What Are Voluntary Benefits?

Q: What Are Voluntary Benefits?

Voluntary benefits are elective services and insurances offered at a discounted rate through your employer. What makes voluntary benefits different from traditional employee benefits is that the cost is partly or fully funded by you, rather than your workplace. Also called or employee-paid benefits, voluntary benefits can be extremely helpful in supporting you and your family’s unique needs and providing comfort in uncertain circumstances. Voluntary benefits are often insurance products, but can also include other types of employee benefits, such as financial wellness programs. While they’re not fully funded by your employer, voluntary benefits do come at a lower rate when purchased through your job than if you were to buy these plans on your own.

2 min read

Oct 10, 2022

Voluntary benefits are insurance plans that can help provide a financial safety net for you and your family and help protect you in a wide range of scenarios, including unexpected illness, legal matters, accidents, and more. Voluntary insurance plans, also often referred to as supplemental insurance, are designed to help with costs that aren't necessarily covered by primary health insurance plans.

When can you enroll in voluntary benefits?

You can enroll in voluntary benefits during the open enrollment period, or if you’ve experienced a qualifying life event, a special enrollment period. If you’re taking part in an employee benefit program, your employer will be able to tell you when you’re able to enroll.

Voluntary benefits examples

When it comes to voluntary benefits, employers often offer a wide variety of options that can be entirely or partially paid by the employee.

Dental insurance - often covers and will pay out for dental expenses, like regular cleanings and dental procedures
Vision insurance - typically covers routine eye exams and a portion of out-of-pocket eyewear expenses and occasionally will contribute to LASIK procedures
Life insurance - pays a set amount to a designated beneficiary when the policyholder dies
Pet insurance - often covers veterinary costs for instances like injury, illness, and routine vet care
Legal insurance - provides access to a network of attorneys for legal help
Critical illness insurance - helps provide financial assistance for certain illnesses
Accident insurance - pays out a lump sum in the instance of certain accidents
Hospital indemnity insurance - helps pay expenses related to hospital stays
Disability insurance - provides a portion of income payments to a person who can no longer work due to pregnancy, mental health, injury, illness or accident

Pros of enrolling in voluntary benefits

Voluntary benefits can offer many advantages, including:

Discounted rates when offered through your employer
Help with out-of-pocket expenses such as medical and hospital bills
The ability to make pre-tax benefit payments via payroll deductions
The knowledge that you have some protection should you face legal trouble, certain health problems, and more

Prepare for Open Enrollment 

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This article is intended to provide general information about insurance. It does not describe any Metropolitan Life Insurance company product or feature.