobs can offer better benefits but the pay might be lower. Hospitals will give you the PTO and have a lower to zero Vesting window but the stresses are much greater. Offices can have great benefits but you must follow the waiting period to use PTO and the vesting periods do take 5 years (remember vesting is not usually 5 years or nothing, after 2/3/4 years you are able to keep a percentage of what the company has matched).

Career wise, if you can deal with the stress, go for higher pay and then perhaps consider working in an affiliate office after youve put in some time, most offices affiliated with hospitals or large networks will try to match as close as possible to your hospital pay.

Good luck!

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My state has one of the best retirement systems in the country for public employees. Unfortunately, since our governor came into power, a lot has been lost with decrease union power and it's a mess. Pay wise, the state facilities match on average what the hospitals in the area pay. You get vested after 5 years (used to be shorter) and they match 6.5%. Insurance is fairly affordable and the earned PTO is worth it...I got over 3 weeks vacation right off the bat.

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