Time to review benefits 4 MoneySmartLife strategies to do now

Most employees unnecessarily leave money on the table when it comes to their compensation by not maximizing their employer-provided benefits. According to the BLS, 30% of your compensation is benefits. Let’s look at some strategies to get the most out of your benefits for the rest of this year.
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But first a rant about paid vacation days. I realize that 1 in 4 American workers don’t get any paid time off at all. The rest get paid vacation “yet only 51% of paid vacation days are used! More disturbingly (if not surprisingly), 61% of those who do take vacation are “working while on vacation.” Americans left 768 million days of paid time off unused last year, according to research released by the U.S. Travel Association. The study found that 55 percent of Americans did not use all of their paid vacation time.” Why would you do that? Seriously, ask yourself, “why would I do that?” What are the short/long term benefits of this behavior? 

Here is what to do for the rest of this year. The best time to do this is around October 1. This will give you flexibility before that end of the year time crush everyone experiences. Also, it gives time for any changes in your withholding strategies to take effect and return the expected benefits. Of course, these strategies can be implemented anytime.

1. Verify the status of deductibles and co-pays for health, vision, dental, prescription insurance plans. You can either move purchases into this year or defer them to next based on your deductible status. Make sure you utilize the full benefits by having physicals, wellness checks, dental x-rays, and eye exams. It pays to stay healthy. A penny spent on prevention is better than a dollar on a cure. You never want to hear from a doctor “if we had only caught it sooner,” when you have health insurance.​​
2. Review your Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) balances. Schedule provider appointments and make qualified purchases to use available funds now before the year-end crunch. Familiarize yourself with what are eligible purchases, such as OTC medications and aids, prescription vanity sunglasses and contacts, cosmetic dentistry and massages, etc. You’ll be surprised. Since these accounts have a "use or lose" provision, spending all the money just makes sense and cents.
3. Review your tax withholding exemptions. It may be time to increase them if you are expecting a large refund. This will give you an immediate increase in take-home pay and a smaller refund. Be sure to check with your tax preparer before you do this. Contacting them at this time of year will allow them to help you set a strategy for the rest of this year and the next. It also a slower period for the tax preparer which should help them focus on your strategy.
4. Decide what to do with remaining vacation days. Use, lose, or get paid? Based on your employer's policy, your options may be more limited. So decide now. Not taking the time off that you have earned is like giving your employer a rebate on your wages. That is a great move if you actually think your value is less than what your employer agreed pay you. Taking time off increases job productivity and is good for you.