Accumulating enough money to live comfortably once you’ve left the workforce behind is an uphill climb, and there are many ways a solid benefits package from an employer can help lighten your load, ensuring that your retirement years are well-funded and as stress-free as possible. Here are some of the retirement benefits to ask about when you’re interviewing with a potential employer. “Starting early and contributing consistently provides the opportunity to take advantage of the power of compound interest and growth of your invested savings over time,” says Kapusta. “Matching 401k contributions are the easiest way, along with auto-enrollment, to both put your retirement savings on auto pilot and often double the funds being stashed away for retirement,” says Rhian Horgan, a former JP Morgan wealth advisor and founder and CEO of the retirement planning platform Silvur. For example, if you saved $125 per month in an employer-sponsored 401k plan and your employer matched those contributions in their entirety that would be $250 per month being saved every month, says Horgan. “Once 100 percent vested, all savings in the account are yours, even if you leave that employer,” explains Kapusta. On the other hand, if you leave an employer before you’re 100 percent vested, you will lose some, or all, of the money. Asking about this particular program rule can be important depending on how long the employment contract is likely to last. Fidelity says HSAs are one of the most tax-efficient savings vehicles around because they offer triple tax savings. That is—you contribute pre-tax dollars to the HSA, you pay no taxes on earnings in an HSA, and you’re able withdraw the money from an HSA tax-free now or during retirement to pay for qualified medical expenses. “Typically, retirement benefits, unless you are a senior executive, are broadly available across the entire company,” says Horgan. Meaning, it’s unlikely you can demand specific retirement benefits for yourself. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t advocate for modernizing benefits when joining a new company, in order to help both yourself and your new colleagues. For instance, if an employer doesn’t already offer an HSA, you might suggest they consider adding that to the benefits package for everyone. “During retirement, you can use your HSA to cover your Medicare, long-term care insurance, or COBRA premiums, if you’re not yet eligible for Medicare,” says Horgan. “Once you reach age 65, you may use the funds for any reason. However, keep in mind that withdrawals for anything other than qualified medical expenses will get taxed at the federal and state levels.”
