Private Healthcare - who has it? should I/do I have to take it?

[R.O.S.S.I]

Hi all, i've been offered a new job and as part of the package they offer private healthcare and some other life insurance type things too. I've never had a role that has offered this so its all a bit new to me but after speaking to my brother-in-law he said to have a strong think about whether or not to take it as it has tax implications and can mean you end up paying quite a bit more tax.

I don't have the specifics on what the plan/program/entitlements/benefits are yet for the scheme, but I was wondering do many of you on here have private health included with your employment package and if so, what kind of implications this has on your overall tax and take home pay? And also if you have to accept it from an employer?

My brother in law said he didnt accept it from his employer as he didn't think the tax implication was worth it to him and he'd rather just have the extra disposable income. However I understand everyones situation is likely to be different and it will potentially differ quite a lot depending on what your overall salary is.

Anyone with any nuggets of info or anything like that i'd love to hear what your thoughts are.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Thanks guys, some really useful insight here. I'm not sure who the private cover is through so i'm keen to find that out.

In terms of figuring out if its worth it it will largely be a case of me just waiting to see what the cover is and how much the premium/benefit value is to see how much it is going to cost. Should my employer give me an indication of this prior to joining the scheme?

This new job now puts me into the higher tax rate too so i'm wondering what the impact of that will be.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Yeh i must admit if it can extend to cover my partner too, not that either of us have any ailments or niggles atm (*touch wood*) then it would definitely make sense.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

btw. for those finding themselves in the higher income tax bracket for the first time, increase your pension contributions to bring your income down so you aren't paying 40% tax on any of it, and sets you up better for retirement ofc.

Thanks for this tip. Once i start and figure out what my take home looks like after student loans, healthcare and pension etc i'll see about doing this.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Looks like it is provided by AXA Health and from reading through whats covered and for in-patient everything is paid in full as long as you use their specified hospitals and no yearly limit for specialist fees.

For outpatient its largely the same for surgery, CT, MRI, PET, other outpatient treatments like physio, acupuncture, chiro etc if you have a GP referral. And same for specialist consultations and AXA Doctor at Hand and then £1000 per year for routine follow up.

Seems alright however it would be handy to know what implication this will have on my tax/how it is going to "cost" me before I commit to it.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

The other thing I didn't realise for ages was that the death in service / life insurance cover was actually another taxable benefit. At a prior employer I never paid any tax towards death in service. Seemed a bit cheeky as it was never really explained that this thing that sounded good (for my spouse) on paper of 4x salary payout was actually costing me a fair few quid and I only found out when getting a letter from HMRC saying I'd paid too little tax.

That must be something that can vary employer to employer then (not sure how though) as mine explicitly mentions that my 4x life assurance and income protection are both not classed as a benefit in kind by HMRC.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Your HR/Payroll should be able to give you an idea.

Will hit them up on my first day.