Join The Group

Archive

The Chambers Plan Dental Coverage: What a Mouthful!

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart group benefits choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the The Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Saskatoon Chamber members.  In our latest post, we discuss dental coverage benefits offered through The Chambers Plan at YXE Benefits Saskatoon.

The Chambers Plan Dental Coverage: What a Mouthful!

The Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan offers a wide range of dental options, designed to meet a variety of budgets and employee expectations. Basic coverage includes such things as check-ups, cleanings and x-rays; while more comprehensive coverage includes services like crowns, dentures and orthodontic services. So take a few moments and make sure your dental plan is up-to-date. A regular visit to the dentist will not only help you to maintain a healthy smile, but a healthy body as well!

What is Included in Dental Coverage with The Chambers Plan?

Whether you’re looking for basic maintenance or major coverage, our Dental insurance plans can help cover the cost of dental care for your employees and their families. Payments for Dental claims are typically processed within 48 hours. Employees can also track claims, review coverage and even see when they’re next eligible for a check-up by going online and using my-benefits.

Basic Dental coverage can include:

  • Check-ups and complete dental examsDental Coverage Saskatoon
  • Fluoride, polishing and scaling
  • Dental x-rays, periapical films and panoramic film
  • Pit and fissure sealants
  • Minor restorations including fillings and prefab crowns
  • Oral surgery – removal of erupted or impacted teeth or residual roots, and associated anesthesia

Endodontic and Periodontal procedures include:

  • Root canal therapeutics
  • Gum treatment

Major Dental coverage can include: 

  • Crowns and onlays, dentures and bridges
  • Denture relining and rebasing, repair of dentures or bridgework

Orthodontic Dental coverage can include:

  • Orthodontic exams, X-rays and casts
  • Braces and retainers for dependents not yet 17 years old

Take care of your employees with dental coverage through The Chamber Plan. Get a free quote from YXE Benefits today.

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’

www.yxebenefits.ca

4 Tips on Practicing Moderation

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart group benefits choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the The Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Saskatoon Chamber members.  In our latest post, we Share the benefits and benefits 4 tip on practicing moderation.

4 Tips on Practicing Moderation in 2020

Anytime  is a good time to think about our daily habits—things we’d like to change, but have yet to put into action. Many consider diet change or exercise regimens, but without considering the value of moderation. Many resolutions are not sustainable, and, as a result, go up in flames weeks after launch. A basic online definition of moderation is “avoiding excess or the extreme.” What we do while we are not at work matters, and moderation in our personal lives can positively impact our business lives.

Whether it’s choosing a small instead of the large popcorn at the movie theatre, or saying “no thanks” to work that doesn’t meet your business or personal priorities at the time, opportunity to practice moderation is everywhere.

Diet.

It’s safe to say, moderation is everything when it comes to the food and drinks we consume. In a world where we face open boxes of donuts in the office kitchen, and huge portions at restaurants, we are up against a lot. That is, our will power has to be rock solid.

Practicing Moderation in eating

The latest cleanse challenge or hip diet might seem like the way around this, but more times than not, we turn into ticking time bombs. Once the cleanse is over, we go right back to eating what we always eat (and sometimes over eat to make up for lost time). We are social beings—showing up at the pub for a water and salad is hardly fun, but choosing the healthy option 5 out of 7 days a week can take us a long way.

Moderation tip: If you’re eating out today, consider saving half of your meal to take home, or eat it later this afternoon.

Exercise.

Everyone knows, when it comes to exercise, consistency is key. Like cleanses and diets, exercise challenges can be fun, but usually only produce short-term gain. If you’ve gone from working out 2-3 days a week to 6 days a week, it can also be a recipe for injury if not supervised by a professional. A challenge is fun, but do it safely. If the gym bores you, change it up! Monday, yoga, Wednesday, gym, Friday kick-boxing, or whatever gets you pumped.

walking up the stairs Practicing Moderation

Moderation tip: Commit to that exercise slot in your schedule the same way you commit to showing up to work on time. The commitment to yourself is as important as the commitment you make to your boss, partner, or co-workers.

 

 

Saying Yes.

