Benefits Built for the Trades
Benefits Built for the Trades
TradeGuard Approved Employee Benefits
TradeGuard has partnered with Tom Sorrentino, Partner at Bukaty Companies, to bring contractors best-in-class employee benefits and risk management expertise.
Book time with Tom to streamline your benefits, control costs, and support your crew.
TradeGuard Approved Employee Benefits
TradeGuard Approved Employee Benefits
TradeGuard has partnered with Tom Sorrentino, Partner at Bukaty Companies, to bring contractors best-in-class employee benefits and risk management expertise.
Book time with Tom to streamline your benefits, control costs, and support your crew.
TradeGuard has partnered with Tom Sorrentino, Partner at Bukaty Companies, to bring contractors best-in-class employee benefits and risk management expertise.
Book time with Tom to streamline your benefits, control costs, and support your crew.
Common Questions on Benefits:
How much should I offer for health insurance versus just paying higher wages?
What the numbers say 1. For small employers (fewer than 50 staff), average employer-paid premiums: single coverage ≈ $528/month (~$6,300/year), family coverage ≈ $1,232/month (~$14,800/year) as of March 2024. 2. Many small businesses aim to pay at least 50% of the premium for employee only coverage to be competitive and qualify for tax credits. 3. Employers cover a large share: the average employer in 2023 covered around 83% of self-only and 73% of family premiums. 4. Premiums are rising: health insurance is becoming a more material share of compensation for smaller firms. What this means for your trades business Since you’re in contracting/trades, you likely have: a mix of field workers, some seasonal or variable hours, intense competition for labor, high turnover risk, and a need to keep overhead under control. Here’s how to apply the numbers: - If you were to offer no health insurance and instead just raise wages to “cover what health insurance might cost,” you might need to raise wages by ~$500-600/month (for single coverage) or ~$1,200+/month (for family coverage) just to approximate what many employers pay in premiums. - But that wage raise is taxed differently (you’ll pay more payroll taxes, workers compensation base goes up, you add burden) and you lose some of the “benefit value” in the eyes of employees (insurance is perceived value). - If you offer health insurance (or a solid subsidy toward it): That becomes a differentiator in the trades — many contractors don’t. You can use it to recruit and retain. But you must budget it, pick a plan that aligns with your workforce (age, health status, turnover) and build for the long run.
How much admin/overhead is this going to add?
Likely Admin/Overhead For a small-to-medium trades business, your incremental overhead typically includes: 1. Setting up the benefits plan and communicating it to staff (enrollment, FAQs, onboarding). 2. Monthly reconciliation of carrier invoices, eligibility changes (new hires, terminations), billing corrections. 3. Compliance tracking (e.g., Affordable Care Act eligibility, reporting, disclosures). 4. Day-to-day HR tasks: answering questions, managing claim issues, adjusting payroll deductions. 5. Technology/tools: enrollment platform, benefits portal, data integration with payroll/AMS. This overhead can easily require 5–10 hours/month of HR/administration for a small firm, plus ongoing risk of mistakes (missed eligibility, mis-billing, compliance penalties). How Bukaty Cuts That Overhead 1. Here’s how Bukaty handles those tasks so you don’t have to: 2. Benefit Administration Outsourcing: Bukaty handles consumer-based accounts (HSAs, HRAs, FSAs), COBRA administration, and combined billing (one consolidated bill for all carriers). 3. Technology Integration: They support enrollment platforms, transparency tools, vendor evaluation and integration so you don’t build from scratch. 4. Compliance Monitoring: They have a dedicated compliance arm monitoring ACA and other employer-plan requirements, so you avoid the “gotcha” from missed deadlines. 5. Employee Engagement & Education: They manage communication tools, enrollment support, benefit-education materials — reducing internal HR time answering questions. What It Means For Your Business Because you’re in the trades (with high turnover potential, operational focus, margin pressure), you want to keep admin lean. Partnering with someone like Bukaty means you’re buying a “plug-and-play” benefits admin engine: - Instead of 5–10 hrs/month in internal HR time, you may only need 1–2 hours (for strategy + oversight). - You reduce risk (billing errors, compliance fines) which is especially important when you’re already pushing for efficient ops. - It frees you to focus on hiring, retention, and operations—while benefits become a recruiter/retention lever rather than a bureaucratic drag. Bottom line: Yes, adding health benefits adds overhead—but with the right partner, it becomes manageable and efficient. If you design the plan and workflows correctly, the added admin becomes a small trade-off for better recruitment/retention in the trades, and you keep your internal burden low.
