Benefits
The following are the key benefits for salaried consultants. Since Ferguson also offers the option of working as a billable-hours consultant, we’ll note benefits which those consultants can buy back at our cost.
If this doesn’t answer all your questions, give us a call.
- Health and Dental Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Long-term Care Insurance
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
- Holidays, Vacation, Sick Leave, and Bench Time
- Education Allowance
- Referral Bonus
- Convenience and Tax Savings
- Credit Union
- Cafeteria Plan
- Missouri MO$T Program
- City Earnings Tax
Health and Dental Insurance
Ferguson offers health insurance benefits to Salaried Consultants through two options offered by Group Health Plan, specifically the POS A1000 and PPO Select A1000 plans. The two plans vary with respect to the network of providers included, as well as the premium cost, but are identical otherwise. Benefits are effective on the first day of the month following the Consultant's employment date.
In-network benefits include a $20 co-payment for primary/preventive care office visits including well-child care, immunizations, and mammogram screenings and a $40 co-payment for specialist office visits including routine eye exams and other diagnostic services. Inpatient and outpatient hospital services are covered at 100% after meeting a deductible. Out-of-network benefits are available at reduced benefit levels. Both plans include a three-tier prescription drug benefit. The co-payment is $15 for a generic drug, $40 for a brand name drug, and $65 for a non-formulary drug when obtained at a plan pharmacy. A mail-order benefit is offered, enabling participants to order a 3-month supply of a prescription at a cost of 2 months’ co-payments.
Members can check their deductible balance or the status of claims, search for providers, research health topics, and request ID cards online at www.ghp.com.
Dental Insurance
Dental insurance is provided via two options through The Guardian. Benefits are effective on the first of the month following 30 days of employment. The DentalGuard Preferred PPO covers 100% of preventive services, 80% of basic services, and 50% of major services and child orthodontia. No deductible applies for preventive services or child orthodontia; a $50 out-of-network deductible applies for basic and major services. Coverage increases to 90% and 60%, respectively, for basic and major services if performed by an In-Network dentist. The maximum benefit per person per year is $1,000. The child orthodontia lifetime maximum is $1,000.
The First Commonwealth DHMO enables employees to name a dentist in the DHMO network and receive services only from that dentist. Each office visit requires a $5 co-pay, deductibles are eliminated, and there is no annual maximum per person. Adult orthodontia is also covered to a maximum of $1,000. The employee pays for services based on the DHMO’s discounted schedule of charges based on the type of service received.
Ferguson provides health (POS/PPO Select) and dental insurance for $43.00/$38.00 per bi-weekly pay period for Salaried Consultants. Both employee and spouse can be covered for $135.00/$120.00 per pay period, as can single employees with dependent children. Family health and dental coverage is available for $195.00/$175.00 per pay period. Payroll deductions are taken on a pre-tax basis through our Section 125 plan. Billable Hours Consultants can buy back health and dental coverage at Ferguson’s cost. If you’re interested, please let your recruiter know
Life Insurance
Ferguson provides Salaried Consultants with group Term Life and AD&D insurance coverage equal to your annual salary (rounded to the nearest thousand and up to a maximum of $100,000) through The Guardian. This coverage is guaranteed-issue, which means that no medical questions will be asked. Short- and long-term disability protection is included with this coverage and is discussed below.
In addition, Ferguson provides the first $10,000 of Guardian Voluntary Life insurance for each Salaried Consultant, plus the ability to purchase through payroll deduction additional term life and/or AD&D coverage at group rates.
Billable Hours Consultants can buy back Group Life, Disability, and Voluntary Life insurance coverage at cost. If you’re interested, please let your recruiter know.
Disability Insurance
Ferguson provides both Short-Term and Long-Term Disability protection for all Salaried Consultants through The Guardian group Term Life and AD&D insurance plan mentioned above. Disability means that, because of injury or illness, an individual can’t perform each of the material and substantial duties of his or her regular occupation.
If a Salaried Consultant becomes disabled, Ferguson continues to pay his or her full salary during the 15-day waiting period. Short-term disability coverage starts on the 15th day and pays 60% of the consultant’s earnings, to a maximum of $1,000 per week, through day 90. Long-term disability insurance begins on the 91st day of disability and pays 60% of the consultant’s salary, to a maximum of $5,000 per month. Long-term disability benefits are payable to age 65.
Billable Hours Consultants can buy back disability coverage, along with the 1x salary term life coverage, at cost through The Guardian plan. If you’re interested, please let your recruiter know.
Vision Insurance
Ferguson offers a voluntary Vision Plan to all employees through Guardian and the VSP Network. The plan offers low co-pays for annual vision exams and lenses, allowances for elective contact lenses and frames, and significant discounts on other materials and laser correction surgery.
Long-term Care Insurance
Ferguson provides insurance for long-term care, either at home or in a facility, that is necessary because of an accident, illness, or advancing age.
