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robintek

Oct 10
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7 Things to Know Before You Buy Disability Insurance

By Personal Perspective

1610-pp-1
No one wants to consider becoming disabled, but what would you do if a catastrophic injury or illness prevented you from working? Disability insurance kicks in after 90 days and would pay you up to 60 percent of your annual salary. As you consider buying this valuable coverage, remember seven important things.

  • Assess Your Risk Your occupation, hobbies, family health history and current health are all factors that affect your risk for developing a disabling injury or illness. Honestly and accurately assess your risk as you decide if disability insurance is a wise investment for you. If you don’t know your risk, talk to your insurance agent and ask him or her to look in the Standard Industry Code and find out if your occupation is considered high-risk.
  • Calculate Your Average IncomeThe disability insurance you’re eligible for depends on your annual net income. If your income fluctuates, average your income from the last three years and use that figure to calculate the amount of disability insurance coverage you need.
  • Perform a Needs-AnalysisA needs-analysis reviews expenses like your mortgage, debt, savings and retirement accounts and determines how much income you need if you become disabled. With this figure, you can make sure you buy a policy with adequate coverage.
  • Apply When You’re HealthyMost disability insurance carriers review the medical records of potential customers and require a physical and blood tests. If you wait to buy a policy when you’re injured or diagnosed with a serious illness, you may be denied.
  • Consider StackingIf you purchased disability insurance years ago, you used your income at the time to determine the benefit amount. Consider purchasing an additional policy now. It stacks on top of the existing policy and covers any income difference, which gives you financial peace of mind.
  • Shop Around

Insurance companies offer a variety of products at varying costs. Shop around to find the policy that meets your needs.

Don’t rely on price alone. Check out the other benefits and features of the policy, too.

Find out if cancer in your family history automatically excludes you from getting a policy.

Verify the carrier’s definition of disability.

  • Drop the Policy When You Turn 65You may not retire when you turn 65, but drop your disability policy anyway. If a doctor diagnoses you as disabled when you’re over the age of 65, the policy won’t pay because according to its definition you are retired.

Disability insurance is a valuable asset. Use these seven tips and talk to your insurance agent as you decide if it’s right for you.

Oct 10
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Understand Your Health Insurance Deductible

By Life and Health

1610-lh-3When shopping for health insurance, you probably noticed that different plans feature different deductibles. Understand what your health insurance deductible is as you maximize your health insurance coverage.

What Is a Health Insurance Deductible?

In basic terms, a deductible is the fixed amount you must pay toward your medical bills before your insurance coverage kicks in and begins to pay your expenses in full. Your specific deductible can be as low as $250 or as high as several thousand dollars and starts over again at zero on January 1 of each year.

How Does the Deductible Work?

Here is an example of how your deductible works using a $1,000 deductible amount.

In February, you get the flu. You pay $200, the full amount, for the doctor visit and medication. Your deductible balance now totals $800.

In May, you sprain your ankle. You total costs are $500 for the doctor visit, x-rays and brace. Your deductible balance is now $300.

In August, you need a physical. You pay $300 for the doctor visit and blood work. Your deductible is now met. Any further doctor visits or health care needs that are covered by your insurance will be paid 100 percent.

What are the Different Types of Deductibles?

You can check your health insurance benefits package to see exactly what deductibles you may need to pay. Some common types include:

  • Annual: It’s the amount of money you’ll pay annually from January 1 to December 31.
  • Per Episode: Your deductible may vary based on the type of medical care you need. As an example, doctor visits may include a $25 deductible while hospital visits require a $1,000 deductible.
  • Out-Of-Network: Visit a doctor, specialist or hospital that’s not in your network, and you’ll pay higher deductibles.
  • Family: If you have family coverage, your deductible may be higher than the amount paid by individuals. When your family deductible is met, your insurance will pay your health care costs.

When Won’t You Pay a Deductible?

Some insurance plans allow you to receive three types of services and not pay a deductible. They include visits to an in-network doctor for preventative care, yearly screenings or your annual flu shot. Check your benefits package to verify that you won’t owe a deductible for these services.

What Services Don’t Count Toward the Deductible?

Even though you haven’t met your deductible, there are some health services you may need or want that don’t count toward meeting your deductible. These services are the ones your insurance won’t pay.

