Understanding the benefits that come with your new full-time job

Understanding the benefits that come with your new full-time jobUnderstanding the benefits that come with your new full-time jobSo you landedyour first full-time job. Congrats Your first day is sure to be exciting, as well as filled with lots of paperwork. But dont stress - heres everything you need to know to understand your employee benefits that come with your new full-time gig.Direct Deposit FormFirst things first Make sure you get paid in the fastest way possible by signing up for direct deposit.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreDirect deposit means your paycheck will appear in your checking account ASAP on payday. All you have to do is fill out a simple gestalt with some pertinent information.This includesYour banks nameYour checking account numberYour banks routing numberYou can get your checking account number and your banks routing number from a bank statement or a check .Speaking of checks, youll need a voided one to sign up for direct deposit. A voided check is a check from your bank that has the word VOID written across the top of it. Yup, just write the word VOID in all caps on top of a blank check in black or blue penand bring it into work with you. The payroll/HR team will need a copy of it to get you tischset up with direct deposit.IRS Form W-4On your first day, or in the days leading up to it, youll be asked to fill out aW-4 form. This is a form from the IRS that allows you to pay taxes out of your paycheck to the federal government. It determines how much money is withheld from your paycheck by your employer for taxes. The amount of tax you pay depends on a number of factors, such as if youre single or married, have children or not and more.In order to fill out the W-4, youll need some information, includingYour nameYour addressYour social security numberYour marital statusThe number of allowances youre claimingAny additional money you want towithhold from your paycheckWhether or not youre exempt from paying taxesThe first four items are pretty standard but come prepared with that information if you dont know it by heart. The next few items can be a little confusing.The number of allowances youre claiming means the number of people youre responsible for, such as children or a spouse that doesnt work. The more allowances you claim, the less tax will be taken from your paycheck. So if you are claiming no allowances (writing 0 in that spot), youll have a lot of taxes taken out of your paycheck. If youre claiming yourself as an allowance (writing 1 in that spot), then youll have slightly less tax taken from your paychecks. Youll get some of this money back during income tax season in the spring every year.The additional money that you want to be withheld from your paycheck is any amount you feel you need withheld and paid to the government. You might fill this part in if you underpaid your taxes until now and want to make up for it. If its your first job, you dont have to worry about this field.Lastly, youre fruchtwein likely not exempt from taxes if this is your first, full-time salaried job and are making decent money. The only way youd be exempt is if youre single, under the age 65 and make less than $9,525 per year. Then youre exempt from paying taxes. If youre not exempt, you can leave this spot blank.Form I-9Form I-9is used to determine your eligibility of employment. Youll fill this out for your employer so they understand if youre a U.S. citizen or not and what the parameters around your employment are, such as if you have a Visa to work in this country. Again, like a W-4 form, youll need some basic informationYour name, address, date of birth and social security numberYour status as a citizen, noncitizen national of the U.S., lawful permanent resident or an alien authorized to work until a certain dayIn order to process your I-9 form, you also need to have an approved document with you. An approved document for an I-9 includes a passport, U.S. driver license, social security card, permanent resident card, voters registration card and more. You can see the full list and the requirements around each document on the third page of your I-9 form.Insurance BenefitsIf your new job comes withinsurance benefits, it can be smart to sign up for the extra coverage. The most common kinds of insurance offered through work include health, dental, vision and life. Even if youre under the age of 26 and still on a parents insurance plans, it might be wise to sign up for the extra coverage just in case of an emergency.Read through all of the paperwork slowly. Youll most likely be able to ask questions about anything you dont understand - many companies have a representative that comes into the office to explain all of the details to new employees. If not, your HR contact can help.Part of the health, dental, vision and life insurance plan is most likely also paid for by your employer. I t might not all be covered (if it is, amazing), so the remaining amount is your responsibility. Youll see the breakdown of how much this insurance will cost you per paycheck or per month so you can decide if its the right fit for you.If you do sign up for insurance, youll also most likely be able to pay for it with pre-tax money. This means that youll pay for your insurance with money from your paycheck before any taxes are taken out. Since tax is calculated as a percentage, paying for insurance before taxes causes the total amount of money to be less. This causes the percentage that is taken in taxes to also be less. Win-win.Pro TipKeep an eye out for health insurance perks like getting reimbursed for your monthly gym membershipIf your new company doesnt offer health, dental or vision insurance and youre in need of coverage, you can sign up for it through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Take the time to learn everything you need to know aboutenrolling in health, dental and vision insurance.As for life insurance, every company offers a different policy. Some offer it for freeup to the amount of your salary, while