Through UNUM’s long-term care insurance plan, Ferguson provides Salaried Consultants with a base level of coverage, which would pay up to $2,000 tax-free per month for up to three years. Consultants can purchase additional coverage through payroll deduction. A consultant can also enroll a spouse, parents, grandparents, and the spouse’s parents and grandparents and have them billed directly at Ferguson’s low group rates.
Billable Hours Consultants can buy back long-term care coverage at cost. If you’re interested, please let your recruiter know.
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
Ferguson offers a 401(k) retirement savings plan through Securian Retirement Services for both Salaried and Billable Hours Consultants. The plan allows Consultants to invest pre-tax dollars (up to a maximum of $16,500 for 2010) into a variety of investment options. Ferguson will currently match $.60 on each dollar contributed by a Consultant, up to 6% of his or her salary. Consultants must be employed on December 31 of each plan year to be eligible for the match.
Consultants 50 years of age or older can also take advantage of the Catch-Up contribution, which allows an employee to defer additional pre-tax dollars (up to $5,500 for 2010) into his or her 401(k) account. Employer Matching contributions are not made on Catch-Up contributions.
Consultants must be at least 21 years of age and must be employed 3 months for entry into the 401(k) plan. A Consultant is 20% vested in employer matching contributions after two years of service, and then an additional 20% per year until fully vested. A year of service is defined as a calendar year during which an employee works at least 1,000 hours.
Investment advice pertaining to the plan is available at no charge through Renaissance Financial, a local investment advisory firm.
Holidays, Vacation, Sick Leave, and Bench Time
Ferguson provides 80 hours of paid holiday time to any salaried consultant employed on January 1 of a given year. In addition to six fixed holidays, one optional holiday is accrued per quarter.
Ferguson provides 80 hours of paid vacation for salaried consultants employed as of January 1 in a given year. Salaried consultants with 10 consecutive years of service will receive an additional 40 hours of vacation, and billable-hours consultants reaching 10 consecutive years will receive 40 hours of paid vacation. Vacation and holiday time are accrued as the year progresses, except when a consultant is not actively working. Disability leave, bench time, and leave taken under the Family and Medical Leave Act are examples of such inactivity. Consultants can choose reimbursement for unused vacation or carry hours into the following year.
Everyone gets sick, and consultants are no exception. Salaried consultants will always be paid for sick leave. It has been our experience that successful consultants make up sick time whenever possible. Ferguson has experienced very little bench time. However, especially given the challenging economic conditions, we do consider bench pay for salaried employees whose skill sets match core activities in the St. Louis IT market and who have a performance record that includes meeting profitability goals. The duration of any bench time will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on tenure and past profitability, prospects for particular skill sets, and overall market conditions.
Training Allowance
Ferguson offers a training allowance benefit to all salaried consultants. For billable-hours employees, the cost of training is built into the rate we pay you, and it is your responsibility to use that money to keep your skills current. We’ll provide up to $2,000 per calendar year for any technical training expense that improves a consultant’s skill set and marketability. The training allowance covers items such as books, courses, computer-based training software and other training materials. The training allowance is accrued on a monthly basis.
In addition to formal training courses, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in frequent roundtable discussions about issues relevant to your skill sets and IT solutions you can use on your job.
Referral Bonus
Ferguson offers an incentive to all Consultants for referring other IT professionals to us. If such a referral is hired and remains billable with us for six months, the Consultant who made the referral will be awarded a $1,000 bonus. The bonus only applies to first-time hires.
Convenience and Tax Savings
Direct deposit. Ferguson offers direct deposit to all Consultants. Consultants are paid every two weeks on Friday morning, for a total of 26 pay periods per year.
Credit Union
All consultants can become members of the Electro Savings Credit Union. Electro Savings offers a variety of services, such as direct deposit, low-cost VISA cards, checking accounts, low-cost loans, savings accounts, ATM cards and other services.
Cafeteria Plan
A tax-saving benefit offered to all Ferguson consultants is its Section 125 or “cafeteria plan.” This plan currently allows pre-tax deductions of a consultant’s contribution towards health insurance. It also allows pre-tax deferral of a consultant’s wages of up to $5,000 per year for dependent care. The plan also includes a medical flexible spending plan, allowing employees to set aside up to $2,400 annually to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses.
Missouri MO$T Program
Contributions to the Missouri Saving for Tuition Program can be made through payroll deduction. This program, an IRS Section 529 Plan, provides a tax-advantaged vehicle for saving for higher education expenses. Up to $8,000 per year can be contributed, deductible from Missouri Taxable Income in the year contributed and free from both Federal and Missouri Income Tax when withdrawn.
City Earnings Tax
For all consultants who live outside the St. Louis City limits and are placed at a downtown client site, Ferguson will cover the 1% City Earnings Tax.
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