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Planning Time Off for A Baby? Learn the Lingo Before Your Leave
Welcoming a child – whether through birth, adoption, or foster care – is exciting, emotional, and, yes, can be a little overwhelming. One of the most important things you’ll need to do before the “big day” is figure out how to take time off from work, including: (a) when you can start your leave, (b) for how long, (c) how much pay you’ll receive while on leave, and (d) how/when to apply for benefits.
But with so many different types of benefits and terms (like bonding leave, medical leave, FMLA, MA PFML, and short-term disability) it can feel like another full time job just to get the process started. Don’t worry…keep reading and we’ll walk you through the most common types of employment leave available to new parents in Massachusetts.
Bumping into Roadblocks While Accessing Benefits for a Leave from Work?
Here are three advocacy tips to consider if you’re running into problems while accessing benefits (whether the benefits are administered through personal insurance policies, offered through your job, and/or state-administered programs like the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave program).
Bundle of Joy, Bundle of Benefits: Remember to Review Your Insurance Benefits Before Baby Arrives
When we think of “family planning,” we don’t usually consider making changes to insurance benefits proactively. We think this is a rookie mistake. If your response is, ”But I thought insurance benefits provide coverage for medical appointments and care related to pregnancy, labor and delivery?” Yes, that’s true, but did you know that many types of insurance also cover additional support services for perinatal care? What about other benefits that provide tax-advantaged savings? Or insurance policies that serve as a salary replacement in the event of an unexpected medical crisis?