This article is  from the April 2013 issue of “The Link” from Great-West Life.

The workplace plays an essential part in maintaining positive mental health. That’s why the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace—a set of best-practices guidelines to help organizations promote a psychologically healthy and safe workplace—launched in January 2013.

Established by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ), in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), the Standard addresses mental health needs in the workplace.

Voluntary and free of charge, the Standard can be used differently by each organization. Some may want to focus on policies, while others may want to start with a gap analysis or management training. Company size doesn’t matter. The Standard is set up so even small businesses can easily work towards it.

The MHCC reports that in any given year, one in five people in Canada experiences a mental health problem or related illness. Annually, absenteeism and disability claims due to mental health issues cost the economy in excess of $50 billion. It’s good business sense to have a vested interest in preventing mental and physical illness, and promoting recovery and overall health.

Started in 2007, the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace helps employers identify and address mental health issues that affect their employees. Last October, the Centre commissioned an Ipsos Reid survey—the results of which reinforce the value of a voluntary Standard to foster psychological health and safety in Canadian workplaces.

Download a free copy of the Standard from the CSA and BNQ websites.

Free resources are available to help employers to start working towards the Standard. Learn more about the Standard and access helpful tools at www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com. Access self-serve resources like Guarding Minds @ Work™ and learn how to assess the psychological health and safety of your workplace, take action and evaluate the results of your actions.

The resources are free. Use them to make a difference in your workplace.

Guarding Minds @ Work is a trademark of the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health Addiction (CARMHA) and is used with permission.

The Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace and design are registered trademarks of The Great-West Life Assurance Company.

Photo credit: “One and Other-Mental Health” by Feggy Art on Flickr, and included the following caption, which I felt was worth repeating here:

Mental health on the Fourth Plinth (One and Other) performance art in Trafalgar Square, London.

I am standing on the plinth to represent people whose voices so often go unheard, either because they don’t have the necessary support, or they are socially isolated, or they are quite simply desperately marginalized: people with mental health issues.

According to the World Health Organisation, depression will be the second most costly health problem worldwide, coming second only to heart disease and ahead of cancer.

Despite this, however, and despite the fact that around one in four adults will experience them at some point in their lives, mental health problems are still surrounded by ignorance, fear and prejudice.

Research has shown that prejudice against people with mental health issues is actually increasing, despite social attitudes regarding sexuality, ethnicity and other similar issues improving.

I found an excellent article on BloombergBusinessweek that talks about the danger of not having Disability Insurance. Some of the points are specific to U.S. programs, but the general message is the same, and important for anyone who has a family that depends on their income.

Overlooking disability insurance can be costly

by Dave Carpenter on July 25, 2012

Long-term disability insurance is the forgotten insurance.

The importance of auto, health, homeowners and life insurance is well known. But disability coverage, which replaces lost earnings if you can’t work, tends to be ignored — until you need it.

Government studies show that a 20-year-old worker has a 30 percent chance of becoming disabled before reaching full retirement age. Yet only about a third of employees in private industry have long-term disability insurance, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It could be argued that the disability of a breadwinner is worse than the death of a breadwinner,” says James Hunt, insurance actuary for the Consumer Federation of America, “because the disabled person is still soaking up money.”

That’s why it makes sense to purchase individual coverage if you’re self-employed — or not covered sufficiently or at all by your employer.

A look at what you need to know about disability insurance:

Q: How does disability insurance work?

A: Disability insurance protects from a loss of income resulting from an inability to work due to an accident or illness. You typically receive disability checks starting three to six months after you become unable to work.

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Q: Do you need to buy coverage if you receive disability insurance through your employer?

A: It depends whether you could get by on the benefit checks. A typical group plan replaces just 40 percent to 60 percent of your salary, up to a maximum $5,000 a month or $60,000 a year. And if the employer pays your premiums, the checks will be taxable.

Benefits can last for either a set number of years or until retirement age. Check your plan’s details closely. Company benefits have been steadily shrinking in recent years. Group policies often limit the duration of benefits to only two years if you can’t perform your job duties.