Stop it. You are burning yourself out, not leaving enough time or energy for personal growth, relationships, business growth, or whatever is important to you. As President and CEO of Lead from Within, Lolly Daskal says, “You can be a good person and still say no.” It’s been said a hundred times before—define your priorities, vocalize your goals, put them somewhere visible, and you will know what to say yes to, and what to delegate.

Practicing Moderation in saying noIt also helps to have something prepared, like a script, so you feel confident you can turn away work without offending or burning bridges when you’re asked. Your instinct can actually be a strong indicator of whether or not a project is aligned with your business goals. Hang on to that initial feeling when you were asked to participate; if there was a sense of excitement from the beginning, it’s probably work you won’t regret taking on.

Moderation Tip : Above all else, give yourself permission to respect your own personal boundaries.

Spending.

According to Stats Canada, in 2017, “Canadian households in the lowest income brackets spent an average of $33, 764 on goods and services, compared with $105,493 for those in the top 20% of household incomes,”—a good indication that we tend to live up to the lifestyle we make for ourselves. In other words, we spend what we earn.

Practicing Moderation spending

But imagine, this year, you stay put and decide against a bigger mortgage, buy an older vehicle, take one less shopping spree, try a staycation. There might be a natural cleansing to be experienced in having less “stuff” and more in the bank account. We are a consumer culture, but if you step back for a moment the next time you are about to make a purchase and ask, do I really need this? Or better yet, will this make me happy for longer than a day, what will your honest answer be? If you don’t make the purchase, what will you have left at the end of 2020? It might be worth the experiment.

Moderation Tip : If you were to make a personal budget, what would it look like?

Whether you are moderating your single-use plastic consumption, trading in the car for public transportation, cutting back on screen time, or choosing the single-patty burger instead of the double, we all know, but sometimes fail to acknowledge less, more times than not, is more.

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

2019 Top Trends in Health Benefits Shared by YXE Benefits Saskatoon

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart group benefits choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the Chambers group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Saskatoon Chamber members.  In our latest post, we share an article on the 2019 top trends in health benefits.

 

Top Trends in Canada Health Benefits in 2019

  1. Heard of Telemedicine?

Many insurers have established partnerships with providers of telemedicine, and are actively promoting it as an optional benefit, or for plan sponsors, to promote it as an eligible expense under Healthcare Spending Accounts (HSAs).

Plan members can use their computer, phone or smartphone app to get 24/7 access to nurse practitioners or physicians, who can immediately diagnose and prescribe for common ailments. Employers that derive most of their revenue from hourly billings, for example, will likely find the service especially appealing.

“It certainly provides value to private plans because it gives very timely and efficient access to care so that employees are more productive and do not have to take time off work to go to walk-in clinics.” 

  1. Virtual care

Virtual care takes telemedicine a step further by providing an alternative way to access ongoing care (for example, for plan members already diagnosed with chronic conditions). Members consult with specialists and other allied healthcare professionals by phone, computer or smart app.

Virtual care for mental health, and more specifically for cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), is leading the way. Indeed, the long-term aim is to promote the use of virtual CBT as an early intervention, while employees are still at work, to prevent disability claims.

“A lot of pilots are out there now for virtual CBT. The important thing to note is that it doesn’t necessarily mean additional costs for the plan sponsor or new out-of-pocket costs for the plan member. This is about diverting some of the traditional benefit dollars to deliver services in a different way, and more cost-effectively.”

  1. Healthcare Apps

Recently, we have seen a number of healthcare apps, from both start-up vendors and traditional healthcare innovators. Insurers will soon be vetting the options to determine which are medically valid and financially viable as benefit offerings. These apps will complement existing benefits and can reduce costs.

“For example, an employee may go to a psychologist every six weeks, at a cost to the plan of $150 per visit. Between visits, he uses an app that costs $10 a month that helps him manage his anxiety day-to-day. Today, that $150 visit is an eligible expense, but the $10 app is not. If the $10 app saved one or more psychologist visits per year, it would save money and cover its own cost.”

As with many new benefits, coverage for healthcare apps will likely initially be promoted as an eligible expense under HCSAs.

  1. Targeted Health messaging

This year could mark a pivotal year for wellness supports from the workplace, due to insurers’ growing capabilities in analytics and artificial intelligence to send targeted, action-oriented health information to plan members.