Your health insurance deductible is an important part of your medical care. Understand it as you maximize your health care coverage and take care of your health.

Oct 10
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How to Increase Your Life Insurance Coverage

By Life and Health

1610-lh-2When you first purchased your life insurance policy, you chose a policy amount that worked at the time. However, your life circumstances and needs may have changed. Here’s how you can increase your life insurance coverage.

Figure Out the Increase You Need

Marriage, children, a house and a new job all affect the amount of life insurance you need. Perform a needs analysis with your insurance agent as you determine exactly how much of a life insurance increase you need. It includes a list of categories that walks you through your financial needs and helps you determine the amount of coverage you need to cover final expenses, provide financial support for your family and repay debt.

Add Coverage to Your Employer-Sponsored Policy

Many employers offer free life insurance to employees. Ask your Human Resources manager if you can boost your policy value. Since you already hold a policy, you may not need to fill out additional paperwork or take a medical exam to get more coverage.

Increase Coverage on Your Personal Policy

Because employer-sponsored life insurance policies are often small, you may have purchased a personal policy through a commercial carrier. Contact the agent about increasing your policy amount. You may need to pay a fee for additional coverage, but the peace of mind is worth the investment.

Purchase Another Policy

A second life insurance policy may provide the additional coverage you need. It covers the gap between the coverage you already have and the amount you need. Purchase a second policy from a different carrier than your original policy. While you have to disclose that you already own life insurance, you will have additional coverage for your family and needs.

Things to Consider

When you want to increase your life insurance, remember three tips.

  • Research your options. No matter what type of coverage you currently own, a term, whole life, universal, indexed or variable policy may be best the best type for your needs now. Remember to compare policies from different companies, too, as you get the most coverage for your money.
  • Check your budget. Because your policy will lapse if you don’t pay the premiums, be sure you can afford the extra insurance costs.
  • Prepare for the underwriting process. Potential insurance companies will ask for details about your health, finances, occupation and other factors. These factors affect your life expectancy and insurability, so always tell the truth as you prepare to answer these questions.

You can add coverage to your existing life insurance policy in several ways. Talk to your agent as you purchase the right coverage for your needs.

Oct 10
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How a Health Savings Account Reduces Medical Costs

By Life and Health

1610-lh-1Since 2003, the health savings account (HSA) has supplemented your health insurance. It’s a product that’s designed to reduce your medical costs in several important ways.

Supplement Your High-Deductible Health Insurance Policy

Many employers only offer high-deductible or catastrophic health insurance plans because the premiums are low. With these plans, your deductibles could be as high as $1,250 for individuals or $2,500 for families.

If you have this type of health insurance, add an HSA to your portfolio. The money in this account can be used for a variety of approved medical expenses. You’ll pay lower premiums and save money that pays for your deductible and other costs associated with your medical care.

Pay for Medical Expenses

In any given year, you may incur multiple medical expenses. Your HSA funds can pay those costs if they’re incurred after you set up your HSA and if they are associated with diagnosing, curing, preventing or mitigating an illness or disease. Acupuncture, medication and co-pays are three examples of covered expenses, but you can’t use your HSA funds to pay for cosmetic surgery, cosmetics or grooming products or other items that you may use for your general well-being.

Reduce Your Tax Liabilities

No matter how much you usually owe on your annual tax return, an HSA can reduce your liability. You can use the money you save to boost your HSA savings or cover other expenses.

Many HSA owners elect to have money deposited directly to your account from every paycheck. That money is deducted before you pay taxes on it, and you won’t pay taxes on any of the money you take out of your HSA as long as you use it for approved medical expenses. This makes an HSA a valuable asset since it limits your tax liabilities. For more information on your tax savings, talk to your financial advisor.

Accumulate HSA Funds

There are other accounts that help you pay for medical expenses and reduce your tax liability. One is the flexible spending account (FSA) that you can use to pay medical or child care expenses during the calendar year, but remember that if you don’t use the money in your FSA, you forfeit it.

The funds you contribute to your HSA don’t expire, and they can move with you when you switch employers. That means you may use what you can this year and save any unused amount for next year when your medical costs may be higher than they are this year.

