If you are in the market for a new job or are interested in extracting more value from your current one, consider some of the newer trends in company benefits. The following is a primer on what might be available to help supplement your income with your current employer or benefits to look for when considering a position with a new company.

The standard employee benefit package usually includes insurance (healthcare, dental, disability, life), retirement plans, and paid time off. In addition, federally mandated employee benefits include unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and family and medical leave, plus employers are required to deduct and submit Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes to fund the Social Security and Medicare programs.

However, some companies also offer an array of free and/or voluntary benefits (which you can purchase via payroll deductions). Many employers offer discounted “group rates” on items people normally buy anyway, or perhaps wouldn’t otherwise consider due to the extra expense. It’s smart to review the full breadth of benefit options during open enrollment to see what types of benefits you could use and how they can save you money.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Most EAPs offer a plethora of benefits you can and should use right now, and the plan is generally paid for by the employer. These programs connect employees to specialists who offer free or discounted services. For example:

• Legal advice and services (making it a good time to get your will and estate plan in order, or seek consultation if you’re considering a divorce or suing your neighbor)
• Financial advisors who specialize in areas such as investment management, taxes, budget and debt management, bankruptcy, and other financial concerns
• Identity theft insurance coverage and services
• Mental health counselors and therapists
• Dependent caregiving resources (for children, disabled, or elderly family members)
• Employee discounts on common household goods and services, such as electronics, cell phone/internet services, office supplies, restaurants, gyms, yoga studios, salons, entertainment venues, access to exclusive deals and discounts on products, service,s and experiences like theme parks, hotel,s and entertainment

Voluntary Benefits

Even if your company does not offer an EAP, it may offer the opportunity to buy some of those benefits at lower group-rated prices. For example:

• Vision plans
• Dental plans
• Supplementary life insurance
• Supplementary disability insurance
• Pet insurance or a discount plan
• Travel insurance
• Auto insurance
• Homeowner’s insurance
• Identity Theft insurance
• Critical Illness insurance
• Hospital Indemnity Insurance
• Long Term Care insurance

Financial Wellness

Given recent high inflation and market volatility, many workers are understandably worried about making ends meet and saving for the future. That is why many employers have introduced multifaceted financial wellness programs. Unfortunately, some employees are reluctant to use these benefits because they don’t want their employer to know anything about their financial situation. However, these benefits are outsourced to third-party professionals who are emboldened by confidentiality laws that do not allow them to release personal information to your employer.

Some common financial wellness benefits include free access to counselors on topics like creating and following a budget, paying down and avoiding debt, saving for short and long-term goals, and making investment decisions. Some programs offer educational opportunities, such as college and retirement planning seminars. There are also some newer, non-traditional benefits designed to help cash-strapped workers make ends meet, like diverting (and sometimes matching) paycheck income to an emergency fund, and enabling faster access to pay through an on-demand system in which employees can request pay for hours worked in lieu of waiting until the end of the pay period.

Housing Assistance

Considering the huge jump in home prices over the last few years, some employers have implemented benefits to help fund a down payment, facilitate access to low-interest rate mortgage loans, and offer group rates for home warranty and homeowner insurance policies.

Family Planning Benefits

If you’re considering using fertility programs to help you have children, be aware that this can be very expensive. That’s why many larger employers offer monetary assistance to help offset some of the expense of intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), gestational surrogacy, and egg freezing.

Portability

While company benefits can be valuable while you work for that employer, be wary of paying into policies that end when you leave your job. Some volunteer benefits are portable, meaning you can keep them when you leave. However, you may lose your employer discount rate and wind up paying a higher premium for the same policy.

Bear in mind that one of the key questions to ask before enrolling in new benefits is whether the policy is transferable should you leave the company. Be sure to read the policy information and talk to HR or the policy’s insurance broker to understand the portability and group rate conditions. If it’s a benefit you can use right away (e.g., gym membership, even pet insurance), it might be worth buying. But if it’s a benefit you may not use for years down the road, AND you lose the benefit (or group premium) when you leave, you may be better off buying a similar plan on the individual market.

The appointed executor of a will is the person responsible for paying the debts and taxes of the will’s owner once he dies and then distributing what is left in the estate to named beneficiaries according to instructions of the will. While it might feel like an honor to be asked to be the executor, keep in mind that the responsibilities are far more onerous than being the best man at a wedding.

An executor takes on both legal and fiduciary responsibilities that can have aggravating and even punitive ramifications if not handled properly. The following outlines the responsibilities of being the executor of a will.

