SanDiegogirl

Unless he has a special arrangement, his employer will have a health plan into which both employer and employee pay monthly premiums.
In addition to this monthly cost to your husband, you will probably be paying for deductibles and co-pays when you receive treatment.
The plan may or may not cover dental and vision needs.
This is another cost you need to budget for.

Nutmegger

There are employers who will pay the full premiums for an employee for both an HI plan and a dental/vision plan, no contribution required. But then, the employee is indeed responsible for the excess over what the plan covers and what the doctor visit/procedure costs.

SanDiegogirl

Yes, I know that there are some employers who will pay both employer and employee premiums; these are the exception though.
As the OP applied for the transfer themselves and is NOT getting a relocation package I thought they are more likely to be paying for their insurance costs.
The OP also mentioned that in the UK one might get private health cover as a benefit and one is taxed on that; that's not how it works in the US.

Steerpike

Just to be clear, the employer has contracted with a health insurance company to provide all employees (and their families) with a health insurance policy, which incurs a regular 'premium'. The insurance premiums typically vary based on 'self', 'self+spouse', 'self+spouse+dependent children'. Many companies provide 100% coverage for the 'self' (employee) portion, but 0% for spouse and children components - and in such cases, the premium for the 'spouse' and 'children' portion is passed on to the employee as a payroll deduction. If you work for a 'generous' or 'competitive' company (quite typical in high-tech / bio-tech companies in the Bay Area, less typical in general), they often cover 100% of ALL the premium, even if you are covering spouse+dependent children. If that is the case with your spouse's employee, that's great. There is no tax implication for this as long as it is a uniform benefit to all employees of that company. If, however, the company typically covers 100% of the premium for employee but not spouse/children, but in your case is additionally covering the spouse/children premium (as a negotiated 'perk'), that would likely be considered a taxable benefit. These premiums are not trivial - they can easily be in the $2,000+/mo realm. As a slight aside, California extends these benefits to 'domestic partners' but the Federal Government does not, so if you were DPs but not married, there would be tax implications.

Remember also, all the above applies simply to the 'premiums' - the cost of insurance coverage. Actual 'use' (doctor/hospital visits, etc) incurs costs based on the schedules laid out in the actual insurance policy, and is between you and the insurance company, with no involvement of the employer. Typical high-tech employers tend to negotiate good 'plans' with the insurance companies, but you are still likely to be liable for per-visit copays, and for meeting deductibles, etc. Deductibles in the thousands are not uncommon. And God help you if you go 'out of network'.

It's good to bring up dental and vision; No company I've ever encountered does NOT provide dental and vision, but - dental coverage is typically crap even with the best employers. Cleanings and a few fillings are likely to be 'covered' (maybe at 80%) but extractions, root canals, bridges, crowns, braces - expect to pay out of pocket for all those! Similarly with vision - you'll get a 'free' exam, and an 'allowance' for frames, but expect to pay hundreds for anything decent (or go to Costco, or use 'Eye Buy Direct' ... a whole other topic ...).

From what I'm reading here they'll be getting full premium coverage but you are right - for actual services, you can end up paying way more than 'contracted rates', especially if you go outside of the 'network'; a concept that is probably alien to someone using the NHS. The OP is going to need to understand HMO vs PPO, at the very least.

Steerpike

I over-estimated many of the numbers in my post (eg, our Gas + Electricity bill ranges from $60 to $220/mo only for a 1,400 sq foot condo, but I put $400/mo in my estimate above - the climate is very mild here). I also think that $1,500/mo is a crazy number for food; we eat out all the time and spend about 1,000/mo on food). But car insurance is crazy, and some other things are going to be a shock so best to over-estimate!

SanDiegogirl

Why do you assume they will be getting full premium coverage by the employer?
The OP does not appear to know how health insurance in the US works, (asking about tax on a benefit) so nothing she has said gives that impression.
The OP is NOT getting any relocation package, so, personally, I would be surprised if they get full premiums coverage.

Steerpike

I was thinking it was that way for all my jobs in the Bay Area, but I just looked at my last 'employee' gig paperwork and it was not the case. They had this payment schedule per paycheck, so I was wrong:

I'm trying to find online info for typical bay area companies but it's not easy to find. "Glassdoor" apparently cover 100% employee, 80% dependents, but not much else is forthcoming. So now I'm thinking 100% coverage for dependent insurance is not the norm, even for the 'highly competitive' companies. I did put, in my 'estimate' above for expenses, an allowance for $1,000/mo of medical premium so that may still be good advice! And it could be over $1,000/mo for a whole family.