An HSA helps you reduce your medical expenses as it supplements your high-deductible health insurance plan. Discuss your options with your Human Resources Department or insurance agent as you save money.

Oct 10
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7 Ways to Build Your Professional Skills for Free

By Your Employee Matters

1610-em-4Today’s job market is competitive. You can get ahead when you build your professional skills. While you could pay thousands of dollars for classes, consider seven ways you can improve your professional skills for free.

Earn a Diploma or Certificate

A diploma or certificate on the wall proves that you took the time and thought necessary to learn a new skill. With ALISON, you can take classes in sales management, sociology, web development or a variety of other courses. After completing all the modules in the class and scoring a minimum of 80 percent on the course assessments, you’ll receive your diploma or certificate.

Access Top College Courses

If you’ve ever wanted to attend the top colleges in the United States, now’s your chance. Coursera gives you free access to numerous classes. The lectures and non-graded materials are available at no cost to you, or you can pay a fee and earn a certificate for the graded work you complete.

Take College Courses

Maybe you want to change careers or brush up on new industry trends. Sign up for one of over 10,000 college classes available at Open Education Database. The math, engineering, health and other in-demand subjects are taught by college professors.

Learn a New Language

English may be spoken across the world, however, you want to stay relevant in today’s global economy. Use Duolingo to learn a new language. It’s a free app with lessons that include opportunities to listen, speak and translate. They challenge you to learn the language quickly, and you earn rewards every time you provide a correct answer and advance to a different level.

Boost Your Personal Development

Thousands of free classes are available for you to access on Udemys. Learn Adobe Illustrator or advanced writing skills from trained professional instructors as you advance through lessons that use videos and reading material. You can even leave messages for the instructors if you have a question about something you’re learning.

Hone Your Soft Skills

Whether you want to improve your Instagram abilities or learn advanced accounting skills, check out Skillshare. It offers 353 free video-heavy classes taught by professionals who are experts in their fields. Your free membership includes access to the classes, mobile app and Skillshare community.

Barter

You may not know programming, social media tricks or time management, but you might have a friend who knows these skills. Agree to trade lessons.  You can learn from your friend as you teach him or her something you know well, and you both benefit.

Improving your professional skills makes you more marketable in your current job and in future positions. Use these seven tips for building your skill set for free.

Oct 10
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How to Take Time Off From Your Hectic Job

By Your Employee Matters

1610-em-3The average American leaves more than two full days of vacation time on the table every year. That may not sound like much, but time off from work is crucial for your productivity and well-being. So how can you make time for vacation when you have a hectic job? Try these tips.

Be Assertive With Your Manager

Your manager has the right to limit when you can take vacation. He or she may insist that everyone work during busy seasons, and two people in your department may be discouraged from taking off at the same time. However, you need to ensure that you get the time and the break you need and deserve.

Make an appointment to talk with your manager and express your reasons, including long-term sustainability and increased productivity, for taking off. He or she should be able to see the long-term benefits of allowing you to take the break you need.

Plan Coverage

Part of your hesitancy to take vacation is because you have so many responsibilities. Increase your willingness to take a break when you plan coverage for your duties.

Document how to do each element of your job, and include details about how to handle your clients’ needs. Then discuss the plan with your manager. Delegating responsibilities and assigning staff to handle your voicemails ensures your job gets done and helps you enjoy your vacation without worrying about whether or not your job is being done.

Prepare a Way to Check In

Unplugging completely is the best way to take a vacation. You need time to unwind. Realistically, though, you may need to check in occasionally and answer questions or handle issues.

As long as you can still maximize your relaxation, prepare a plan for checking in. You may agree to read your email or check your voicemail once a day or every two days. Or maybe you only respond to messages that are marked as urgent as you stay in touch but still get away from the daily grind.

Don’t Wait for a Good Time

Due to the nature of your job, it may never be a good time to take off. If you wait for a good time, though, you may never get the vacation that you need.

Instead, grab your calendar and decide when you want to take your vacation days.  You can then plan coverage for your duties instead of wondering if you should take off.

Your work performance and well-being improve when you take vacation. Despite your hectic job, you can take the time off you need when you use these tips.