What benefits are legally required?
Legally required benefits in the U.S. At a federal level most benefits are not optional - but the ones you must cover are narrow: 1. Social Security & Medicare (FICA taxes): You as employer must withhold employee payroll taxes (6.2% Social Security up to a wage base, 1.45% Medicare) and match them. This isn’t a “premium you pick”; it’s a payroll tax obligation. 2. Unemployment insurance: You must pay federal and state unemployment tax contributions so workers who lose jobs through no fault of their own can get benefits. 3. Workers’ compensation: Most states require you to carry this insurance for employees who get injured on the job. The exact obligations depend on your state and number of employees. 4. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): If you have 50 or more employees (within 75 miles etc.), you must allow eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family/medical reasons. But note: this is unpaid leave, not paid benefits. What’s not automatically required 1. Health insurance: Unless you employ 50+ “full-time equivalent” employees (the “applicable large employer” threshold), you are not required to offer a group health plan. 2. Paid leave, disability insurance, retirement plans, “nice-to-have” benefits: These aren’t federally mandated for most smaller businesses. Some states require certain paid leave or disability plans, so you’ll need to check your state. 3. What this means for your trades business Since you’re in a contractor/trades business (likely fewer than 50 employees to start with), your required benefits are going to be the payroll taxes (Social Security/Medicare), unemployment tax, state workers’ compensation, and complying with any state-specific leave laws. The big optional area is health insurance: you’ll choose whether to offer it. Offering health insurance becomes a strategic choice—not a legal requirement. If you grow beyond ~50 full-time equivalents, then health benefits and leave obligations become more complex and you’ll need a compliance infrastructure.
How much should I offer for health insurance versus just paying higher wages?
What the numbers say 1. For small employers (fewer than 50 staff), average employer-paid premiums: single coverage ≈ $528/month (~$6,300/year), family coverage ≈ $1,232/month (~$14,800/year) as of March 2024. 2. Many small businesses aim to pay at least 50% of the premium for employee only coverage to be competitive and qualify for tax credits. 3. Employers cover a large share: the average employer in 2023 covered around 83% of self-only and 73% of family premiums. 4. Premiums are rising: health insurance is becoming a more material share of compensation for smaller firms. What this means for your trades business Since you’re in contracting/trades, you likely have: a mix of field workers, some seasonal or variable hours, intense competition for labor, high turnover risk, and a need to keep overhead under control. Here’s how to apply the numbers: - If you were to offer no health insurance and instead just raise wages to “cover what health insurance might cost,” you might need to raise wages by ~$500-600/month (for single coverage) or ~$1,200+/month (for family coverage) just to approximate what many employers pay in premiums. - But that wage raise is taxed differently (you’ll pay more payroll taxes, workers compensation base goes up, you add burden) and you lose some of the “benefit value” in the eyes of employees (insurance is perceived value). - If you offer health insurance (or a solid subsidy toward it): That becomes a differentiator in the trades — many contractors don’t. You can use it to recruit and retain. But you must budget it, pick a plan that aligns with your workforce (age, health status, turnover) and build for the long run.
How much admin/overhead is this going to add?