If your policy looks insufficient, ask your employer whether you can pay for additional coverage. Otherwise, consider getting extra insurance from a private insurer to extend the duration or bring the coverage up to 70 percent or 80 percent of income.

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Q: What should you look for in a policy?

A: If you have a highly specialized job or can simply afford to pay the premiums, it’s worth paying extra to have an “own occupation” policy. This coverage pays benefits if you are unable to perform the major duties of your own occupation. To trim some of the costs, it may be advisable to obtain “own occupation” coverage for one or two years and “any occupation” coverage after that.

The length of benefits is key, and will affect the cost of premiums significantly. Some policies pay benefits until age 65 or until your full retirement age for Social Security benefits, others for two or five years. Seek out a non-cancellable policy.

You probably also want a policy that will pay “residual” benefits, which will compensate for a decline in income if you are able to work at a new job that pays less.

Q: How much does disability insurance cost?

A: Prices vary based on age, gender, occupation, amount of coverage and health status. Check with a broker to get quotes from at least three different insurers.

For someone who does not have coverage at work, a plan with all the extras including inflation protection costs roughly 2 percent to 2.5 percent of annual salary for a man, and 3 percent to 4 percent for a woman. Women pay more because they file claims more frequently and for a longer duration than men.

If someone has coverage at work but wants earnings to boost benefits to 80 percent salary replacement, the annual cost is typically about 1 percent of the worker’s salary.

Photo Credit: In sickness and in health by dominikgolenia on Flickr

If your boss walked up to you and offered you a raise, would you say no?

That’s exactly what many Canadians are doing every year.

How much money would you give me if I told you I could double it instantly? Probably as much as you could get your hands on. You put 5% of your paycheque into your own personal RRSP, and your company just gives you the same amount… I’m not a math whiz, but I think I know a good deal when I see it!

There isn’t a lot of financial advice one can give that applies as nearly universally as this: if your company is offering you free money, you should take it. For some younger workers, it’s hard to think of the benefits of putting money away today that you won’t use for 30 or 40 years, but believe me when I say that you will be very happy you did. If you are just entering the workforce now, odds are good that you will be retired for nearly as long as you will be working full time. Decisions you make today will have a huge impact on what kind of life you’ll have.

More and more companies have stopped offering their own internally managed pension funds for their employees. They have seen the consequences of massive financial liabilities of their aging workforce; a 2007 report by the UAW showed General Motors had nearly 270,000 retired members collecting pensions and health benefits, and only 74,000 active employees working to generate the money needed to fund those commitments. Some estimates say that every car GM makes has to add $1,600 to the cost just to pay for their current retired employees. People are living, and collecting benefits, longer than ever before, and these “legacy benefits” are becoming a major issue for companies.

In Canada, it is becoming far more common for businesses to offer “defined contributions” to an employee’s RRSP, instead of a “defined benefit” guaranteeing a certain income level in retirement. Not only does this remove the risk of market performance from the employer (“We gave you the money, you picked the investments!”), but in many cases if the employee chooses not to contribute to his own retirement savings, the company doesn’t have to either! Now the employee has lost out twice.

Canadians are being left in charge of far more of their own retirement savings and lifestyle than ever before, and this rejection of the most effective method of planning for retirement is a serious cause for concern. Perhaps it is a lingering belief of “the company/government will take care of me,” perhaps it’s the feeling of needing to hold on to every penny on the paycheque, that makes employees turn down these offered contributions. Some people only listen as far as “you contribute 5% of your salary…” and they don’t think about what they are giving up in return for that little bit of extra cash in their pocket right now.

If you are working for a company that offers RRSP contributions, and for some reason you aren’t taking every penny available, then I implore you: right now, call your boss/manager/HR department or whomever you need to contact, and get it started. If you don’t understand how it works, then ask them to explain, or give us a call. If you run or manage a company that is considering starting an employee contribution plan (or having problems with your current one), then give us a call. It can be set up and managed very easily, and one of our advisors would be happy to show you.

Photo credit: “Money Hand” by Neubie