Download - Decoding the Language of Lump Sum
Lump sum has been gaining a lot of
Traction
in the relocation space
FLEXIBLE ALLOWANCE PLAN CAPPED ALLOWANCE PLAN
Lump SUM WITH RMS
CORE/FLEX
FLEXIBLE ALLOWANCE PLAN CAPPED ALLOWANCE PLAN
Lump SUM WITH RMS
CORE/FLEX
There are clearly of options to
choose from
Out of the $75 billion dollars spent in the U.S. on corporate relocation…
70% of companies use a lump sum distribution policy…
It’s becoming a much more
g u i d e d relocation option
Lump sum amounts didn’t always accurately account for needs:
Car shipment Pet assistance School-finding trips Language training Spousal support
Lump sum amounts didn’t always accurately account for needs:
Car shipment Pet assistance School-finding trips Language training Spousal support
Employers had into what
their employees needed
Where one person might only only $7,000 for their relocation…
…another might need $15,000.
And there was no light being shed on the reasons why.
Story time.
Let us tell you about Relocating Rachel.
Rachel was being relocated from
St. Louis to San Francisco.
Her company gave her $15,000 and said:
“See you in a month!”
Here’s the thing about Rachel. She was strapped
with student debt, so cash was tight.
She decided to take that $15,000 and get
to San Francisco the cheapest way possible, and then pocket the
leftover money.
Bad move, Rachel.
Rachel forewent a homefinding trip, found
the cheapest moving company possible, didn’t
ship her car, and chose not to pay for
any storage.
Turns out the moving company showed up late
and moved really slowly and inefficiently. They even
broke a few of her items.
Then she got in her car, drove through the night,
got to her new apartment, and found
out it wasn’t quite what she was expecting.
It was really small and off the beaten path. She couldn’t fit all of her things in her space,
either. But she didn’t have any storage.
Rachel wasn’t happy. She had to go to her
first day work the next morning, and she hadn’t
unpacked a single box.
Now, Rachel is stressed, unhappy, and uncertain if
she made the right decision by moving across
the country.
All our Relocating Rachel needed was…
It’s situations like this where lump sum’s lack of structure
can really your transferees
When a transferee plans poorly for a relocation…
…they often have to dip into their own funds. This isn’t always feasible, especially since:
2/3 of graduates walk away from college with an average of $26,600 in debt
Don’t let this happen to your transferees. We’ll show you how with 4 types of
guided lump sum options.
FLEXIBLE ALLOWANCE PLAN
what it is: Employers separate the relocation into different categories and assign a maximum amount of spending per category. For example, if a company decides the expenses they are willing to provide reimbursement for include: shipping household goods, short-term housing, traveling expenses, and 2 homefinding trips, they will assign an amount that the employee can spend per category, and the employee can go from there. If they don’t spend all of the allocated money in one specific area, they can transfer the remainder to a different area and spend it there.
Let’s take a look at an example:
FLEXIBLE Allowance Plan
Household Goods -----------$8,000 Short-term Housing-----------$900 Traveling Expenses------------$500 2 Homefinding Trips-----------$2,000 (Actual spending)
Household Goods -----------$10,000 Short-term Housing-----------$700 Traveling Expenses------------$100 2 Homefinding Trips-----------$2,400
FLEXIBLE Allowance Plan
Household Goods -----------$8,000 Short-term Housing-----------$900 Traveling Expenses------------$500 2 Homefinding Trips-----------$2,000 (Actual spending)
Household Goods -----------$10,000 Short-term Housing-----------$700 Traveling Expenses------------$100 2 Homefinding Trips-----------$2,400
Employees can
around as needed
It provides the transferee with some kind of structure…
…without limiting them too much in terms of how much money can be spent per category.
Remember tax implications, too. Some areas of a relocation are tax deductible, so if a transferee takes money away from one of those areas,
and instead puts it towards a taxable area, you might end up
spending more than you bargained for.
FLEXIBLE Allowance Plan
Household Goods -----------$8,000 Short-term Housing-----------$500 Traveling Expenses------------$500 2 Homefinding Trips-----------$2,000 (Actual spending)
Household Goods -----------$6,000 Short-term Housing-----------$500 Traveling Expenses------------$100 2 Homefinding Trips-----------$4,000
exempt from taxes
not exempt from taxes
this combination is actually more expensive
Be open to hearing this plan called
of different things, too.
CAPPED ALLOWANCE PLAN
what it is: Unlike flexible allowance plans, employees cannot transfer funds from one area to another. The employer will often have a policy stating what kinds of things the employee can use the lump sum for, similar to a flexible allowance plan, and if provided, they can use the support of a relocation management software or a relocation consultant to guide them through the process.