“We can identify plan members who are at risk for chronic conditions, or who may be at risk for disability leave. We can reach out to them, with their consent, with helpful information and suggestions for care.”

Personalized, regular health messaging could be the missing link to help prevent and manage chronic disease. While past pilot projects consistently showed the value of coaching from allied health professionals (such as pharmacists and dietitians) for members with health risk factors or chronic diseases, member enrollment was a challenge and ongoing costs a concern. The incorporation of targeted messaging from insurers, with automated “nudges” that can be delivered digitally, may help with both engagement and cost-effectiveness.

  1. Medical cannabis

The most popular conversation come renewal time this year will likely be about coverage for medical cannabis. Now that most insurers have put together offerings for optional coverage, plan sponsors will be able to address a topic that continues to steadily garner media attention—which in turn stokes consumer interest.

Currently, Health Canada reports that more than 300,000 Canadians take medical cannabis, presumably paying out of pocket (or possibly using funds from healthcare spending accounts).

See related YXE Benefits posts on medical cannabis.

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

YXE Benefits Shares 2019 Buck Survey Indicating That Drug Claims Are Expected to Rise

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart group benefits choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the Chambers group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Saskatoon Chamber members.  In our latest post, we share the information from the recent Drug Claims Expected to Rise in 2019 Survey.

Prescription Drug Costs represent the majority of private Health Spend

YXE benefits SaskatoonBenefit plan sponsors can expect to see a three to five per cent increase in prescription drug claims in 2019, according to Buck’s annual Canadian health-care trend survey.

However, the survey noted, since insurance providers also add a market inflation factor, the projected increase is actually 10.99 per cent, down from 12.45 per cent in 2018. Based on 2018 claims trends, the survey found prescription drug costs represent the majority of private payer health spend and have the greatest influence on employer benefits cost trends.

“Our survey shows that although actual drug claims remain relatively stable, insurers continue to project a faster rate of increase due to market inflation.” Buck Survey 2019

Dental Benefits usage also on the riseDrug Claims Expected to Rise in 2019 Survey

It also found the use of dental services is on the rise, increased slightly over the past two years to 5.86 per cent in 2019. And while hospital inflation factors consistently reduced between 2015 and 2018, this trend reversed in 2019 with the insurer trend increasing to 10.03 per cent from 2.6 per cent in 2018. However, this cost represents a relatively small portion of plan spend.

“Insurance providers factor projected market inflation into the rate-setting calculation, and this has the potential to drive plan costs both higher and faster than the actual trend in health-care spending.”

Drug Claims Expected to Rise in 2019 SurveyMedical advances and other factors to influence health care costs

The survey noted medical advances, demographic trends and regulatory oversight will influence health-care costs over the next few years, so employers should consider how their plans will evolve to ensure employees are healthy and productive while keeping costs under control.

 “Medical, prescription drug and dental care coverage make up an important component of employees’ total compensation. To help contain costs, companies need to think creatively about how they can encourage a healthy lifestyle for employees and embrace medical advances in testing and treatment to achieve better health outcomes.”

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

Employee Benefits Fraud Case in Toronto Results in 150 Employees Terminated

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart group benefits choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the Chambers group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Saskatoon Chamber members.  In our latest post, we share a recent article posted regarding employee benefits fraud by The National Post: Toronto’s Baycrest hospital fires around 150 employees after uncovering multi-million dollar fraud.

Baycrest Hospital Fires 150 in Employee Benefits Fraud Case

In what could be one of the largest and longest-lasting benefits fraud schemes ever discovered in Canada, a Toronto geriatric hospital has dismissed approximately 150 employees for falsely claiming as much as $5 million in benefits over an eight-year period.

“It appears to be organized, It had to be done in such a way that it would escape at least detection by the benefits administrator… It’s a betrayal of trust.” said William Reichman, president and CEO of Baycrest Health Sciences.

As in previous scams of comparable sizes, such as the one discovered last year at the Toronto Transit Commission, this one involved misuse of prescription coverage for orthotics, knee braces, and compression stockings, but also physiotherapy.

