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What Happens To Google Employees When They Die?
Hugh Pickens writes "Forbes Magazine reports that employee benefits of Google are among the best in the land—free haircuts, gourmet food, on-site doctors and high-tech "cleansing" toilets are among the most talked-about but the latest perk for Googlers extends into the afterlife. 'This might sound ridiculous,' says Google's Chief People Officer Laszlo Bock, 'But we've announced death benefits at Google.' Should a U.S. Googler pass away while under the employ of the 14-year old search giant, their surviving spouse or domestic partner will receive a check for 50% of their salary every year for the next decade. Even more surprising, a Google spokesperson confirms that there's 'no tenure requirement' for this benefit, meaning most of their 34 thousand Google employees qualify."
My company offers insurance benefits too, but they don't pay all of the cost.
This is mere marketroid speak for life insurance.
My company, in the finanacial sector, subsidizes almost-free life insurance (~$20/month) that pays out 5x my salary - which is more or less 50% over tens years.
Had they need of attracting talent, they could swallow that lously $20 and just market it as FREE MONEY.
That's subsidized by the company. Is this really news? It's also not what most financial advisors tell you to get from full coverage if you purchase your own, either. Standard is 10 years of full salary - a Googler can always purchase more to make up the difference.
Light a fire for a man and he'll be warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
and it's part of social security here (of course you get to pay a couple EURs a month for the privilege). But I guess this over-the-top socialist expropriation of financial assets doesn't resonate with the you folks across the ocean... but it does qualify for a good bullet point in the "benefits" employment contract section. Yep, us european are decadent spoilt brats... :P
Mi domando chi à il mandante di tutte le cazzate che faccio - Altan
This is life insurance. I assume Google also offers a retirement package, but that's different.
Like many people, I too wonder what happens after death, even to Google employees. Do they go to Heaven or Hell? Do they get uploaded to the web? Do they just expire? Inquiring minds want to know.
One thing is for sure, the dead people don't get money from Google because Google is giving that money to someone else.
Google could have this benefit in lieu of paying for policies that pay a multiple of the annual salary like some other companies have. Or they could have policies on the employees that pay Google 10x the salary and they're sharing 50% of that as the as the primary benefit, the remainder funding the benefits for children that carry on until they're 19 (or 23)
What's interesting is that the article says the 50% pay benefit is for spouses or domestic partners, doesn't mentioned beneficiaries. If that's accurate then single employees don't have the same benefit paid out to anyone. That would be different than an insurance policy where you can designate the recipient. The article says that this company benefit would apply to most of their 34k employees, but that would only be the case if most of the employees had partners and/or children.
That's essentially a company-paid life insurance policy of 5x annual salary (slightly less, actually, since it's annuitized). When I worked as a call center grunt shortly out of college, we were given a 1x annual salary term life insurance policy paid for by the company. With an option of paying something like $0.35/month for 3x annual salary term life insurance.
This is really not the crazy-off-the-wall benefit that it's being made out to be. It's good, to be sure, but not unheard of.
Recommended to the spirit in the sky...
It makes sense for several reasons. First, group insurance rates are lower than what a person would get individually. Second, it's such a good idea for most people that it makes sense to ensure everyone has it. There might also be tax advantages, and apparently Google is trying to get some good PR too.
Making healthcare and pension pre-tax encourages employers to offer them, which is good for society in the long run. I wouldn't call them subsidies, but I suppose if you think the government should provide everything cradle to grave you could view it that way.
Or rather they are cheaper for low-risk groups. And Google employees are young (but not too young), well-educated, eat healthy foods from the Google Cafeteria, work out on office time in the office gym, and never drive their Priuses over the speed limit. That's got to be one of the lowest risk groups in the world.
How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Ocean.
I'd suspect that the average age of an employee at Google or most tech companies is so low compared to the rest of the business world that they expect to rarely pay out anything. If most of their workforce were expected to stick around till retirement age and it would actually cost them significant bucks due to natural causes versus accidental causes, I doubt they would be offering this benefit.
Just my cynical 2c worth
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/end-of-life-financial-study-0803.html
Most Americans die with less than $10,000 in assets. Typical life insurance pays less than $250,000 and hardly anything outside of government employees get pensions anymore. Even then, pensions aren't safe as several have been wiped out due to the 2008 stock market crash or through bankruptcy. 401k personal retirement funds are the norm or most people and they have tax benefits along with 25% - 100% matching funds from your employer but more and more people either cannot afford to pay into them or are actively borrowing against them. After 2 years of unemployment, my 401k is empty.
I am 40, employed with a very shaky job at $35k less than I was making before and no retirement, no health care, and am racking up debt to pay for more college as I try to get a masters degree to be more employable. My plan is to GTFO of the US and go some place where quality of life is the focus and not on corporate profits... Mars, maybe?
[RIAA] says its concern is artists. That's true, in just the sense that a cattle rancher is concerned about its cattle.
Making healthcare and pension pre-tax encourages employers to offer them, which is good for society in the long run.
Is it really good for society? My company has a 401k pension plan with an employer match. Nearly all well-paid employees participate, and basically quadruple their money (the match doubles it, the tax break roughly doubles it again). But the warehouse crew and other low paid employees participate at a much lower rate, or participate for a while and then drop out and withdraw all their money so they can pay 75% in penalties and use the other 25% to buy a big screen TV or whatever. When they drop out, their unvested matching money is distributed to the other (mostly high salaried) participants. As far as I can see, our 401k plan is just a scheme for tax dollars to go into the pockets of relatively well-off people. The vesting requirement also coerces people into sticking with an unhappy job, instead of seeking other alternatives where they may be happier and more productive.
I am not sure employer funded healthcare is good for society either. If individuals pay for their own care, they have a clear incentive to balance costs and benefits. If the government pays for healthcare, they have the incentive and power to control costs as well. But individual businesses have little power over insurance companies, and when an employee goes to a doctor, the employee has little concern for cost. So we get medical cost inflation that is double the CPI.
During the communist days in China, each factory would run their own schools for the children of their workers. If you changed jobs, and started working at a different factory, your kids had to change schools. That seems insane to us, but does it really make any more sense for your employer to choose your doctor or life insurance?
I think my missus gets 3.5x my salary as a lump sum.
Makes me wonder when I see she has "innocently" abandoned a pair of her shoes at the top of the stairs..