One downfall of this plan is that a lot of people don’t know where they are going to need to spend money and how
much of it, so they might reach one cap much quicker than anticipated and one much slower, and this can be stressful.
Additionally, transferees have to be with keeping and
tracking their receipts for reimbursement
This plan is a little more cost effective when comparing it to a flexible allowance plan. You
don’t run into the same sort of issues, specifically related to unforeseen tax expenses.
The main differences?
Watch out for the possible troublesome
areas though:
If the employee doesn’t spend all of what they are given,
leading to unnecessary spending just to reach the amount given
Let’s check out an example of what this policy might look like.
CAPPED Allowance Plan
Household Goods -----------$10,000 Homefinding Trip-------------$300 Car Shipment-----------------$1,000 Short-term Housing----------$500 (Actual spending)
Household Goods -----------$10,000 Homefinding Trip-------------$300 Car Shipment-----------------$1,000 Short-term Housing----------$500
CAPPED Allowance Plan
Household Goods -----------$10,000 Homefinding Trip-------------$300 Car Shipment-----------------$1,000 Short-term Housing----------$500 (Actual spending)
Household Goods -----------$10,000 Homefinding Trip-------------$300 Car Shipment-----------------$1,000 Short-term Housing----------$500
Funds stay and actual spending is the
same as what is allotted
If you choose to reimburse transferees (instead of
giving them the money up front) remember to try and be as quick as possible
with turn around time.
LUMP SUM WITH RMS
A good RMS (relocation management software) can change lump sum from a dangerous trend…
into an overwhelmingly positive one.
what it is: An RMS is an important tool for a few reasons. For one, it provides transferees with an overview of the costs they’ll run into, along with a timeline on when they should be expecting them—ensuring employees don’t end up overspending in one area too soon. It also educates users on tax implications by outlining all potential tax breaks and explaining terms that might new (such as the 50 mile rule, in-transit storage , etc). By housing guides and important documents in an RMS for transferees, it makes this information accessible at all times and allows transferees to take things at their own pace.
don’t forget the power of pairing RMS with
human contact
Relocation specialists deal with lump sum policies on a daily basis,
so they know how to
, saving you a lot of money.
CORE/FLEX
When you ask an employee:
“What are your top 3 concerns for this
relocation?”
1.) Finding a house 2.) Shipping my stuff
They almost always rank their top concerns as:
Enter: core/flex
what it is: With a core/flex approach, employers offer a “core” set of benefits which is covered in full (usually household goods and housing assistance) through direct billing, along with a list of “flex” benefits to use based on needs and seniority (the higher your level, the most flex benefit options you’ll receive). Employers then offer a smaller lump sum which functions similarly to the flexible allowance plan discussed earlier. Transferees get to basically craft their own relocation policy. Having multiple policies for your different transferees is much more realistic and less time consuming with this approach.
It takes time to get the process up and running, but once you have a system in place…
the benefits will far exceed the initial
time spent.
What it looks like:
Core/flex
Household Goods: Covered in Full • Moving Company X • Moving Company Y
Short-term Housing: Covered in Full • Housing provider X • Housing Provider Y
Choose 3 additional benefits:
• Homefinding trip - up to $300 • 30 days of storage - up to $500 • Spousal assistance – up to $800 • Language training – up to $2,000 • Pet assistance – up to $600 • Lifestyle transition assistance – up to $1,500 • Car shipment – up to $2,500
Core/flex
Household Goods: Covered in Full • Moving Company X • Moving Company Y
Short-term Housing: Covered in Full • Housing provider X • Housing Provider Y
Choose 3 additional benefits:
• Homefinding trip - up to $300 • 30 days of storage - up to $500 • Spousal assistance – up to $800 • Language training – up to $2,000 • Pet assistance – up to $600 • Lifestyle transition assistance – up to $1,500 • Car shipment – up to $2,500
This is the
plan of the four.
Where lump sum was once a check and a “good luck!”, it’s moving more towards a structured plan that encourages transactions to be
handled between employer and supplier, instead of the employee. This takes a lot of stress off of your employee’s plate and allows them to
focus on their new career and settling into their new city.
Core/flex will continue to gain traction, just like we’ve seen with lump sum.
Core/flex will continue to gain traction, just like we’ve seen with lump sum.
So stay tuned.
There are a lot of different routes you can take when choosing a lump sum
policy that’s right for your employees.
As long as you dive in and really understand the drawbacks and benefits
of each lump sum plan…
…you’ll have no problem choosing the right one for your company!
Want to learn more?