Employee Benefits Fraud – It’s a betrayal of trust

Employee Benefits FraudBaycrest fired those employees who did not resign after a third-party internal investigation by an auditor. The investigation found that one employee had taken more than $100,000 and that several others had pocketed amounts in the $25,000 range.

The majority of those staff found to be involved were unionized. They span many job categories and include registered nurses, whose profession is regulated and licensed, such that misconduct must be reported to their college. They include personal support workers, housekeeping and cleaning staff. There are no physicians involved.

“No one profession is implicated here,” Reichman said.

No criminal charges have been filed, and none of the allegations made by Baycrest and its investigators have been proven in court. Baycrest spoke with police twice: first several months ago, then again in the last two weeks to update them on the conclusions of their internal probe.

The hospital administration “undertook to investigate this on their own,” said Det. Sgt. John Whitworth. His meetings with hospital administration were advisory, he said, and Baycrest has not formally engaged the police to investigate.

“If it involved public safety, we would take that decision out of their hands,” Whitworth said. But as it stands, he has not seen anything that demands police intervention, so the “ball was left in their court.”

“I anticipate that they will be back in touch with myself, but if they never call me back, we will never do anything with it.” Whitworth said.

Baycrest’s investigation found two main types of employee benefits fraud

In one, an employee would submit invoices for services they never received, such as physiotherapy, and pay a kickback to the provider. In another, an employee would accept unrelated products — purses, YXE benefits Saskatoonfor example, or shoes for athletics or fashion — with the provider pocketing the difference in price between those items and the prescribed medical device.

The hospital operates its own employee benefit plan from a pool funded 75 percent by the government of Ontario and 25 percent from employee premiums, so fraud against this system disadvantages both the public and the employee’s own colleagues. The plan is administered by Coughlin & Associates, based in Ottawa and Winnipeg.

Baycrest said consultants discovered the fraud several months ago when the hospital hired them to investigate a possible partnership with other hospitals in a network of approved providers. By looking at Baycrest’s providers, the consultant recognized some from other cases of benefits misuse involving orthotics, orthopedic shoes, compression stockings, and braces.

“That’s where we see the most misuse,” said Gordon Burke, president of Orion Audit Ltd., the company that conducted the investigation. This area of medical supply is “highly unregulated.”

About 150 employees summoned to meetings at Baycrest

The roughly 150 employees had been summoned to meetings at Baycrest Wednesday where they were told of their fates. Private security patrolled the campus as fired employees were escorted into taxis or given a few minutes to get their car and return their parking pass. By the end of the day, all those who had not already proactively resigned were terminated for violating the hospital’s code of conduct and the trust of its administration.

Baycrest hospital fires around 150 employeesOne of the employees fired Wednesday, who was in the higher range of misused benefits and agreed to share the formal dismissal letter with the National Post on the condition they not be named, said the scam was promoted by “co-workers.”

The employee said they went to a chiropractor, received invoices to submit, then kicked back cash to various people at the chiropractor’s office. The kickback ratio was different for different employees. The employee did this for three years and had already stopped after discussion with their spouse by the time the chiropractor closed a couple of years ago.

The letter reports the hospital’s findings that “you, and/or members of your immediate family, have committed multiple acts constituting fraud and/or theft… You deliberately and intentionally engaged in dishonest and unethical behaviour. For this reason, you have irreparably damaged our trust in you.”

No one profession is implicated here

This “willful misconduct” is “grossly inappropriate in any work environment,” the letter reads.

“Not everybody is taking advantage,” said another of the fired employees, a woman who was dismissed after 15 years working in hospitality. She said Baycrest was treating her unfairly by not giving her a second chance and an opportunity to pay back the money in question. She said she learned of the scheme from a co-worker and began claiming for physiotherapy she did not receive in 2012 but stoppedBaycrest hospital fires around 150 employees two years later.

She said she knew it was against policy, but given that she was paying more each month into a health benefits plan than she was actually using, she felt she deserved it.

“That’s why people do things,” she said.

Some of the schemes could have involved the innocent participation of medical device retailers, Reichman said. Some schemes necessarily involved unscrupulous behaviour by retailers, such as taking kickbacks or offering non-medical consumer goods instead of prescribed devices. But Baycrest’s investigation encompassed only its own employees and made no conclusions about providers.

