Give your benefits a boost and provide your employees with valuable benefits they will be excited to use! Benefit Resource (BRI) created Specialty Accounts or Lifestyle Accounts to help employers provide a customized benefits plan for the wants and needs of every employee. These are typically post-tax reimbursement accounts that are a desirable benefit for participants. While there are countless options available, we want to share how you can support employees’ personal and home service needs.
Personal and home services are some of the broadest categories when it comes to Specialty Accounts. If you’re looking for something to offer employees that covers a wide array of services, this is your solution. Personal and home services help employees fulfill their daily life tasks. This can include everything from cleaning services and home repairs to utilities and tax preparation. Let’s begin by reviewing how these accounts work.
HOW SPECIALTY ACCOUNTS WORK
Specialty Accounts are customizable and built for the needs of individual companies, regardless of size or industry. In three simple steps, you can create their benefits plan.
- Employers start by working with their assigned representative to select expense categories from an eligible, predefined list. Working together, you can create a program that meets the company’s needs and helps boost the employee experience.
- The employer sets up the rules.
- Will funds roll over? Opt to allow employees to keep (rollover) unused funds at the end of the year, or not, depending on the company budget.
- How much (and how frequently) will funds be provided? Control how to distribute funds.
- Who can enroll? Set parameters to meet in order to participate in the benefit.
- Employers decide how to use the funds. There are two options to choose from: carded and non-carded programs. A carded program allows employees to pay for eligible plan expenses using their Beniversal® Prepaid Mastercard®. Participants can take advantage of convenient contactless payments by connecting their Beniversal Card to digital wallets like Apple Pay®, Google Pay®, and Samsung Pay®. BRI’s sophisticated auto-approval logic minimizes the need for paperwork.
The non-carded option is reimbursement only. Participants pay for expenses using their preferred payment method. Then, they reimburse themselves through BRIWEB, BRIMOBILE, or by mailing in a claim form with required documentation
THE FLEXIBILITY IN ASSISTING EMPLOYEES WITH PERSONAL AND HOME SERVICES
Whether you choose to create a carded or non-carded program, you will be providing a custom benefit tailored for your employees.
There are many ways to include various costs into a Specialty Account. Here are ideas from similar (non-carded) wellness accounts BRI has helped to bring to life:
PERSONAL SERVICES
Common ineligible expenses: Care services eligible under a Dependent Care FSA, virtual assistants
- Cleaning services
- Dog walker
- Grocery delivery services
- Home repairs
- Laundry, tailoring, and dry cleaning services
- Meal delivery services (DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, etc.)
- Mechanic
- Salon/barbershop
HOME OWNERSHIP & UTILITIES
Common ineligible expenses: Rent, mortgage
- Electric bill
- Gas bill
- Home repairs
- Homebuyer’s assistance (down payment, closing costs, etc.)
- Internet bill
- Phone/cable bill
With all of these options, and the opportunity for more, BRI is confident we can find a plan that works for both you and your employees.
As part of our ongoing Specialty Account series, we will continue to cover our most popular Specialty Accounts. We will discuss how each can be used and tailored for specific companies and industries. So, don’t forget to check back next week when we feature an in-depth look at Specialty Accounts: Pet Benefits.
Don’t want to wait? Check out our overview flyer or request a proposal below
