4 ms·

Umm, we live in a hell world without universal healthcare. Until that changes bennies are pretty important

goodpoint 5y ago
In my understanding, in all developed countries except US there is universal healthcare.
amitport 5y ago
I think the point was that some employers may pay you more than enough for you to pay for your own health insurance (even after tax deductions). (I'm not in the US, you seem to have your own hell there, but still, every 'benefit' has a price tag, no?)
- runevault 5y ago
  Companies of any real size tend to get better rates than most individuals can get because they can average things out over a larger group of people, since odds are a decent % of the people won't need to spend a significant amount on health care any given year. So while there is some cost to the employee it is still probably doing better than if they simply put that money directly in your pocket. But yes US healthcare is insane.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    In my experience, healthcare.gov pricing for health insurance and the premiums paid by employers are all roughly the same for comparable level plans (by metal level).
neogodless 5y ago
Are you saying that you are unable to purchase health insurance in your hell world? I live in the United States, and when I was working as a 1099 contract worker, I bought health insurance for my family for little more than what an employer deducts from my paycheck. It was actually a very nice plan.
- slumdev 5y ago
  > when I was working as a 1099 contract worker, I bought health insurance for my family for little more than what an employer deducts from my paycheck. How long has it been since then? What most people would consider "good" insurance costs $1500-2000 per month for a family. I've never seen an employer chip in less than 50% of that cost.
  - neogodless 5y ago
    It's been about 2.5 years. Was paying under $700 for the two of us. The difference in pay between W2 and 1099 was $30,000 / year. This more than covered all taxes and health insurance costs. (And even the W2 rate was much higher than typical full-time salaries.) The main difference in taxes is the 15.3% you pay towards FICA, where an employer has to cover most of it for W-2 (you still pay 6.2%.) I don't remember all the exact numbers any more, but if 1099 is ~25% more than W-2, odds are pretty good you can do better on your own, especially if you take advantage of the solo 401(k) to reduce your tax load.
    - slumdev 5y ago
      > Was paying under $700 for the two of us. What did this buy, though? That premium sounds like either a "health sharing ministry" or some kind of barebones catastrophic plan. Both are smart options if a person has good income and a financial cushion, but they're a much lesser coverage than what most big employers would provide. > if 1099 is ~25% more than W-2, odds are pretty good you can do better on your own I've used a wider margin as a rule of thumb when considering it in the past. I'll have to rerun numbers based on my current income and benefits. > especially if you take advantage of the solo 401(k) to reduce your tax load. That secret $54k deduction... probably the biggest benefit for anyone who is moderately high-income and retirement-minded.
      - lotsofpulp 5y ago
        They are probably young without kids. A silver level high deductible health plan in a high cost of living state is about $400 per person for early 30 year olds. You can assume health insurance costs $350 per person, plus or minus 10%, in healthy years. Then you have to multiply by age rating factors. So a family of 4 with parents around 40 will be ~$1,500 per month for a silver HDHP. This pdf is a good rubric: https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_insurance/ihcseh/ihcrates2021.pdf https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_insurance/ihcseh/ihcrates20...
wonderwonder 5y ago
I work as a contractor without benefits. I got a 75% raise over my last job which was w2. I can easily pay for my own benefits, got the bonus of being able to allocate more to retirement via my i401k and can write off a ton of stuff to reduce my taxable income that I would have to pay for anyway working a w2 remote job. New laptop, portions of my power bill, phone bill, internet etc. I think the best part is mental, I no longer care about promotions, office politics or getting recognition from leadership. I just clock in do my work and clock out, if they want me to work more hours that's cool too, I just charge them for it at my hourly rate. I really like it. Your mileage may vary of course. Edit: Another benefit is health care premiums are tax deductible as long as you are not eligible to go under a spouses employer plan.

In my understanding, in all developed countries except US there is universal healthcare.

I think the point was that some employers may pay you more than enough for you to pay for your own health insurance (even after tax deductions). (I'm not in the US, you seem to have your own hell there, but still, every 'benefit' has a price tag, no?)

runevault 5y ago
Companies of any real size tend to get better rates than most individuals can get because they can average things out over a larger group of people, since odds are a decent % of the people won't need to spend a significant amount on health care any given year. So while there is some cost to the employee it is still probably doing better than if they simply put that money directly in your pocket. But yes US healthcare is insane.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  In my experience, healthcare.gov pricing for health insurance and the premiums paid by employers are all roughly the same for comparable level plans (by metal level).

neogodless 5y ago

Are you saying that you are unable to purchase health insurance in your hell world? I live in the United States, and when I was working as a 1099 contract worker, I bought health insurance for my family for little more than what an employer deducts from my paycheck. It was actually a very nice plan.

slumdev 5y ago
> when I was working as a 1099 contract worker, I bought health insurance for my family for little more than what an employer deducts from my paycheck. How long has it been since then? What most people would consider "good" insurance costs $1500-2000 per month for a family. I've never seen an employer chip in less than 50% of that cost.
- neogodless 5y ago
  It's been about 2.5 years. Was paying under $700 for the two of us. The difference in pay between W2 and 1099 was $30,000 / year. This more than covered all taxes and health insurance costs. (And even the W2 rate was much higher than typical full-time salaries.) The main difference in taxes is the 15.3% you pay towards FICA, where an employer has to cover most of it for W-2 (you still pay 6.2%.) I don't remember all the exact numbers any more, but if 1099 is ~25% more than W-2, odds are pretty good you can do better on your own, especially if you take advantage of the solo 401(k) to reduce your tax load.
  - slumdev 5y ago
    > Was paying under $700 for the two of us. What did this buy, though? That premium sounds like either a "health sharing ministry" or some kind of barebones catastrophic plan. Both are smart options if a person has good income and a financial cushion, but they're a much lesser coverage than what most big employers would provide. > if 1099 is ~25% more than W-2, odds are pretty good you can do better on your own I've used a wider margin as a rule of thumb when considering it in the past. I'll have to rerun numbers based on my current income and benefits. > especially if you take advantage of the solo 401(k) to reduce your tax load. That secret $54k deduction... probably the biggest benefit for anyone who is moderately high-income and retirement-minded.
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      They are probably young without kids. A silver level high deductible health plan in a high cost of living state is about $400 per person for early 30 year olds. You can assume health insurance costs $350 per person, plus or minus 10%, in healthy years. Then you have to multiply by age rating factors. So a family of 4 with parents around 40 will be ~$1,500 per month for a silver HDHP. This pdf is a good rubric: https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_insurance/ihcseh/ihcrates2021.pdf https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_insurance/ihcseh/ihcrates20...

wonderwonder 5y ago

I work as a contractor without benefits. I got a 75% raise over my last job which was w2. I can easily pay for my own benefits, got the bonus of being able to allocate more to retirement via my i401k and can write off a ton of stuff to reduce my taxable income that I would have to pay for anyway working a w2 remote job. New laptop, portions of my power bill, phone bill, internet etc. I think the best part is mental, I no longer care about promotions, office politics or getting recognition from leadership. I just clock in do my work and clock out, if they want me to work more hours that's cool too, I just charge them for it at my hourly rate. I really like it. Your mileage may vary of course. Edit: Another benefit is health care premiums are tax deductible as long as you are not eligible to go under a spouses employer plan.