How Do I Negotiate for a Better Benefits Plan?

Q: As an executive assistant to the president, I must propose my own salary increase. Could you provide some advice on how to negotiate a fair increase?

I work for a small, private company that offers no benefits but supposedly compensates us for them in our salaries.

My salary currently includes compensation for what I need to pay for medical and dental health coverage, but in my proposal for a higher salary, I want to take into consideration other benefits that employees at larger firms receive.

For starters, I understand that retirement benefits can be between 2% and 7% of the employee’s salary and that some companies match what an employee contributes toward retirement accounts. I also thought I should take into consideration disability coverage and maternity leave.

Are there other standard benefits that I’m forgetting about? Are there rough percentages of a salary that these benefits usually account for?

--K.H., Monterey Park

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A: Private employers’ benefit packages are quite varied. The most recent labor statistics suggest that total benefits for private employers range between 25% and 30% of employees’ wages, but this includes all employee benefits. Benefits required by law (such as worker’s compensation) represent about 8% or 9% of the wages.

My advice is to negotiate a set percentage with your employer--one that both of you hopefully can agree on. Your employer can determine what benefits are currently being paid, and these can be put into your calculations.

If you want detailed information about benefits, go to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site: https://stats.bls.gov/

--Ron Riggio, director

Kravis Leadership Institute

Claremont McKenna College

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