Probate

Many formal assets may already have a named beneficiary (e.g., insurance policies, retirement plans, bank and investment accounts); these distribution instructions are outside of and supersede any instructions in a will. All other assets that do not have a separate beneficiary assignment and are not held in a trust must go through the probate court process. It is important to start the process as soon as possible post-death in order to have the legal authority to discharge estate assets. You may require the services of an estate attorney to enter court filings, particularly if you do not live near the departed.

Documentation

First and foremost, you must have the original copy of the will. Ensure you have this or know how to access it when you accept the responsibility as executor. Next, assemble the decedent’s documents to identify all his assets and liabilities, including real estate and personal property. You will be responsible for paying off any outstanding bills and debt, as well as filing tax returns.

Mediator

If the beneficiaries are unhappy with the will’s instructions, the executor is expected to mediate disputes to represent the best interests of all beneficiaries based on the intent of the deceased.

Creditor Claims

The probate process may require or recommend a period of time, possibly six months or longer, during which you may need to place a notice in a local newspaper to alert creditors and debtors that the deceased’s estate has entered probate. This offers ample time for debtors to file claims before the estate assets are disseminated to beneficiaries.

Due Diligence

If the will instructs you to manage the estate’s invested assets, such as money held in a trust, you are required to make prudent investment decisions. For example, just because you personally invest in Bitcoin doesn’t mean that is a fiduciary responsible investment for the decedent’s assets. You must conduct due diligence and have a reasonable rationale for all investment decisions; otherwise, a beneficiary could take you to court for mismanaging the assets. One way to protect your investment decisions is to request that beneficiaries give their approval in writing for any major investment changes you make while managing the assets.

Recordkeeping

Maintain accurate and comprehensive records of all your actions and back-and-forth communications with beneficiaries, investment managers, lawyers, and judicial filings. Record keeping is not just for your benefit; it is considered part of your fiduciary duty as the executor of the will.

Be aware that should your actions as executor come under scrutiny and/or a beneficiary files a court claim that you have been negligent, you could be removed as executor and even be liable for personal restitution and/or punitive damages if a court determines you have been self-dealing. Although unfortunate, this is not an uncommon occurrence.

Responsibilities like this are why many people, particularly those with sizeable estates, choose to name an estate attorney or professional administrator as executor of their will. This allows for a degree of professional distance that can help protect beneficiaries from mismanagement of assets without the emotions associated with naming a close friend or relative as executor.

The executor for a smaller estate is more likely to be administered with ease and can give the owner peace of mind that he’s leaving this responsibility to a trusted friend or family member.

Marriage isn’t just about two people who fall in love and choose to spend the rest of their lives together. It is also a contract. And while that contract might not be forever binding, marriage does come with certain financial and familial obligations regardless of whether the couple stays married or not.

That is why it is critical for couples to discuss their finances and goals early in the game. In fact, the best time to begin this conversation is actually before they begin making wedding plans. That’s because weddings can be very expensive. If the couple bears this expense, they will remove funds from their future plans and opportunities, which they should consider carefully before designing a wedding budget.

However, many times the parents of a couple will pay for the wedding. In this scenario, the newlyweds should consider how the cost of an expensive wedding would impact the paying party’s long-term financial situation. This is important because bankrupt parents could lead to a potential live-in caregiving situation once they are too old to take care of themselves. That’s quite a trade-off for a $100,000 wedding.

Takeaway: Regardless of who pays for the wedding, moderation is perhaps both prudent and considerate.

Partners also should share information about their earnings, assets, debts, and credit reports before getting married. They should discuss their career goals, preferences for children, type of housing, living location(s), and any big-ticket dreams, such as an expensive vacation or starting their own business. Together, the couple should consider each other’s goals and develop a plan to achieve those goals given their combined financial situation.

Takeaway: Note that while each spouse retains their own credit score and liability for debts prior to the marriage, joint debts acquired during the marriage are recorded on both credit reports.

Once married, couples often assume respective responsibilities, such as household earner and bill payer, while the other is a homemaker and primary child caregiver. From a financial perspective, this is not wise. It’s better for the marriage when each spouse takes turns managing finances, including paying bills, learning about investing and working with a financial advisor if they have one, being on all the joint accounts (home deed, insurance policies, etc.) and even each having their own retirement account (e.g., IRA, employer-sponsored retirement plan).

