Maternity benefits/leave info

MrsSteSte · August 2012

No one at work knows we're TTC. I'm trying to figure out what my maternity coverage/benefits/info/whatever you call it would be, but I'm not coming up with much - probably because I'm not really sure what I'm looking for exactly.

I know I'll get FMLA-covered leave, but I have no idea if any of it is paid or not (other than using sick/vacation time). I don't even know how long it would be. STD is not offered, but there are a list of available companies on the HR website if we wanted to sign up on our own; MH doesn't think it's worth it, that we should just sock the monthly payment equivalent away each month instead.

How do you find out this info without sending up red flags? Are there any basic "rules" about mat leave that I can expect will apply to me (I am assuming the answer is no)?

SCBride2007 · August 2012

If there is an offsite HR that you could contact, I would do that first. Keep in mind that with STD, you have a waiting period before you can get pregnant and still receive benefits. My cost for STD is only like 50 a month, so it made muh more sense for me to get the coverage than to just put away that money. Now, with my first child and only currently I didn't have sick leave or maternity coverage, or STD, so I put away a few hundred per paycheck from the time I found out I was pregnant on, so that once we had me on maternity leave, we could float.

MrsSteSte · August 2012

No offsite HR - it's either all or nothing. I get that there's some degree of confidentiality associated with going to HR, but... I don't know. I just feel weird about it. I wish there was just a "maternity/paternity/adoption/etc. info" page on the HR website!

I think I'll call and look into STD. If it's really only ~$50/mo and I would get a decent amount of coverage (especially if it takes us a year to get KU), then it might be worth it. I think MH is just worried about throwing away money unnecessarily.

KdgTeacher · August 2012

Call or e-mail and ask. I don't think anyone in your HR will be like "OMG she must be pregnant and leaving for X number of weeks." I'm sure people do it all the time.

larhun3 · August 2012

You could say you were just planning ahead for the future and this way it's very noncommittal. Or if you feel comfortable you could ask a coworker who has kids if they know. I did this at job and just told my coworker we were thinking about kids and I was curious what our benefits were.

MrsSteSte · August 2012

GhostMonkey:
MrsSteSte:
No offsite HR - it's either all or nothing. I get that there's some degree of confidentiality associated with going to HR, but... I don't know. I just feel weird about it. I wish there was just a "maternity/paternity/adoption/etc. info" page on the HR website!
I think I'll call and look into STD. If it's really only ~$50/mo and I would get a decent amount of coverage (especially if it takes us a year to get KU), then it might be worth it. I think MH is just worried about throwing away money unnecessarily.
Ask him if he thinks health, life, and auto insurance are a waste as well.

lol really? He sure does. I pay those behind his back every month. Confused

MrsSteSte · August 2012

GhostMonkey:
MrsSteSte:
GhostMonkey:
Ask him if he thinks health, life, and auto insurance are a waste as well.
lol really? He sure does. I pay those behind his back every month.
STD is no different than those. Hence why I asked. If he has an issue with one, he should have an issue with all of them. If he doesn't have an issue with those, he's just being a jackass about this.

I think he doesn't totally understand it (because I don't, and I'm the one who tried to explain it). He's also in the "it's very possibly going to take a year+ to get KU" camp, so he think it's smarter/easier to just put the equivalent of the monthly payment amount into savings instead. It's most likely a combination of him being a jackass and me understanding/explaining poorly.

I just emailed the AFLAC guy on our HR website, so we'll see what he says the actual benefits will be.

Shayliz · August 2012

MrsSteSte:
GhostMonkey:
MrsSteSte:
GhostMonkey:
Ask him if he thinks health, life, and auto insurance are a waste as well.
lol really? He sure does. I pay those behind his back every month.
STD is no different than those. Hence why I asked. If he has an issue with one, he should have an issue with all of them. If he doesn't have an issue with those, he's just being a jackass about this.
I think he doesn't totally understand it (because I don't, and I'm the one who tried to explain it). He's also in the "it's very possibly going to take a year+ to get KU" camp, so he think it's smarter/easier to just put the equivalent of the monthly payment amount into savings instead. It's most likely a combination of him being a jackass and me understanding/explaining poorly.
I just emailed the AFLAC guy on our HR website, so we'll see what he says the actual benefits will be.

Does your husband think you should put aside the monthly premium each month, or the actual amount that STD will pay out to you monthly?

MrsSteSte · August 2012

The monthly premium amount. I just told him it might cover some of my actual salary, too which I didn't know, so obviously didn't tell him that before, and he's 100 percent in support of finding out more info now.

ETA I'm sorry my phone hates punctuation.

rissa06 · August 2012

Do u have a coworker who has been pg that u might be able to ask them?

What state do u live in, because a handful off them offer std?

There aren't any basic maternity rules that apply. It changes from company to company and from state to state. Even fmla has a bunch of rules and regulations. Fmla is unpaid 12 weeks. You have to have been employed for a yr. work at least for 1240 hours and be employed by a company that has at least 75 employees (although it might be 50, I can never remember)

For asking HR, I think it depends on company culture. I think you can generally send an email or call and say that u and your husband are planning for the future...however, I know for some corporate cultures it might not work.

Hth

angelsnight · August 2012

If your company handbook isn't giving you the information you're looking for, you should check with someone in HR. If your HR department does what they're supposed to do, this shouldn't send up any red flags because your conversation should be confidential. I work at a big enough company that while my HR person does know who I am, when inquiring about maternity info I am just another young woman of child bearing years, so it's not like she'd run screaming through the building about me asking about it. Though even in a small workplace, no one should do this either.

That being said, you could do what I did and in the inquiry say, this doesn't apply to me yet, but for future reference can you give me some information about how maternity coverage works?

Shayliz · August 2012

MrsSteSte:
The monthly premium amount. I just told him it might cover some of my actual salary, too which I didn't know, so obviously didn't tell him that before, and he's 100 percent in support of finding out more info now. ETA I'm sorry my phone hates punctuation.

My STD pays me 80% of my salary... Definitely more than I'd be putting away on a premium. Look into it.

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