Asana
Brooklyn FI started working with several Asana employees and alums in 2020 in anticipation of their direct listing and helped them outline a multi-year exit strategy for their concentrated stock position and options. It’s been a joy for our team, and we wanted to share some tips we’ve picked up along the way about their benefits plan.
Asana provides a robust benefits plan for its full-time employees, and it’s time once again to make your elections for the upcoming year. Making educated choices this open enrollment can save you money and help you navigate whatever challenges lie ahead next year. We’ve put together this guide to help as you make these choices - feel free to share it with your colleagues and friends who may find it helpful.
Please note that benefits are subject to change at any time.
HEALTH INSURANCE
Asana’s plan through Anthem and Kaiser includes a variety of options, some of which vary by state.
California employees
California employees have a Kaiser and Anthem option for health insurance. Both are HMOs, or health maintenance organizations, carry no deductibles, and out of pocket maximums in the $1,500 range for individuals and $3,000 for families. Both plans are quite comparable and at no cost for individuals. Consider which networks cover your preferred physicians and specialists if you choose one of these two plans.
All Employees
All employees have access to two Anthem plans - a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and a Preferred Provider Organization Plan (PPO). The HDHP, like its name, has a higher deductible - $1,500 for individuals and $3,000 for families for in-network coverage. This means that aside from preventative care, the expenses are out-of-pocket until you reach your deductible. This plan is also compatible with a Health Savings Account (HSA). That’s a special account for medical expenses that you can contribute to on a pre-tax basis (payroll deduction), and withdrawal from tax-free for medical costs.
The PPO plan is different, visits to in-network providers like your physician or a specialist, or a trip to the ER are covered by a co-pay - often $20 for your family doctor or specialist. And the deductible in this plan is much lower - $250 for individuals and $750 for families for in-network coverage. Participating in the PPO plan will not allow HSA contributions, but it will allow you to save to Healthcare Flexible Spending Account on a pre-tax basis. Which plan you choose depends on a variety of factors:
How often you anticipate using your insurance
Cash flow needs
Tax considerations
If you rarely go to the doctor aside from an annual physical, and don’t take prescription drugs, the HDHP may make sense - and allow you to stash away savings tax-free for medical costs later in life. However, if you want to know that a few trips to a specialist will simply cost your co-pay, and not a few thousand dollars, the PPO plan will have minimal impact on your cash flow.
BKFI Tip: Consider electing the HSA plan, maxing it out every year, and paying for your expenses out of other savings to maximize the tax-free growth of the HSA!
DEPENDENT CARE BENEFITS
Asana provides a Dependent Care FSA as well. This allows pre-tax funds to be set aside for childcare expenses - up to $5,000/year. If you have kids in daycare, or after-school care, this can save you some money in taxes.
BKFI Tip: Both Dependent Care and Healthcare FSAs are ‘use it or lose it’ meaning the contributions must be spent before March 15th of the year following your contributions. For example, 2021 contributions must be spent by March 15th, 2022 or they’ll be forfeited to your employer.
DENTAL
Asana pays 100% of the premium cost for their employees, with additional premiums for spouse or family coverage. There’s a $1,000 lifetime limit for orthodontia on an individual basis, and a preference is given for in-network providers.
VISION
Asana pays 100% of the premiums for individual Vision coverage, which partially covers exams, lenses, and frames once per year. Coverage for spouses and/or children will come at a small additional monthly cost.
BKFI Tip: Out of pocket expenses for Vision and Dental are covered by your FSA - keep your receipt and get reimbursed tax-free.
LIFE INSURANCE
As part of your robust benefits plan, Asana provides 1x your annual salary in life insurance - up to $300,000. You can purchase additional coverage of up-to $500,000 of supplemental life insurance (or 5x Salary). Spousal voluntary life insurance is also available, up to $250,000.
BKFI Tip: Diversification matters. No, we aren’t talking about investments, we’re talking about life insurance. If you need life insurance, be sure not to link all of it to your employer’s coverage. Consider getting your own policy that you can keep even if you leave your job.
Bonus BKFI Tip: Don’t forget to name a beneficiary when setting up your employer-sponsored life insurance coverage. Make sure the funds go where you want them, should something happen to you.
DISABILITY INSURANCE
Asana provides both short-term and long-term disability coverage. Short-term coverage starts with an 8-day waiting period, covering 13 weeks at 60% of your weekly salary - capped at $2,500 per week.
Long-term disability kicks in after 90 days (when short-term runs out) and pays 60% of your pre-disability earnings up-to $10,000 per month. Long-term coverage stops paying when you’re no longer disabled, or reach retirement age.
BKFI Tip: When your employer pays the premiums for disability insurance, the benefits are taxable to you when you receive them. Consider what 60% of your pay is, and then imagine income taxes coming out of that - that’s what your take home would be under a long-term disability plan.
RETIREMENT PLANNING
Asana’s retirement plan is administered by Fidelity and does offer a variety of contribution options. The plan allows for both pre-tax and Roth contributions, up to a maximum of $19,500. Employees age 50 or older can make a catch-up contribution of up-to $6,500 annually.
The plan also permits after-tax contributions that allow you to contribute above the annual maximum. By using the after-tax contribution feature, you can potentially save an additional $37,500 in a tax-advantaged manner that can later be rolled into a Roth IRA - also known as a Mega Backdoor Roth.
BKFI Tip: Have you maxed out your 401(k) for 2020? If not, there’s still time to go in and update your contributions.
Bonus BKFI Tip: Review your 401(k) beneficiaries annually and make sure they match your wishes.