The date range of eight years reflects only available records, Reichman said, so in theory, the fraud could have been going on for longer.

It’s against our values

“It’s against our values,” said Reichman. “Honesty is an important character trait that you look for in people who are entrusted to take care of other people.”

“I’m very disappointed. I walk by those staff every day in the parking lot and the halls of this place,” he said.

health benefits for employees SaskatoonThis huge instantaneous reduction in staffing levels — some 150 of the hospital’s roughly 1800 employees — was a potential crisis for the hospital, which has been planning the mass dismissal for weeks.

Some new staff have been hired, part-timers have been urged to take on more hours, staffing agencies have been hired and other contingency plans put in place.

With a total loss between $4- and $5-million, according to Reichman, plus the costs of investigation, the Baycrest scheme might be even larger in financial terms than the massive Toronto Transit Commission fraud, in which more than 200 people were fired in 2018 in a scheme that bilked the transit service of as much as $5 million.

That case, in which employees took cash kickbacks from an orthotics provider after submitting fraudulent invoices, led to criminal charges against ten people, of which one was withdrawn and nine resolved with guilty pleas.

In 2017, Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital fired 31 people in a similar fraud that totalled about $200,000.

Those cases have driven a new interest among employers in the law around benefits fraud, said Ryan Conlin, an expert in employment law and a partner at Stringer LLP.

I walk by those staff every day in the parking lot and the halls of this place

“Any time you enter into a situation where you accuse an employee of fraud, you better be sure you can prove it,” he said. Even with documentary proof, an employer can be in for a fight, he said, as indicated by the TTC case where there have been arguments about the degree to which benefits misuse was officially tolerated.

“Usually there’s one person coordinating it. These schemes have a certain degree of sophistication to them.” Conlin said.

People in credentialed professions are willing to participate

Typically, a group of criminals know people in credentialed professions who are willing to participate in these schemes in exchange for cash, said Gary Askin, a former Waterloo Region police officer and Saskatoon employee benefitsnow assistant vice president, fraud risk management at Sun Life, a large insurance provider. They seek out generous benefit plans and often have a “predatory” recruiter among staff who can help employees rationalize the fraud. Basically, this is a con, he said, and when it goes bust, the providers are holding cash, and the paper trail points to the employee.

He said the industry has to look at more tools such as delisting unscrupulous providers, civil action and contacting Canada Revenue. He said there is also a push for new provincial offences to levy fines on providers, without burdening the police.

Michel Quenneville, president of Coughlin & Associates, Baycrest’s benefits administrator, said his company has “rigorous standards and protocols in place to defend against and detect such activities. This situation has only served to reinforce our commitment to vigilance and an ongoing process of continuous improvement. A number of measures have been implemented to further guard against similar misuse.”

Baycrest would not say the degree to which it discovered the scheme’s leadership, other than to say the whole thing was “organized.”

“It wasn’t known to us and it wasn’t known to our benefits administrator,” Reichman said.

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

YXE Benefits Plan

YXE Benefits Facts- Saskatoon Group Dental Benefits

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the Chambers group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Saskatoon Chamber members.  In our latest post, we discuss Saskatoon Group Dental Benefits.

Saskatoon Group Dental Benefits -It’s A Mouthful

Saskatoon Group Dental Benefits Dentists are known for protecting our teeth and gums from dental disease, but did you know they can also save your life?

In addition to inspecting your mouth for cavities, dentists use checkups to screen for several different health issues by spotting symptoms that could indicate serious medical problems elsewhere in the body. It’s often during this routine check dentists discover signs of a problem in the form of colour variations, small sores, and changes in saliva. Just by looking in your mouth dentists can identify signs of cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, skin diseases, autoimmune diseases and more.

Your oral health can also have an effect on your overall health. Dentists identify, prevent, and treat gum disease, which can have a significant effect on the rest of your body. Studies have shown gum disease can heighten the risk of heart disease, strokes, and pneumonia. Visiting your dentist every six months is a key component of maintaining good oral and overall health, but it can be expensive if you don’t have the proper dental coverage.

The Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan offers a wide range of dental options, designed to meet a variety of budgets and employee expectations. Basic coverage includes such things as check-ups, cleanings and x-rays; while more comprehensive coverage includes services like crowns, dentures and orthodontic services. So take a few moments and make sure your dental plan is up-to-date. A regular visit to the dentist will not only help you to maintain a healthy smile but a healthy body as well!

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

Health Insurance Benefits and Taxation

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the Chambers group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Chamber members.  In our latest post, we discuss health insurance benefits and taxation.

Health Insurance Benefits and Taxation

When you get your T4 slip in January or February, you may wonder why the employment income reported in Box 14 is higher than the salary or wages you earned for the year. That’s because your employer must report premiums it pays for certain group benefits and the value of some perks as a taxable benefit, and you must pay taxes on those amounts.

In addition, both you and your employer have to make Canada Pension Plan contributions on the value of all taxable benefits plus Employment Insurance contributions on taxable benefits you receive in cash.

Here is how the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) treats employee benefits for tax purposes:

1. Group life/health premiums

Employer-paid premiums for group life insurance, dependent life insurance, accident insurance and critical illness insurance are taxable benefits and the amounts paid on your behalf will be added to your taxable income. You may also be able to claim health insurance premiums you paid as a tax credit.

2. Group short- or long-term disability

Employer-paid short-term disability (STD) or long-term disability (LTD) premiums are not taxable benefits. However, when your employer pays any amount towards your STD or LTD coverage, any benefits you may collect in future will be taxable.

3. Pension plan/Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan

Your employer’s contributions to a registered pension plan on your behalf are not taxable. However, when your employer contributes to or matches your group RRSP contributions, this amount is viewed as taxable earnings that increase your income. If you notify your employer that you have sufficient RRSP contribution room, your employer may deposit the full amount into your RRSP account without any withholding tax being deducted. And as long as you have RRSP contribution room, you can deduct the total amount contributed to your RRSP in the year of contribution or a future year. Be aware, however, that your employer’s contribution to your pension reduces your RRSP contribution room the following year, via the “pension adjustment” that is reported on your T4 and that the CRA notifies you about every year.

 

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

 

 

 

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose The Chamber group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Chamber members.  In our latest post, we discuss added the Chamber Plan value, one of which is the Business Assistance service. This is just one of the additional features built into each benefit plan at no additional cost.

Business Assistance Service

Business Assistance Service (BAS)

Helping you manage your business more efficiently

Most small businesses can’t afford to have a team of specialists on hand to help deal with unexpected problems that require an expert opinion. The Chambers Plan BAS is designed to fill this gap. This confidential service provides access to professional accounting, counselling, legal and human resource experts who understand the challenges faced by small business owners. One-on-one consultation is often financially out of reach for many businesses, however through the Chambers Plan BAS, firms have access, free of charge, to expert advisors who can help their business grow.

The Chambers Plan BAS provides business owners:

MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Provides up to nine hours of Legal, Accounting and Specialized Human Resource services combined, per calendar year.

  • Legal Advice – When faced with a legal dilemma, this service provides practical and current interpretations of company, partnership, taxation and insolvency law, plus all relevant aspects of common and civil law.
  • Accounting Advice – When the numbers don’t add up, advice from a professional enables owners and managers to strengthen management and control functions through expert counsel.
  • Specialized Human Resource Services – When facing a technical human resource issue, from termination processes and overtime pay to legislative/labour law concerns, this service provides you with answers confidentially, via telephone.

HUMAN RESOURCE COACHING

Confidential telephone coaching helps address a wide range of challenging people issues, including performance management, absenteeism, conflict and difficult behavior.

ABSENTEEISM MANAGEMENT

When an employee is consistently absent from work, or underperforming, there is a strong probability that a personal issue is the cause. Owners now have the resources available to help employees deal with situations affecting performance, through face-to-face counselling with a trained professional.

Business Assistance Service Chambers Plan Value

The Chambers Plan has retained Arete® Human Resources Inc. as the independent service provider of the Business Assistance Service. Arete manages a national network of professionals, ready to assist you and your employees, and a toll-free call will put you in touch with a trained specialist who will identify how best to help you.

