Benefit Plan Types

This guide shows you how to find and review the different benefit plan types available in BambooHR and know which settings are available or required for each one. The settings vary depending on whether your company uses BambooHR® Benefits Tracking or BambooHR® Benefits Administration, and whether BambooHR® Payroll is enabled.

Table of Contents

Benefit plan types

To view all available benefit plan types before deciding which ones fit your company's needs, go to Settings > Benefits and then click +Create New Plan. A dropdown list will show every plan type you can add. 

Benefit Plan Type Additional Information
Medical Standard rate plan (same cost for all employees, regardless of factors like age) or variable rate plan (costs vary by individual).
Dental  
Vision  
Supplemental Health Coverage for cancer, hospital indemnity, accident, critical illness, etc.
Retirement Contribution plan for retirement, such as 401(k) or equivalent
Reimbursement Reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses for things such as travel, education, gym membership, etc.
Health Savings Account (HSA)  
Flex Spending Account (FSA)  
Life Insurance Coverage options including employee, spouse, and family life insurance, set up as separate plans or noted in comments during enrollment
Disability Short-term and long-term disability coverage
Other Additional company-offered benefits tracked in BambooHR

Customers using BambooHR® Payroll can add non-benefit, post-tax deductions in addition to the standard benefit plans outlined above. They manage these deductions on the employee's Pay Info tab instead of Settings > Benefits. For more information on post-tax, non-benefit deductions, click here! 

Benefit plan settings

The tables below outline the settings for each benefit plan type. Use the indicators to learn which fields are required and which vary by feature.

  • *Required fields: Any field marked with an asterisk in the benefit plan setup must be completed.
  • **Benefits Administration: These settings are available only if your company uses BambooHR® Benefits Administration, in addition to the standard fields in Benefits Tracking (and Payroll, if enabled).
  • ***Payroll: These settings are available only if your company uses BambooHR® Payroll, in addition to the standard fields in Benefits Tracking (and Benefits Administration, if enabled). For details on federal limits for contribution amounts by plan type, please review this help guide. (Note: BambooHR does not collect and remit payments for third-party vendors for any benefit plans.)

If you are ready to create a benefit plan, please review setup instructions in the guide that matches your feature:

Medical, dental, and vision

Section 125 (pre-tax)

Using BambooHR® Payroll? In this help guide, the following tables will indicate which plan types have a corresponding reportable box on Form W-2. Additionally, Section 125 Health - ER Sponsored deductions are reported in Box 12 DD on Form W-2, while Section 125 Other deductions are generally not reported, though it is optional to do so.

Feature Additional Plan Types Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking
  • 4 steps (standard rate)
  • 3 steps (variable rate)
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts & Plan Ends*
  • Rate*
  • ACA Compliance* (if enabled)
  • Coverage Options* (standard rate)
  • Eligibility*
  • Monthly cost per coverage option* (standard rate)
  • Payroll Deduction*
  • Total monthly cost set at plan level. 
  • Employee and company pay breakdown is set when the plan is created. 
  • Cannot change at the employee level. 
  • Can be currency or percentage of gross pay.
Benefits Administration**
  • EPO
  • POS
  • Indemnity
  • HMO (Medical)
  • PPO (Medical)
  • DHMO (Dental)
  • DPPO (Dental)
 5 steps (standard rate & variable rate)
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Plan Type*
  • Plan Type ID
  • Summary
  • Attachments
  • Enrollment Details*
 Same as above.
Payroll***
  • 4 steps (standard rate)
  • 3 steps (variable rate)
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Is the deduction pre-tax or post-tax?*
  • Reportable on the W-2?* (ONLY for medical plans)
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
 Same as above.
Supplemental health

Additional healthcare benefits for accidents, hospitalizations, etc. (Section 125 (pre-tax))

Feature Additional Plan Types Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking  
  • 4 steps (standard rate)
  • 3 steps (variable rate)
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts & Plan Ends*
  • Rate*
  • Coverage Options* (standard rate)
  • Eligibility*
  • Monthly cost per coverage option* (standard rate)
  • Payroll Deduction*
  • Total monthly cost set at plan level.
  • Employee and company pay breakdown is set when the plan is created.
  • Cannot change at the employee level.
  • Can be currency or percentage of gross pay.
Benefits Administration**
  • Hospital Indemnity
  • Critical Illness
  • Accident
  • Cancer
 5 steps (standard rate & variable rate)
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Summary
  • Plan Starts & Plan Ends*
  • Rate*
  • Plan Type*
  • Attachments
  • Enrollment Details*
 Same as above.
Payroll***
  • Hospital Indemnity (reported in Box 12 DD on Form W-2)
  • Critical Illness
  • Accident
  • Cancer
  • 4 steps (standard rate)
  • 3 steps (variable rate)
  • Plan Type*
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Is the deduction pre-tax or post-tax?*
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
 Same as above.
Retirement
Feature Additional Plan Types Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking   3 steps
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts*
  • Eligibility*
  • Payroll Deduction*
  • Employee and company contributions set individually at the employee level.
  • Can be currency or percentage of gross pay.
Benefits Administration**   4 steps
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Summary
  • Attachments
  • Enrollment Details*
 Can set Company Pays to either percentage or currency of gross pay or employee contribution.
Payroll***
  • 401(k): Traditional retirement plan (pre-tax); reported in Box 12 D on Form W-2
  • 401(k) - Roth: Retirement plan (post-tax); reported in Box 12 AA on Form W-2
  • 408(p) SIMPLE IRA: Pre-tax
  • 403(b): Pension plan (pre-tax)
  • 403(b) - Roth: Pension plan (post-tax)
  • 401(a): Money-purchase retirement plan (pre-tax)
  • 457(b): Retirement plan for government workers (pre-tax)
  • 457(b) - Roth: Retirement plan for government workers (post-tax)
  • 409A: Nonqualified deferred compensation plan (pre-tax)
  • 408(k): Simplified 401(k) for small orgs or self-employed (post-tax)
  • 401(k) After Tax: Additional after-tax contributions
  • 408(p) SIMPLE IRA Roth: Simple IRA (post-tax)
  • 408(k) SEP Roth: Simplified Employee Pension Plan (Roth)
 3 steps
  • Plan Type*
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
  • Can set Company Pays to either percentage or currency of gross pay or employee contribution.
  • More Options allows you to set maximum limits on the employee's Benefits tab. 
Reimbursement
Feature Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking 2 steps
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts*
  • Reimbursement amount & frequency*
  • Eligibility*
 Reimbursement set at the plan level.
Benefits Administration** 3 steps
  • Carrier 
  • Group Number
  • Summary
  • Attachments
  • Enrollment Details*
 Same as above.
Payroll*** 2 steps Same as above.
Health savings account (HSA)