Likely Admin/Overhead For a small-to-medium trades business, your incremental overhead typically includes: 1. Setting up the benefits plan and communicating it to staff (enrollment, FAQs, onboarding). 2. Monthly reconciliation of carrier invoices, eligibility changes (new hires, terminations), billing corrections. 3. Compliance tracking (e.g., Affordable Care Act eligibility, reporting, disclosures). 4. Day-to-day HR tasks: answering questions, managing claim issues, adjusting payroll deductions. 5. Technology/tools: enrollment platform, benefits portal, data integration with payroll/AMS. This overhead can easily require 5–10 hours/month of HR/administration for a small firm, plus ongoing risk of mistakes (missed eligibility, mis-billing, compliance penalties). How Bukaty Cuts That Overhead 1. Here’s how Bukaty handles those tasks so you don’t have to: 2. Benefit Administration Outsourcing: Bukaty handles consumer-based accounts (HSAs, HRAs, FSAs), COBRA administration, and combined billing (one consolidated bill for all carriers). 3. Technology Integration: They support enrollment platforms, transparency tools, vendor evaluation and integration so you don’t build from scratch. 4. Compliance Monitoring: They have a dedicated compliance arm monitoring ACA and other employer-plan requirements, so you avoid the “gotcha” from missed deadlines. 5. Employee Engagement & Education: They manage communication tools, enrollment support, benefit-education materials — reducing internal HR time answering questions. What It Means For Your Business Because you’re in the trades (with high turnover potential, operational focus, margin pressure), you want to keep admin lean. Partnering with someone like Bukaty means you’re buying a “plug-and-play” benefits admin engine: - Instead of 5–10 hrs/month in internal HR time, you may only need 1–2 hours (for strategy + oversight). - You reduce risk (billing errors, compliance fines) which is especially important when you’re already pushing for efficient ops. - It frees you to focus on hiring, retention, and operations—while benefits become a recruiter/retention lever rather than a bureaucratic drag. Bottom line: Yes, adding health benefits adds overhead—but with the right partner, it becomes manageable and efficient. If you design the plan and workflows correctly, the added admin becomes a small trade-off for better recruitment/retention in the trades, and you keep your internal burden low.
What benefits are legally required?
Legally required benefits in the U.S. At a federal level most benefits are not optional - but the ones you must cover are narrow: 1. Social Security & Medicare (FICA taxes): You as employer must withhold employee payroll taxes (6.2% Social Security up to a wage base, 1.45% Medicare) and match them. This isn’t a “premium you pick”; it’s a payroll tax obligation. 2. Unemployment insurance: You must pay federal and state unemployment tax contributions so workers who lose jobs through no fault of their own can get benefits. 3. Workers’ compensation: Most states require you to carry this insurance for employees who get injured on the job. The exact obligations depend on your state and number of employees. 4. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): If you have 50 or more employees (within 75 miles etc.), you must allow eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family/medical reasons. But note: this is unpaid leave, not paid benefits. What’s not automatically required 1. Health insurance: Unless you employ 50+ “full-time equivalent” employees (the “applicable large employer” threshold), you are not required to offer a group health plan. 2. Paid leave, disability insurance, retirement plans, “nice-to-have” benefits: These aren’t federally mandated for most smaller businesses. Some states require certain paid leave or disability plans, so you’ll need to check your state. 3. What this means for your trades business Since you’re in a contractor/trades business (likely fewer than 50 employees to start with), your required benefits are going to be the payroll taxes (Social Security/Medicare), unemployment tax, state workers’ compensation, and complying with any state-specific leave laws. The big optional area is health insurance: you’ll choose whether to offer it. Offering health insurance becomes a strategic choice—not a legal requirement. If you grow beyond ~50 full-time equivalents, then health benefits and leave obligations become more complex and you’ll need a compliance infrastructure.
How much should I offer for health insurance vs paying higher wages?
What the numbers say 1. For small employers (fewer than 50 staff), average employer-paid premiums: single coverage ≈ $528/month (~$6,300/year), family coverage ≈ $1,232/month (~$14,800/year) as of March 2024. 2. Many small businesses aim to pay at least 50% of the premium for employee only coverage to be competitive and qualify for tax credits. 3. Employers cover a large share: the average employer in 2023 covered around 83% of self-only and 73% of family premiums. 4. Premiums are rising: health insurance is becoming a more material share of compensation for smaller firms. What this means for your trades business Since you’re in contracting/trades, you likely have: a mix of field workers, some seasonal or variable hours, intense competition for labor, high turnover risk, and a need to keep overhead under control. Here’s how to apply the numbers: - If you were to offer no health insurance and instead just raise wages to “cover what health insurance might cost,” you might need to raise wages by ~$500-600/month (for single coverage) or ~$1,200+/month (for family coverage) just to approximate what many employers pay in premiums. - But that wage raise is taxed differently (you’ll pay more payroll taxes, workers compensation base goes up, you add burden) and you lose some of the “benefit value” in the eyes of employees (insurance is perceived value). - If you offer health insurance (or a solid subsidy toward it): That becomes a differentiator in the trades — many contractors don’t. You can use it to recruit and retain. But you must budget it, pick a plan that aligns with your workforce (age, health status, turnover) and build for the long run.