Takeaway: A collaborative approach to finances enables transparency so each spouse is aware of the other’s spending habits and bill-paying discipline.

The relationship tends to have more balance if each spouse has their own money, even if they do not work outside the home. If both spouses work, they could each have a checking account for their own personal expenses as well as a joint account used to pay for communal expenses like rent/mortgage, utilities, food, and upkeep.

Takeaway: A higher-earning spouse may contribute to a lower/no-earning spouse’s Roth IRA so that person has income to manage as they see fit.

Shared finances among married couples do offer certain benefits, such as lower costs for housing, health, long-term care, and auto insurance premiums. With particular regard to health insurance, consider if one spouse should join the other’s plan and how that might impact premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses.

Takeaway: Find out if either spouses’ employer offers an incentive for declining coverage. This bonus income provides a good reason to join the other spouse’s plan.

Couples also have the option to compare the advantages of filing joint or separate tax returns, which may be impacted by one partner’s medical expenses or student loan debt. Also, be aware that no matter what time of year you have your wedding, as long as you are married as of Dec. 31, the IRS considers you married for the whole year for tax-filing purposes.

Takeaway: If one spouse is on an income-based student loan debt repayment plan, be aware that filing jointly with two incomes may result in higher payments than if they file separately.

Right after the wedding, there are several actions most couples should take. For example, report any name changes to the Social Security Administration; update any address changes with the Postal Service, employers, and the IRS; and supply your employers with a new W-4 withholding form.

Takeaway: If you’re taking an extended honeymoon, you might want to complete some of these tasks before your wedding day.

Municipal bonds (also known as munis) are issued by a state or local government. Interest income is typically paid out twice a year and is not subject to federal taxes. When an investor purchases a bond issued from his own state, the income is generally not subject to state income taxes.

However, there are a few good reasons to consider buying out-of-state municipal bonds. The first reason is to consider bond quality. Each muni bond is given a quality rating based on the municipality’s ability to make the regular interest payments to investors and return their principal when the term matures. To make this determination, agencies like Moody’s and S&P evaluate the issuer’s debt structure, financial stability and long-term economic prospects.

Credit Quality

The highest Moody’s rating is Aaa (the lowest is C); a rating of Baa3 or higher is considered investment grade. The highest S&P rating is AAA (the lowest is D), and a rating of BBB or higher is considered investment grade. While it’s a good idea to invest in highly rated bonds, note that their yields are inversely related to their quality. In other words, the lower the rating, the higher the interest income. Just be sure to consider that with that higher yield comes a higher risk of the bond issuer defaulting. In today’s economic landscape, an average credit rating of AA/Aa is considered a good balance of risk and bond yield.

Diversification

Second, if the investor holds a portfolio of municipal bonds, owning some from other states can help diversify his bond portfolio. If the investor’s home state has lower-rated bonds, investing in higher-rated bonds from other states can lower his bond portfolio’s quality risk. On the other hand, if the investor’s home state has highly rated bonds, purchasing bonds from states with lower-rated bonds can increase the amount of income his portfolio pays out. Remember, too, that it’s important to consider both the bond yield (also known as its coupon rate) and its issuing state’s taxes in order to come out ahead.

More Choices

Note that both California and New York are high-tax states, so it’s particularly important to consider the tax situation before buying there. With that said, there are also good reasons to buy bonds in these two states because they offer a range of quality municipal bonds. On the flip side, some states have fewer bond options to choose from and a lower risk profile, leaving resident investors with few options regardless of the state tax benefit. Be aware that the majority of muni bonds are rated lower than AA in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Tax Considerations

There are seven states that do not impose state income taxes: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire recently phased out its tax on investment and interest income. If a muni bond investor lives in a state with no taxes on income, there is no benefit to limiting his purchases to in-state bonds. In this scenario, it’s a good idea to compare muni bonds from states with high-rated and high-yield bonds to build a diversified bond portfolio while also considering the annual tax bill in each of those states.

If a muni bond investor lives in a high-tax state, such as California with a 12.3 percent tax rate for residents with income in the top bracket (effectively 13.3 percent if you include the additional 1 percent surcharge on individuals earning over $1 million), then it makes sense to buy out-of-state munis to help reduce their tax burden.

Despite these general guidelines, investors should check on the muni bond tax status in their home state before making a purchase. Some states, such as Illinois, require residents to pay taxes on in-state muni bond yields. In this situation, the resident may find better deals with out-of-state munis by comparing coupon rates against the income taxes in those states.