The key for the OP is to understand the difference between the 'provision' or 'availability' of insurance and the payment of the premiums, as I explained in my earlier post above.

A quick bit of research suggests a few companies do cover 100% of dependent premiums, but not that many. Bill and Melinda Gates foundation: "100 percent healthcare premium coverage to employees, spouses, domestic partners and dependents"; Boston Consulting Group "provides full healthcare premium coverage for all eligible employees ... and any family members enrolled in its insurance plan." Ultimate Software "offers a full benefits package with no-cost healthcare premiums for its employees and their spouses, domestic partners and eligible dependents". Finding others that offer this is not easy.

But several offer less than 100% - GoDaddy: " 100-percent healthcare premium coverage policy on the first day of employment. Dependents and spouses are afforded 50 percent coverage"; Kimley Horn "pays its employees healthcare coverage in full and that of their partners and dependents at a reduced, 90-percent rate." and so on ...

N1cky

Hi, I haven’t been on BE for a long time - came to look for something specific and of course got distracted.

I live in Mountain View, right on the Los Altos border. It’s a long time since I had to deal with the school district here, but they wouldn’t engage with me before we actually moved here either. You are just assigned a school in the catchment area, but they do have to give you a place - they will only do this with a signed lease though not a Airbnb/hotel. As well as looking at that take a look at charter schools - Bullis in Los Altos particular. (Charter schools are free). I wasn’t a huge fan of the public school system, but it works very well for a lot of kids/families here.

Burlingame is very commutable from Los Altos and he can also choose to get the train from San Antonio station (around 40 mins). It is expensive here, but you don’t need to be earning the numbers being thrown around in this thread - if your husbands salary begins with a 2 you’ll be ok if it begins with a 3 you’ll be comfortable enough. People move for all kinds of reasons and it’s not always about making bank.

Housing is competitive, but $6k is in the right ballpark for a decent rental.

Good Luck!

MMcD

Hey N1cky...great to "see' you again....and to have your voice of reason plus first hand experience to counter the absurdity of some of the preposterous nonsense posted in this thread..

PetrifiedExPat

Making bank with this type of move should be priority #1. Starting with 2 or 3? Rent at 6k? Oh dear oh dear.

As long as 401k or any other type of savings are off the cards, great....

retzie

Why? People move for all kinds of reasons.

PetrifiedExPat

I wouldn't want anyone to move here strapped for cash or poor. Cash is king in the States, and will only continue in that way. Rich : poor divide is growing and will not stop anytime soon.

That is just me. I would say this is hyperinflated in CA more than anywhere else.

Pulaski

Thank you for agreeing with me, as that is pretty much what I think (high) two's is just about doable, three's would be better. People seem confused because I added that I wouldn't move for more. If you're currently living in a "making do" situation then maybe "making do" in the SF area doesn't look like such a bad idea.

As I noted previously, above, with two children in a private school in the UK, I got the impression that Bellybratz and her family were looking for more than a "making do" situation in SF. Maybe I am wrong.
​​​​​​ So you think it's OK to spend 50% of your net pay on rent? Objectively that makes no sense, locking in the use of so much of your net income on housing alone.
They're going to need some if their gross income is less than about $250k.

PetrifiedExPat

Again I agree with the above. Yes the private school comment re: lifestyle in the UK made me think that scraping by and calling it a win is not in their mindset. At least I hope not!

Steerpike

You just introduced the term 'objectively'. I would argue that your point is entirely subjective; in your mind, spending 50% on rent doesn't make sense but if the income is there to support it, why not? 'Objectively'? Is your argument that you could go somewhere else that's cheaper? Jobs that are available in this area aren't commodities that can be found anywhere. The area is a bio-tech and high-tech powerhouse, with many unique opportunities to work at the forefront of science. The area is second in the country in terms of bio-tech companies (after Boston), and leader in terms of high-tech companies (especially for AI positions). So it's not like you could just find that same job in a lower-cost area of the country. This page shows which regions of the US receive the most venture-capital funding, for some perspective

(yes, I realize that the 'Research Triangle' in North Carolina has some significant Bio-Tech and High-Tech activity, but it's dwarfed by the activity in the Bay Area).

So - if there's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a 'senior scientist' for a company like Genentech, or for OpenAI, you don't have much of a choice as to where you live - you go where the jobs are.