Employees undervalue their benefits because nobody has ever shown them the invoice.
A pay stub shows what someone earns and what is taken out. It never shows what the employer spends on their medical premium, their disability coverage or the taxes paid on their behalf. We build a statement for each employee with those numbers, drawn from the same census and plan data we use for your renewal, so the value on the page is accurate for the person holding it.
Every line has to be the employee’s own number, not an average.
A statement that shows the average employer cost of family coverage to someone on single coverage loses credibility on the first line they check.
Pay
Base pay, plus bonus or overtime where it is reliably tracked. We leave out anything that cannot be stated accurately, because one wrong figure discredits every other line. Accurate pay figures anchor a credible total compensation statement, which is why we leave out what cannot be stated precisely. For a quick estimate, use our free total compensation calculator.
Medical, Dental and Vision
The employer’s share of the premium for the tier the employee actually elected. For a self-funded plan we use the premium equivalent, calculated the same way as the contribution rates. Showing the employer’s share makes health benefits value visible to each employee on their total compensation statement.
Account Deposits
Employer deposits to an HSA or HRA, shown in dollars rather than as a plan feature, because a deposit is the benefit employees understand fastest. HSA and HRA deposits make a total compensation statement concrete. Dollars are easier to value than plan features.
Life and Disability
The employer’s cost, and more usefully what the coverage would pay this person: the life amount and the monthly disability benefit at their current pay. Showing coverage amounts makes life and disability benefits real. A monthly disability figure at current pay is the number that means something to an employee.
Taxes Paid on Their Behalf
The employer’s share of Social Security and Medicare taxes and unemployment contributions. Employees rarely know these exist, and they are real cost. Employer-paid payroll taxes belong on a total compensation statement, because they are part of what employment costs and what employees rarely see.
Time Off and Other Programs
Paid time off valued at the employee’s rate, plus programs such as tuition assistance where they were used. Perks nobody uses stay off, since padding the total makes it less believable. Honest valuation keeps a total compensation statement credible. Perks nobody uses stay off.
A statement with one wrong number does more harm than no statement.
Statements are read closely by the people most likely to check them: employees deciding whether to stay. The data behind them has to be reconciled before anything is printed.
Enrollment vs. Payroll
Statement data comes from enrollment, payroll and carrier bills, which often disagree. We reconcile them first, which is also how billing errors come to light. Reconciling data sources makes total compensation statements accurate. Errors found here are often billing errors worth recovering from the carrier.
Mid-Year Changes
A life event changes the tier and the employer’s cost. We put an as-of date on every statement, so a change after that date is not read as a mistake. An as-of date keeps benefit statement figures clear. Changes after that date are expected.
Figures from Other Providers
Some values, such as any retirement contribution you make, come from other providers. We include them as supplied, with the source noted, rather than estimating a number we do not maintain. Noting sources keeps total compensation statements trustworthy. Every figure traces back to payroll or the provider that supplied it.
The statement is read at home, often by someone who is not the employee.
Spouses and partners weigh a job offer too. The statement has to make sense to them without an HR glossary.
One Page First
The total and its main parts fit on one page, with detail after. People read the first page and decide whether to keep going. A one-page summary makes a total compensation statement readable at a glance, before the detail pages.
Plain Labels
“What we pay for your health coverage” instead of “employer contribution, medical.” Terms from a plan document do not belong on a statement meant for a kitchen table. Plain labels make total compensation statements easy to read for employees and the families reading with them.
Print and Digital
A printed statement mailed home reaches the household; a digital one can be refreshed. We usually recommend print for the annual edition and digital access through the year. Combining print and digital gets the most from total compensation statements. Print for the annual edition.
Privacy
Statements carry pay and coverage details, so delivery is personal and secure: never a shared folder and never a bulk email with attachments. Secure delivery protects sensitive compensation data, and it is part of what makes employees trust the statement.
What employers ask before sending statements.
Will employees be upset to see what we spend?
Some will ask why their own contribution is what it is. That is a useful conversation, and the statement gives HR the numbers to have it with confidence. Total compensation statements support better benefits conversations. HR gets the numbers to answer confidently.
How often should statements go out?
Once a year is typical, timed to open enrollment or the compensation cycle. More often adds cost without adding much, unless the package changes substantially mid-year. An annual cadence keeps total compensation statements cost-effective and timely for most employers. Mid-year editions rarely add value.
What do you need from us?
Payroll data and anything outside the benefits program you want included. The benefits side comes from the census and plan data we already keep for your account. Existing census data keeps statement production simple for HR, so the added work is mostly the payroll file.
Also in Employee Communication
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
The renewal letter
Your current plan summary
Contribution split by tier
Enrolled counts by tier
Four documents — two more if your group is 50 or more. Nothing else; every extra one is a reason to postpone.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
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