Why We’re Introducing Professional Benefits for Caregivers on Care.com
It should be easier for caregivers to obtain benefits befitting of important work they’re doing every day. And it should be easier for families to contribute.
We know many of the caregivers who find work on Care.com juggle multiple jobs, often for multiple families. They’re dedicated, working hard to make a living — supporting the families who employ them as well as their own.
But, like so many others in the “gig” economy, a significant number of these caregivers don’t have access to professional benefits through their employers.
It’s our understanding, based on research from our friends at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, that two-thirds of domestic workers don’t have health insurance, and only 4 percent get insurance through their employer. Less than 2 percent get retirement or pension funds from employers and just 9 percent work for an employer who pays into Social Security, according to the NDWA research.
It is by no means a stretch to say that millions of American workers fall outside the social safety net afforded by traditional employment, including basic benefits like health care, unemployment benefits, workers comp and retirement.
We believe deeply in the important role caregivers play in all our lives. Caring for our children, parents, pets and homes — this is the work that makes all of our work possible, the work that powers our economy. It should be easier for caregivers to obtain benefits befitting of important work you’re doing every day. And it should be easier for families to contribute.
That’s why we’re so thrilled to officially announce the expansion of Care.com Benefits, with a first-of-its-kind, peer-to-peer benefits platform between families and caregivers.
Through the Care.com Benefits platform, caregivers on our site will now have that access and the benefits will be more affordable through employer contributions to our new Care Benefits Bucks program, the first pooled, portable, peer-to-peer benefits program of its kind.
We believe this is a major step forward in professionalizing caregiving.
Caregivers are the safety net for the families who use Care.com to find care for their loved ones. We hope the Care.com Benefits platform can start to help the millions of care workers in the on-demand gig economy acquire the benefits they so richly deserve.
So how does it work? There are a few key components of the Care.com Benefits program:
Real-Time Payments: Care.com caregivers can get paid right on the site — fast, usually in under 30 minutes. These peer-to-peer payments made by families to caregivers on the Care.com platform are powered by Stripe and are the first step to getting professional benefits.
Pooled, Portable Benefits for Caregivers: Every time the families pay a caregiver on the site, a percentage of the transaction fee (not your salary) goes to funding our new Care Benefit Bucks program. These contributions are pooled together from all the employers a caregiver works for and who pay on Care.com and will add up. Once a caregiver has accrued $15 in Care Benefit Bucks, they can be redeemed for a Care.com Benefits reloadable prepaid card that they’ll be able to use toward an array of expenses, like doctor co-pays, health insurance premiums and transportation. Over the course of the year, caregivers can earn up to $500 in Care Benefit Bucks — that’s like three months of health insurance premiums, or six months of gas. Learn more about how the Care Benefit Bucks program works in the infographic below.
Affordable Health and Dental Plans: Earlier this year, Care.com teamed up with Stride Health to make easy, personalized access to health and dental plans available to all Care.com caregivers in the United States. The service provides a fast and simple mobile enrollment platform with personalized recommendations, financial guidance and year-round navigation support for medical and dental insurance plans. One of the best parts is that caregivers can take advantage of tax credits to lower premium costs. The majority of caregivers who enrolled for 2016 coverage saved on average $3,000 a year on health insurance plans by qualifying for tax credits!
Discounts: Caregivers may be eligible for real savings on national brands through an exclusive portal accessible through their Care.com account.
Access to Retirement Benefits, Unemployment Insurance and Worker’s Compensation: Any caregiver who is paid legally also has access to a variety of benefits including Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance, among others. Care.com HomePay facilitates all aspects of payroll and tax obligations for household employers, which is required to enable their employees to have access these critical benefits. In addition, through Care.com HomePay, families can purchase Worker’s Compensation for their household employees.