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on FacebookTwitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

YXE Benefits your Best Saskatoon Group Benefits Option

YXE Benefits offer the simple, stable, smart choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose the Chambers group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Chamber members.  In our latest post, we discuss the role of the local Saskatoon group benefits advisors and why we offer the best Saskatoon group benefits option.

YXE Benefits is the brand representing your Saskatoon Chambers Plan advisors. The local group benefits team at Wiegers Financial & Benefits and Aurora Financial are a source of knowledge and experience who can identify coverage solutions for your firm’s unique needs. Whether it’s simply to review your current coverage or to address budget or additional coverage needs, they can help you choose options that best suit your company.

Your YXE Benefits Saskatoon Advisor Can Guide You 

Your Saskatoon advisor can help design a benefit plan that meets your specific needs. From set-up to questions about coverage, your Chambers Plan advisor is your Saskatoon Plan advocate.

Your YXE Benefits Saskatoon Advisor Will be There for You

Best Saskatoon Group Benefits

From answering your employees’ questions to helping with a claim, they are members of your community – always there to help you.

The Best of Both Worlds

With the Chambers Plan, you have the support of a local Saskatoon presence who knows your business and your city, and the strength of a national program specifically designed for small to midsize Saskatoon businesses who are Chamber members. You can see why we are confident we offer the Best Saskatoon Group Benefits!

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

Chambers Plan EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)

YXE Benefits offers the simple, stable, smart choice for Saskatoon businesses; combining accessibility, flexibility and the stability of pooled benefits. Saskatoon companies choose The Chamber group plan because it offers unsurpassed value & outstanding customer service. The Chambers plan group benefits are for Chamber members.  In our latest post, we discuss benefits fraud and we also share information for employers on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

EAP

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)

What if there was a way to help your employees deal with problems before they escalated into serious issues that result in absenteeism or even lead to disability claims?

An EAP can help:

  • Reduce and manage employee absenteeism
  • Reduce healthcare and disability costs
  • Increase employee morale, productivity and job performance
  • Reduce employee turnover and associated expenses

An EAP can create savings for you and provide your employees support when life’s challenges make it difficult to concentrate on work. The Chambers Plan Employee Assistance Program provides confidential, one-on-one counselling with a designated psychosocial professional.

When life’s challenges make it difficult to concentrate on work, support for you and your employees is available through the Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – Arive®. This confidential service provides access to professional counselling and guidance from experts who understand how coping with personal issues affects absenteeism and productivity on the job.

The Chambers Plan Arive® EAP can complement any human resource department. It is also a good solution for businesses without internal HR support to help individuals deal with complex issues best resolved with the assistance of accredited professionals. External one-on-one consultation is often financially out of reach for many employees; through the Chambers Plan Arive® EAP, you and your staff now have access to expert advisors and clinical assistance.

Professional Support for Individuals

Confidential, face-to-face counselling with a designated counselling professional, for employees experiencing personal problems, including:

• Family challenges/Personal problems

• Work-related difficulties

• Addiction/Dependency concerns

• Eldercare issues

Telephone consultation for Nutrition counselling

Also includes private telephone consultation for:

• Legal issues

• Financial struggles

• Childcare information

EAP- Additional Support for Management

Management Guides and Bulletins

Guides and bulletins written by experts who understand the stresses and complexities of employee management on such topics as:

  • Handling mental health issues in the workplace
  • Holding better meetings
  • Attracting and retaining great employees
  • Dealing with addiction issues
  • Bridging the generation gap
  • Managing absenteeism, and more.

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)

In the event of an armed robbery, unexpected death of a co-worker, major occupational injury or other critical incidents – immediate help is available. A counsellor will help you design communications, a support plan, and employee information sessions to best suit the situation. Intervention may be in-person or by telephone, as determined in the initial contact.

We encourage you to connect with us on our Saskatoon social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. 

Contact us today for a quote…. find out if you can benefit!

‘Join the Group- It’s Time To Benefit’
www.yxebenefits.ca

Subscribe error, please review your email address.

Close

You are now subscribed, thank you!

Close

There was a problem with your submission. Please check the field(s) with red label below.

Close

Your message has been sent. We will get back to you soon!

Close