Oct 10
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8 Ways Social Media Can Help You Get a Job

By Your Employee Matters

1610-em-2You already use social media to connect with family and friends. Now, you can use it to get a job, too. As many as 2,000 hiring and Human Resources managers use social media to research potential employees, so make a good impression and land a job when you use social media in eight ways.

  • Be Authentic

    Most hiring managers are adept at spotting frauds. Be sure your resume, LinkedIn profile and other social media match as you create an authentic, honest and consistent image.

  • Exhibit a Professional Image

    In real life, you may be the life of the party, but hiring managers need to see that you’re a professional. Your profile picture should be a high-quality head shot in which you wear work appropriate clothing. Remember to proofread your posts and avoid posting racy, negative or controversial content, too.

  • Demonstrate Your Communication Skills

    Communication plays a major role in most jobs. Demonstrate your skills when you check your grammar, spelling and punctuation, and avoid profanity, arguments or negative rants. Always remember that someone may be using your social media accounts as an informal look into whether or not you can communicate properly.
  • Show Your Personality

    Hiring managers like to know that potential job candidates will fit in with the company’s culture. Include real life posts, pictures and other information in your profile as you show your personality and prove that you can fit in.

  • Showcase Your Interests

    As many as four out of 10 hiring managers select candidates who are well-rounded. That’s why you want to showcase your interests outside of work, including your volunteer activities and the ways you spend your free time. Consider leaving out any controversial or extreme interests, though, that may interfere with your ability to land the job you really want.

  • Include References or Recommendations

    Your resume includes professional references, and your social media accounts can, too. Ask your supervisor, co-workers and clients to post reviews of your skills, capabilities and services. The recommendations give hiring managers insight into your capabilities.
  • Post Awards and Accomplishments

    Awards and accomplishments prove that you have the skills listed on your resume. Include photos, screenshots or badges on your social media accounts as you reveal your skills.
  • Show Off Your Creativity

    If you can think outside the box, you are more likely to be hired. Use your social media accounts to demonstrate that you try new things, master new technology and are willing to learn new skills.

Your social media accounts can help you get your next job. In these eight ways, you can make a good impression and showcase your professional skills.

Oct 10
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Tips to Get In-Depth Job Performance Feedback

By Your Employee Matters

1610-em-1You may think that you’re doing your job to the best of your ability, but every employee has strengths and weaknesses. Professional feedback affirms your strengths, reveals your weaknesses, helps you maximum your potential and improves your chances for career growth. If your supervisor is too busy or uninterested in giving you a review, try these tips as you get the feedback you deserve.

Perform a Self Review

You definitely want feedback from your supervisor, but evaluate yourself first. Be honest about your skills, capabilities, areas in which you excel and areas that require improvement. If possible, ask your co-workers for input into your job performance, too.

Prepare a Performance Review Document

Prepare for your feedback review when you create a performance review document. It lists three to five job objectives upon which you would like your feedback review to be based. As an example, if you work in sales, ask your supervisor to evaluate your appearance, ability to build rapport with clients and success at follow-up.

Ask for a Review

Now that you have your performance review document, you’re ready to approach your supervisor and ask for a review. Mention that you want to improve your job performance and ensure you remain a valuable team player. Remember that you can ask for a review whether you’ve worked in your current position for several weeks or several years.

Be Ready to Accept Criticism

Even though you asked for the review, you may not be prepared to hear what your supervisor has to say. Prepare yourself before the review meeting to accept criticism no matter what it may be. An open attitude shows that you are truly committed to making the changes that will improve your job performance.

Commit to Change

It’s easy to ask for feedback and then dismiss it without acting on it. Show your supervisor that you are truly motivated to change when you ask for a follow-up meeting and take his or her feedback to heart. Continue to practice your strengths, and for each weakness listed, create steps that help you achieve the requested changes. Discuss your progress during your follow-up meeting.

Ask for a Review at Least Annually

Now that you’ve had your first in-depth performance review, write a reminder to schedule another review at least once a year or more often if necessary. Your job performance and career future will improve as you request, accept and implement the feedback you receive.

Your job performance and future career path depend on you honing your professional skills now. Use these tips to get an in-depth performance review that identifies your strengths and weaknesses as you improve your professional capabilities.