Contribution to a savings account used for healthcare purposes (pre-tax)

Feature Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking 3 steps
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts*
  • Eligibility*
  • Payroll Deduction*
 Employee and company contributions set individually at the employee level. Can be currency or percentage of gross pay.
Benefits Administration** 4 steps
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Summary
  • Attachments
  • Does the plan require enrollment in specific medical plans?*
  • Enrollment Details*
 Same as above.
Payroll*** (reported in Box 12 W on Form W-2) 3 steps
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
 Same as above.
Flex savings account (FSA)
Feature Additional Plan Types Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking   3 steps
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts*
  • Eligibility*
  • Payroll Deduction*   
 Employee and company contributions set individually at the employee level. Can be currency or percentage of gross pay. 
Benefits Administration**
  • General Healthcare: Section 125 (pre-tax)
  • Limited Healthcare: HSA-compatible for eligible dental and vision expenses
  • Dependent Care: Section 125 (pre-tax)
 4 steps
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Summary
  • Attachments
  • Does the plan require enrollment in specific medical plans?*
  • Plan Type*
  • Enrollment Details*
 Can set Company Pays to either percentage or currency of gross pay or employee contribution.
Payroll*** (generally not reported on W-2; optional)
  • General Healthcare: Section 125 (pre-tax)
  • Limited Healthcare: HSA-compatible for eligible dental and vision expenses
  • Dependent Care: Section 125 (pre-tax)
 3 steps
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
 Same as Benefits Tracking.
Life insurance

Post-tax

Feature Additional Plan Types Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking 3 steps
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts*
  • Eligibility*
  • Payroll Deduction*
  • Employee and company contributions set individually at the employee level. 
  • Can be currency or percentage of gross pay.
Benefits Administration**
  • Basic 
  • Voluntary
 4 steps
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Plan Type*
  • Plan Type ID
  • Life/AD&D*
  • Summary
  • Attachments
  • Enrollment Details*
 Same as above.
Payroll*** 3 steps
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
 Same as above.
Disability

Long-term or short-term, employer-paid or voluntary (pre-tax or post-tax)

Feature Additional Plan Types Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking 3 steps
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts*
  • Eligibility and Cost*
    • Monthly cost per coverage option*
  • Payroll Deduction*

Employee and company contributions set individually at the employee level. Can be currency or percentage of gross pay.
Benefits Administration**
  • Short Term Disability
  • Long Term Disability
 5 steps
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Disability Plan Type* 
  • Plan Type ID
  • Summary
  • Attachments
  • Automatic enrollment?* Yes or No
  • Coverage Options (percentage of wages, monthly premiums, etc.)* 
  • Eligibility and Cost*
    • Monthly rate
    • Includes disability rate calculator based on selections in Coverage Options
  • Enrollment Details*
 Same as above.
Payroll***


3 steps
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Is the deduction pre-tax or post-tax?*
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
 Same as above.
Other

Garnishments and other post-tax deductions are not reportable on the W-2.

Feature Additional Plan Types Steps Plan Settings Pay Info
Benefits Tracking 3 steps
  • Plan Name*
  • Description
  • Plan URL
  • Plan Starts and Plan Ends*
  • Eligibility*
  • Payroll Deduction*
  • Employee and company contributions set individually at the employee level. 
  • Can be currency or percentage of gross pay.
Benefits Administration** 4 steps
  • Carrier*
  • Group Number
  • Summary 
  • Attachments
  • Enrollment Details*
 Same as above.
Payroll***
  • Commuter Benefit: Section 132 (pre-tax)
  • Other Post-Tax Deduction: Post-tax
  • PFML NH: New Hampshire Paid Family and Medical Leave
  • PFML VT: Vermont Paid Family and Medical Leave
 3 steps
  • Benefit deduction start date*
  • Deduction occurs every paycheck or skips some?*
 Same as above.