others allow you to choose a plan and pay for some of it, which could be as affordable as $1 per paycheck. If you choose to sign up for life insurance through work, youll need to also have information for the person who will be your beneficiary. A beneficiary is a person who receives the money if something were to happen to you. Youll need their name, address, contact information, date of birth and social security number. You can have more than one beneficiary, too, and split the life insurance policy between a few different people.Retirement Account InformationIf your company offers you an employer-sponsoredretirement account like a 401(k)or 403(b), then its smart to sign up. You might not think thatputting money away into a retirement account at age 22 is beneficial, but trust us - your 70-year-old self will thank you.The paperwork surrounding yo ur retirement account will include information likeThe company that manages the account for youHow to sign up and when you can start contributingIf your employer contributes anything to the accountHow long until youre fully vestedSometimes, as a new employee, there are terms and conditions around the retirement account. For instance, you might not be able to start contributing to the account until 90 days after your start date. Additionally, you may not be fully vested in the money thats in that account - meaning, its not fully yours - unless you stay with the company for at least three years. If you leave before the three-year mark, you could lose out on the money that you gained in the retirement account, only getting back what you put in.If your employer contributes money to your retirement account, it could happen in two ways. Your employer may have whats called a safe harbor contribution where even if you dont sign up, they will still put a certain percentage of money into an account for you. The percentage could be something like 3 percent of your salary, for example.The other way your employer might contribute is through a percentage match. Lets say you sign up to contribute 5 percent of your paycheck to your 401(k). This money is taken out of your paycheck before taxeslike your insurance. With a percentage match, your employer will also contribute the value that is equal to 5 percent of your paycheck to the account on their own. This doubles the amount that enters your account every month. However, youll only get it if you sign up.Pro TipContribute to your 401(k)so you have at least the amount equal to your salary saved by the time youre 35 years old.Transportation BenefitsDepending on your company and location, you may also qualify for transportation benefits. Youll get a form with all of the details on how to sign up, plus everything else you need to know.When you sign up for this benefit, money is taken out of your paycheck before taxes and is use d to pay for parking, public transit or bicycling during your commute.If your company provides this benefit, you can contribute a maximum of $260 per month from your paycheck pre-tax to your transportation benefits as of 2018. The money will most likely go onto a card, similar to a debit card, that you can then use to pay for yourqualified commuting expenses.Confidentiality AgreementSo youve accepted the offer, youve filled out all of the important financial documents associated with your full-time job and now you need to set the job role in stone. A confidentiality agreement just states that you cant share any important information that you learn at work with any other people or companies. Youll learn a lot of new things in this job that will help you work to move your company forward, and your boss, CEO and employees dont want that information to be jeopardized.If youre nervous about signing this agreement, ask a lawyer or trusted person to review it with you. This agreement is pr etty standard, so dont stress too much, but definitely read everything before signing it.Emergency Contact FormJust like in high school or college, employers like to know who to call if something happens to you. This form is pretty simple and standard. Just be prepared to provide the name, relationship and contact information for someone who can be contacted in the case of an emergency.Paid Time Off CalendarNow for the relaxing side of work. Youll receive a form that you can keep - yup, nothing to fill out here - that states every paid day off that you receive per year. These are most likely the federal holidays, such as New Years Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and more. However, this form may also state the amount of paid time off you can take on your own outside of those company holidays.For instance, you may receive a lump sum of days, such as 15 business days, that can be used for whenever you want to take a vacation, enjoy a personal day off, go to the doctor or s tay home sick with a fever. Some companies break the total down into categories, though, so you may receive 10 days for vacation, five days for sick time and two personal days, or something of that nature.On the other hand, this form may explain that paid time off is accrued. Accrued means that you need to work a certain number of hours in order to earn your paid time off. For example, you may need to work 80 hours, or two weeks, in order to earn eight hours, or one day, of paid time off.Pro TipDuring the offer process, be upfront and honest if you have a vacation already planned and paid for. Your boss will most likely understand and theyll appreciate your transparency.On the other hand, if you want torequest time off for a vacation after starting your new job, try to do it at least two weeks in advance of when youll need it. Its common courtesy to give as much advance notice as possible.Now that you understand the information youll receive on the first day of your new job, get tho se forms filled out so you can jump into the actual work. Impress your boss and - who knows - maybe youll be signing a form that says promotion before you know itThis article first appeared on Swirled.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people