Creating and Managing Benefits in Keka

Introduction

Managing employee benefits effectively is essential for both compliance and employee satisfaction. In the U.S., offering comprehensive health and financial benefits is a key part of attracting and retaining top talent. Keka's payroll system allows you to integrate, configure, assign, and manage these benefits easily and accurately.

This guide walks you through how to set up and manage health and financial benefits in Keka, from selecting carriers to assigning plans to employees.

Types of Benefits in Keka

Keka supports two main types of employee benefits:

• Health Benefits-
  Includes medical, dental, and vision plans. These can be tailored to your team’s needs and integrated with various insurance providers.
• Financial Benefits-
  Covers retirement savings plans like 401(k), 403(b), Roth IRAs, and more. These help employees plan for long-term financial stability.

Benefit Integration in Keka

Keka offers direct integration with leading benefits carriers to simplify plan management:

• SimplyInsured: Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• Guideline: Retirement and financial planning services

• Next: Business insurance solutions

Setting Up Integrations

1. When setting up benefits for the first time, you'll see the option to connect with a broker.

2. Choose your preferred carrier (SimplyInsured, Guideline, or Next).

3. You'll be redirected to the carrier's website to either:

   • Purchase a new plan, or

   • Log in and link your existing plan.

     

Important: Transactions and services continue to be handled through the carrier. Keka stores and syncs benefit details for easy payroll integration.

Creating a New Benefit in Keka

1. Go to the Payroll tab and select Benefits.

2. Click Create benefits.

3. Choose the type of benefit: Health or Financial.

4. Proceed to configure the selected benefit type.

Adding Health Benefits

You can set up the following types of health benefits in Keka:

• Medical Insurance: Standard medical coverage under a Section 125 Cafeteria plan.

• Supplemental Medical: Covers expenses not included in the primary plan.

• Flexible Spending Account – Dependent Care (FSA): Covers childcare or eldercare costs.

• Flexible Spending Account – Medical (FSA): Covers medical expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Health Savings Account (HSA): For employees on a high-deductible health plan.

• Vision: Covers eye exams, glasses, contacts, and corrective procedures.

• Dental: Covers routine and advanced dental care.

Entering Benefit Details

• Carrier: Select from the dropdown list.

• Benefit Name: Add a clear, descriptive name.

• Description: Describe what’s covered.

• Period: Choose how often the benefit applies (e.g., per pay frequency or monthly).

• Start and End Dates: Define the active benefit period.

  

Setting Contribution Details

• Employee Contribution: Enter the amount or percentage employees contribute.

• Employer Contribution: Enter the company’s contribution.

• Note: Percentage-based contributions are available only if the period is set to "per pay frequency".

Click Save to finish setting up the benefit.

Assigning Benefits to Employees

After creating a benefit:

1. Click Assign to Employees on the benefit summary screen.

   

2. A list of eligible employees will appear.

3. Select individuals or use bulk selection.

4. Click Assign Employees.

5. Set the Start Date and End Date, then click Confirm & Assign.

Adding Financial Benefits

Keka supports the following financial benefits:

• 401(k): Pre-tax retirement savings plan.

• 403(b): For employees of schools and non-profits.

• Roth 401(k): Contributions are made after tax; withdrawals are tax-free in retirement.

• Roth 403(b): Same as Roth 401(k) but for non-profit or public sector employees.

• IRA (Individual Retirement Account): Tax-deferred savings; SIMPLE IRA also supported.

• Disability/Leave: Provides income during illness or injury.

• Group Term Life Insurance: Life insurance offered to employees at reduced or no cost.

  

Entering Benefit Details

1. Benefit Name: Use a descriptive name.

2. Description: Include what’s covered and relevant info.

3. Period: Choose between monthly or per pay frequency.

4. Start and End Dates: Set the coverage duration.

   

Setting Contribution Details

• Employee Contribution: Define the amount or percentage.

• Employer Contribution: Define your organization’s share.

• Note: Percentage-based contributions apply only if "per pay frequency" is selected.

Click Save to finalize the benefit.

To assign these financial benefits to employees, follow the same steps listed in the “Assigning Benefits” section above.

Managing Existing Benefits

All created benefits are listed under the Benefits section in Keka.

• Health Benefits appear under their own tab.

• Financial Benefits are listed separately.

1. Click the dropdown arrow to expand or collapse each section.

• For each benefit, you can view:

  • Benefit name

  • Number of employees enrolled

  • Start and end dates

  • Actions menu for edits

    

  2. Click the three-dot menu to:

• Assign new employees

• Edit benefit details

• Delete the benefit (only possible if no employees are currently enrolled)

  

With Keka, you can easily manage these offerings in one integrated platform—from plan creation and carrier integration to assignment and payroll synchronization. Use the benefits module to give your team the support they need, while ensuring full compliance with labor laws and tax regulations.