Oct 10
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McDonald’s Defective Wearable Device

By Cyber Security Awareness

1610-cyber-4McDonald’s recently suffered an embarrassing recall of a Happy Meal prize, a wearable fitness tracker that children could use to keep tabs on how many steps they’ve taken in a day. The “Step-It Tracker” is a pedometer using a simple LCD wristwatch design, and if you’re wondering how they could produce those cheaply enough to pack into a Happy Meal, the answer is: It looks like maybe they can’t.

Incidentally, the hazardous part of the watch was actually not the device, but the band. The Chinese-made watchband on the Step-It was found to irritate the skin of many users, leading McDonald’s to immediately enact a voluntary product recall.

There’s an important lesson here as it pertains to product recalls and tech in general: Sometimes, quality control and product testing won’t do the trick. We release beta versions of software, for instance, because we know that there’s no way to find every single bug without releasing the software to the public. When it comes to physical products, the launch and the fixes are both more expensive than with an app launch, but the principle is the same. There are some things that you just can’t know until you put your work out in the public’s hands.

In theory, McDonald’s could have tested the toy on hundreds of users before launch, and found none of the test subjects to suffer an allergic reaction. But when you release it on a wide enough scale, you may wind up discovering that the chemicals in the plastic watchband are an irritant for people with certain skin types or allergies. Every time we release a product, we’re rolling the dice and hoping that nothing like that happens, but you just can’t test every possibility in the quality control process.

What McDonald’s did right in this scenario was call for an immediate, voluntary recall. No matter how expensive it may be to toss thousands of toys in the trash and roll out a replacement, you have to be willing to jump on that grenade in any industry, because losing customer trust will cost you a lot more in the long run. McDonald’s has enough issues with public relations, and by taking immediate control of this story, they managed to come across as a company that is genuinely concerned with the wellbeing of their customers. Waiting for the FDA to order a recall, or simply slapping an allergy warning on the package could have done considerable damage to their public relations. Managing the potential PR disaster that is a product recall is a bit like catching a tiger by the tail, but it beats letting the tiger run rampant.

Oct 10
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What “Silicon Valley” Gets Right (and Wrong)

By Cyber Security Awareness

1610-cyber-3Mike Judge’s HBO series Silicon Valley has earned a lot of commendation for being an accurate spoof of tech culture, so accurate that even those of us who are being lampooned can’t help but laugh when we see ourselves and our colleagues reflected in the characters onscreen. A big part of the show’s appeal is in how extensively well-researched it is, but that’s not to say that they don’t tweak the truth here and there in service of the story (or just a good joke). Here’s what the show gets right and wrong about the real Silicon Valley.

What Silicon Valley Gets Right

The show’s lampoon of tech culture is a little exaggerated, but the way it presents the technology itself is surprisingly precise. Mike Judge actually has a background in tech, and the writing staff frequently checks with renowned developers, mathematicians and researchers in order to ensure that the show is accurate, or at least close enough to be plausible. One of the best jokes in season one has to be the “Beautiful Mind” moment wherein the guys at Pied Piper accidentally work out a new algorithm through an extensive conversation on, well, we don’t want to spoil anything, but the show’s writers actually contacted researchers and put together a research paper on their findings (Warning: Not exactly safe for work).

The show’s devotion to believability is so intensive that they’ve actually made real-life progress in the industry. The Weissman Score is frequently referred to on the show, and it rates how much data can be stored in proportion to how much can be compressed. It was actually developed by Vinith Misra, a grad student, and Tsachy Weissman, a Stanford professor, for the show itself, and is now used within the industry at companies like Dropbox.

What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong

If Silicon Valley can be said to get anything dead wrong, it would have to be the business proceedings at startups like Pied Piper and corporations like Hooli (the show’s stand-in for companies like Google and Apple). A season 2 plot thread involves a split decision at a meeting of board members leading to an empty CEO chair. This is a great plot twist for a story, but no experienced venture capitalist would fire their CEO without already having their replacement named, few meetings with the board of directors end in a split decision, and no serious meeting like this is going to take place without a corporate lawyer present. The truth is, of course, that accurate representation of firing and hiring CEO’s wouldn’t make for a very funny show.

Silicon Valley has lampooned 2010’s tech culture as efficiently as Office Space lampooned 90’s office culture. Just remember that it’s a sitcom, not a documentary, and take some of it with a grain of salt.

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