How much admin/overhead is this going to add?
Likely Admin/Overhead For a small-to-medium trades business, your incremental overhead typically includes: 1. Setting up the benefits plan and communicating it to staff (enrollment, FAQs, onboarding). 2. Monthly reconciliation of carrier invoices, eligibility changes (new hires, terminations), billing corrections. 3. Compliance tracking (e.g., Affordable Care Act eligibility, reporting, disclosures). 4. Day-to-day HR tasks: answering questions, managing claim issues, adjusting payroll deductions. 5. Technology/tools: enrollment platform, benefits portal, data integration with payroll/AMS. This overhead can easily require 5–10 hours/month of HR/administration for a small firm, plus ongoing risk of mistakes (missed eligibility, mis-billing, compliance penalties). How Bukaty Cuts That Overhead 1. Here’s how Bukaty handles those tasks so you don’t have to: 2. Benefit Administration Outsourcing: Bukaty handles consumer-based accounts (HSAs, HRAs, FSAs), COBRA administration, and combined billing (one consolidated bill for all carriers). 3. Technology Integration: They support enrollment platforms, transparency tools, vendor evaluation and integration so you don’t build from scratch. 4. Compliance Monitoring: They have a dedicated compliance arm monitoring ACA and other employer-plan requirements, so you avoid the “gotcha” from missed deadlines. 5. Employee Engagement & Education: They manage communication tools, enrollment support, benefit-education materials — reducing internal HR time answering questions. What It Means For Your Business Because you’re in the trades (with high turnover potential, operational focus, margin pressure), you want to keep admin lean. Partnering with someone like Bukaty means you’re buying a “plug-and-play” benefits admin engine: - Instead of 5–10 hrs/month in internal HR time, you may only need 1–2 hours (for strategy + oversight). - You reduce risk (billing errors, compliance fines) which is especially important when you’re already pushing for efficient ops. - It frees you to focus on hiring, retention, and operations—while benefits become a recruiter/retention lever rather than a bureaucratic drag. Bottom line: Yes, adding health benefits adds overhead—but with the right partner, it becomes manageable and efficient. If you design the plan and workflows correctly, the added admin becomes a small trade-off for better recruitment/retention in the trades, and you keep your internal burden low.
What benefits are legally required?
Legally required benefits in the U.S. At a federal level most benefits are not optional - but the ones you must cover are narrow: 1. Social Security & Medicare (FICA taxes): You as employer must withhold employee payroll taxes (6.2% Social Security up to a wage base, 1.45% Medicare) and match them. This isn’t a “premium you pick”; it’s a payroll tax obligation. 2. Unemployment insurance: You must pay federal and state unemployment tax contributions so workers who lose jobs through no fault of their own can get benefits. 3. Workers’ compensation: Most states require you to carry this insurance for employees who get injured on the job. The exact obligations depend on your state and number of employees. 4. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): If you have 50 or more employees (within 75 miles etc.), you must allow eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family/medical reasons. But note: this is unpaid leave, not paid benefits. What’s not automatically required 1. Health insurance: Unless you employ 50+ “full-time equivalent” employees (the “applicable large employer” threshold), you are not required to offer a group health plan. 2. Paid leave, disability insurance, retirement plans, “nice-to-have” benefits: These aren’t federally mandated for most smaller businesses. Some states require certain paid leave or disability plans, so you’ll need to check your state. 3. What this means for your trades business Since you’re in a contractor/trades business (likely fewer than 50 employees to start with), your required benefits are going to be the payroll taxes (Social Security/Medicare), unemployment tax, state workers’ compensation, and complying with any state-specific leave laws. The big optional area is health insurance: you’ll choose whether to offer it. Offering health insurance becomes a strategic choice—not a legal requirement. If you grow beyond ~50 full-time equivalents, then health benefits and leave obligations become more complex and you’ll need a compliance infrastructure.
Tom's Strategy:
Initial Assessment
Initial Assessment
Plan Design
Plan Design
Transparency & Education
Education
Want to talk to someone?
Click below to schedule a meeting with a TradeGuard representative.
Want to talk to someone?
Click below to schedule a meeting with a TradeGuard representative.
Want to talk to someone?
Click below to schedule a meeting with a TradeGuard representative.