Benefits in the nonprofit sector: Taking care of our own
February 14, 2005
By Louise Chatterton Luchuk
The nonprofit sector is built on a foundation of caring. Yet while our reputation for caring for others is strong, our track record for caring for our own employees is not as impressive. In fact, only about half of nonprofit employees have access to an employee benefits plans, and less than half have access to an employer pension plan. Several recent studies alerted the sector by attaching real numbers and facts to the situation. For instance, many dedicated, long-time, typically female nonprofit employees may be at risk for poverty in their retirement years.
The Developing Human Resources in the Voluntary
Sector (HRVS) project is very interested in the state of employee
and retirement benefits in the sector. HRVS released three
reports last year on the subject, outlining current access to benefits,
the barriers, and making recommendations for action. "Funding is a link
- first and foremost," advocates Lynne Toupin, HRVS project director.
"But we can't sit here and think that nothing can be done until the
funding issue is sorted out. Benefits are critical for recruiting and
retaining talented employees."
"If you have no pension plan, what will you face when you retire?"
One of the "bright spots", as Toupin puts it, is a multi-employer benefit plan
coming together in Quebec. Michel Lizée is coordinator of
the service aux collectivités at the Université
du Québec à Montréal. Through the service, the
university provides education and research resources in partnership with
labour, women's and community groups. Lizée is also a labour trustee
on the Université du Québec Pension Plan, the president
of the investment committee, and the developer of educational material
for labour trustees, union activists and leaders on pension plans. Through
his work, he linked up with the Centre de formation populaire and
Relais-Femme to develop a viable pension plan option for Quebec
community organizations.
At the outset, the project's promoters launched an extensive survey (there
were 1,350 respondents) about social benefits in Quebec, focusing especially
on access or lack of access to group insurance and supplemental pension
plans. The survey confirmed that nobody had pension plans. Therefore,
Lizée put the question to the group: "If you have no pension plan,
what will you face when you retire? Look at the numbers and then decide
if you need a pension plan." The steering committee decided they couldn't
afford not to have a pension plan but the group had little knowledge about
pension plans and little money to work with.
Gauging the interest and waiting for the green light
Lizée proposed that the group start a discussion about what they would
like included in a pension plan. Over the course of four or five meetings,
the group came up with a workable outline that incorporated flexibility,
socially responsible management, and accessibility for small-sized organizations.
Currently, a few trained people are making rounds to see if other Quebec
nonprofits are interested. In order to launch in September 2005, the pooled
fund requires 800 employees signed up and so far the response is enthusiastic.
However, to launch by this date there is another important hurdle to overcome.
The steering committee designed what is known as a "union plan", and unlike
the rest of Canada, these plans are not currently legal in Quebec. Through
Lizee's work, he was aware that the regulations were under review and
that the labour unions were also pushing for changes. Lizée encourages
the rest of Canada to consider the ideas generated from within Quebec.
"You can do it now," he says, "whereas we need to wait for the green light
of new regulations so we can finalize the terms of our plan." For just
this reason, the HRVS project is tracking the Quebec multi-employer plan
so that it can be replicated or expanded throughout the country.
Strategies from nonprofit-friendly benefits providers
Aside from the Quebec initiative, there are a few of other plans that focus on
the needs of the voluntary/nonprofit sector. Two of these are the GAIN
Benefits Plan - part of ASSOCIUM Consultants - and OASSIS.
Both offer plans specifically for members. In the case of the GAIN plan,
this means having a paid GAIN membership. For OASSIS, it means being a
member of one of their sponsoring associations.
Education is key
Adrian Johnson is the principal of ASSOCIUM Consultants and Athena Taddei
is the marketing director at OASSIS. Both Taddei and Johnson recognize
that a big part of what they provide is education. This is a key factor
in insurance carriers extending coverage to nonprofit organizations (typically
considered too high-risk and costly). It is through education that employees
understand how their plan usage affects costs so they make wise choices
from flexible coverage options. In addition, it is education that helps
nonprofit employers find ways to manage costs.
Says Johnson, "Organizations can do a lot from within. You incur absenteeism
by the way you manage your workplace. Organizations need to deal with
stress issues, productivity issues, etc." When these issues are left unchecked,
there is often a high turnover rate and the mentality of 'I might as well
max out my benefits', which costs organizations.
Taddei considers wellness education one of the best defenses against rising insurance rates. "Insurance rates go up based on drug usage. Most prescription drugs are for ailments that could be changed with a healthier, more balanced lifestyle." OASSIS provides nonprofit organizations with quick guides and monthly newsletters about wellness education and two of their three plans offer access to an Employee Assistance Program.
Finding a plan that fits
The OASSIS plan works well for small organizations like the one that Debbie
MacDonald Moynes runs, the Prince
Edward County Community Care for Seniors Association. In the mid 1980s,
they first tried pooling with other local organizations. However, "there
was a privacy issue because we would have to send our claims to another
agency and we were not comfortable with that," she recalls. Following
that, they joined the Chamber of Commerce plan and then moved on to another
plan especially for nonprofit agencies. The switch seemed like a good
idea at the time but it was a smaller group and one agency had a lot of
claims. With only 30 days notice, the plan was cancelled by the provider.
That's when MacDonald Moynes' agency switched to OASSIS. (Prince Edward
County Community Care for Seniors Association is a member of the Ontario
Community Support Association, one of the OASSIS sponsoring associations.)
The funding issue may not be resolved any time soon, but there are ways
to be cost effective if organizations commit to the importance of taking
care of their employees. There are plans out there that focus on the specific
needs of the nonprofit sector and tangible strategies that nonprofits
can implement to manage plan costs. "We've got to stop seeing benefits
as an add-on," states Johnson. "Considering the ethos of the sector, how
can we abandon them with no coverage? It's not 'on' to not provide
benefits."
For more information:
Québec multi-employer plan
Lise Gervais, Relais-femmes (lgervais@relais-femmes.qc.ca)
Stéphanie Didier, Centre de formation populaire (stephanie@lecfp.qc.ca)
GAIN Benefits Plan
1-888-761-1164 x. 229
OASSIS Plan
1-888-233-5580
Louise Chatterton Luchuk is a freelance writer and consultant who
combines her love of writing with experience at the local, provincial
and national levels of volunteer-involving organizations. For more information,
visit www.luchuk.com.
