How to Create Custom Benefits

GoCo allows you to add non-standard benefits easily, such as 401(k), Pet Insurance, & more! Keep reading to learn how.

First login as a user with access to edit & add benefit lines & navigate to the "Benefits" app from the company home page or the navigation tabs on the left side of the screen.

In the Benefits app, switch to the "Policies" tab to view all active policies & create new ones. Hit the "+ Add Benefit Lines" button at the bottom of this page.

A new pop-out window will appear for you to input information about this new line including - 

• Custom Benefit Name 
• Plan Selection Type
  
  • Tiers: Select this plan to create a tier based coverage 
    • Employee Only: Select an employee-only policy if you're trying to build a policy where only the employee is eligible. (Ex. Telemedicine, employee assistance program, gym memberships)
    • Employee + Dependents: Select employees + dependents if you are trying to build a policy where both the employee & their dependents are eligible. (Most common with Medical, Dental, & Vision plans but can also be used for ID Theft Insurance, Medical Supplemental Plans, Chiropractic Insurance, Acupuncture, etc.)
  • Benefit Amount: Select this plan type to create a plan based on a benefit amount. (Ex. Supplemental Life Plan, Supplemental AD&D plan, Additional Critical Illness)
  • Offline Benefit: Select this plan type to create a basic offline benefit, meaning that your employees will see attached documents & forms upon enrolling however their premiums will not be tracked in GoCo

• Coverage Start & End Date: Input a coverage start and end date for this new benefit line. If not entered here, you will be required when building the policy line. You do have to open the Advanced Tab to enter the coverage period. 
  
  

Once completed hit the blue "Add Custom Benefit" button to continue. 

A new card will be added to the bottom of the previous screen for your policy. Hit the blue "Start" button to begin adding details fo this policy.

Now you will follow the wizard to finish setting up your policy, starting with basic line information. Update your coverage start & end date, any special instructions for employees when enrolling, and your carrier.

GoCo pulls most carriers, however, if you need to add a new carrier hit the blue "+Create New Carrier" button at the top of the dropdown menu. Please note that since GoCo Permissions vary, you may need to reach out to your GoCo team to add a new carrier. 

Next, add your plans. 

You can add a new plan, select from a template, or copy an existing plan. 

You will be required to input more information such as plan summary documents & monthly plan rates. These may be pre-populated based on your plan selection from the above step, but ensure you're updating with the most up-to-date plan summaries you have.

Next move on to update your rider information. (This is not common.)

Now choose your eligible employee types for this policy. 

Set up the eligibility & contribution rules for each employee class. Note that you can also add new company classes if needed. If adding a new company class, follow this linked article on moving employees to the new class!

Now select your Benefit Processors, that is who is responsible for processing the benefit enrollments for all policies with the carrier.

Now input some additional options such as deciding if it is required to enroll in this plan, if employees are required to input a reason for waiving coverage, etc. 

Lastly, choose if you will import your teams selections or have them enroll during open enrollment.

Now that you've learned how to create Custom Benefits, let's review some benefits that would not be a good fit for this process.

• Group Life, some 401K plans, & HSA - these benefits have special deduction handling when it comes to payroll, so it may not be a good fit for this use case, however, it is best to reach out to your Benefits Specialist as each policy/situation can vary. 

⚠️ Please also note that Custom Benefit lines are not eligible for carrier integrations or connections.

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to us at help@goco.io 💚

Published 8.20.24