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Abbott-Langer & Associates Business Glossary

This glossary of business definitions contains over 2,000 business terms used in compensation and benefits administration. Continually updated, this specialized business dictionary focuses on definitions of Human Resources terms and business terms.

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Gainsharing / Gain-Sharing

This type of variable pay ties bonuses or salary increases to increased productivity (vs. profit increases). This is performance-based incentive pay.

Gatekeeper

The primary care provider responsible for managing medical treatment rendered to an enrollee of a health plan. Alternatively, this term has been used to describe third party monitoring of care to avoid excessive costs by allowing only appropriate and necessary care to be rendered.

GED

General educational development, and/or general equivalency diploma.

Gender Discrimination

Gender is one of the protected groups under the Civil Rights Act. Thus gender, in and of itself, may not be used in a whole range of human resource decisions regarding employees. In addition, the Equal Pay Act prohibits paying men and women differently for the same or substantially similar jobs, and Title IX prohibits discrimination by gender in educational institutions.

General Account

A margin account provided to a customer by a brokerage, in Federal Reserve Board terminology. Regulation T requires that all transactions involving credit given to the customer must be made in a general account.

General Agent

One who is authorized by a principal to represent the principal in a specific range of matters.

General Asset Plan

A type of self-funding arrangement in which benefit claims from nonqualified plans are paid from current operating revenues. Supporting assets are commingled with the employer's other assets. Fiduciary standards and reporting and disclosure requirements apply.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

Accounting practices mandated by recognized rule-making authorities.

Geographic Differential

A numerical value representing the comparison of position pay in a particular geographic location to the national average for the same job.

Geographic Salary Differentials

The percent difference between pay levels for an occupation in two or more geographic areas. Due to the demand for and supply of labor, an employee may be paid more or less depending on where she works. This makes setting branch-office salaries complicated, as they must be adjusted for the local labor market pricing (and in some cases the local cost of living). ERI's Geographic Assessor and Salary Assessor software aid in planning salaries for positions in multiple locations. See www.erieri.com.

GI Rider

Guaranteed Insurability Rider is an insurance policy in which the insurer is required to renew the policy for a specified amount of time regardless of changes to the health of the insured. The agreement requires that premiums are paid on time and that the insurer makes no changes except if a premium change is made for an entire class of policyholders.

Glass Ceiling Analysis

Refers to the analysis of how well (or poorly) women and minorities are doing at moving upwards in organizations. A Glass Ceiling Commission was authorized by law to study artificial barriers to the advancement of women and minorities in the workforce and to recommend means of overcoming such barriers.

Golden Handcuffs

Rewards and penalties designed to discourage key employees from leaving a company.

Golden Parachutes

A clause in an executive's employment contract specifying that he/she will receive large benefits in the event that the company is acquired and the executive's employment is terminated. These benefits can take the form of severance pay, a bonus, stock options, or a combination thereof.

Goodwill

Reputation for a product or service standard. A company's value over and above the physical property and accounts receivables.

Grace Period

A specified period after a premium payment is due, in which the policyholder may make such payment, and during which the protection of the policy continues.

Graded Premium Whole Life Insurance

A form of modified life insurance that provides for annual increases in premiums for a constant face amount of insurance during a defined preliminary period, with the purpose of making initial payments more affordable.

Graded Vesting

A vesting schedule under which an employee is partially vested, typically 25%, after a certain number of years of service, with the vesting schedule increasing until full vesting is achieved.

Grant Date

The date that a stock option term begins and the option become effective.

Green Circle Rate

An individual rate that is below the minimum of the established pay range for a specific job or pay grade.

Gross Income

Total income produced by a property before any expenses are deducted.

Gross Margin

With regard to an adjustable rate mortgage, an amount expressed as percentage points, stated in the note which is added to the current index value on the rate adjustment date to establish a new note rate.

Gross Premium

The premium paid by the policyholder.

Group Annuity

A pension program underwritten and administered by an insurance company. Normally uses the unit benefit method of funding. Plan participants are covered under one contract the employer pays premiums on their behalf.

Group Creditor Life Insurance

Life insurance issued to the creditor on the lives of debtors to pay the amount of the indebtedness in the event of death. Used frequently by lending and other financial institutions to eliminate problems of collection from a deceased's estate.

Group Deferred Annuity

A funding instrument wherein the insurance company, for a stipulated fee for each participant's benefit, will guarantee the purchase rates of the future annuity and will administer the plan.

Group Incentive

A material incentive provided to all members of a work group to reward the group's collective performance.

Group Insurance

Any insurance plan under which a number of employees and their dependents are insured under a single master policy, issued to their employer or to an association, with individual certificates given to each insured individual. The most commonly written lines are health life and accident.

Group Legal Services

It is a plan, which establishes a fund providing legal services for an employee or union, association or organization member as a fringe benefit.

Group Life Insurance

Group life insurance is part of an increasing number of workplace benefit packages. Most group life insurance policies offer term life coverage, but individual states in the U.S. usually insist that companies allow employees to change their life insurance policies from term to permanent when employees leave their jobs. The individuals then pay premiums to the insurer. Federal requirements for group life insurance include: (1) The policy must provide a general death benefit. (2) The policy must cover a "group of employees." (3) The policy must be carried directly or indirectly by the employer. (4) The amount of insurance must be computed under a formula precluding individual selection.

Group Life Insureds

In Canada, the persons who are insured by a group life insurance contract. Usually called 'insureds' in the United States.

Group Paid Up Insurance

A combination life insurance plan under which each employee's annual contribution is used as a single premium to buy a unit of paid-up insurance, while the employer's contribution is used to buy group term coverage. On termination of employment, the employee may take paid-up insurance or receive a refund of contributions or the cash surrender value of the paid-up insurance.

Group Permanent Insurance

A group insurance plan in which the whole life policy purchased provides death benefits to the employee's survivors in the event of premature death. Upon retirement, the cash value can be used to provide income to the employee.

Group Practice Model

An HMO that contracts with a single multispecialty medical group to provide care to the HMO's membership. The group practice may work exclusively with the HMO, or it may provide services to non-HMO patients as well. The HMO pays the medical group a negotiated, per capita rate, which the group distributes among its physicians, usually on a salaried basis.

Group Representative

An individual that represents an insurance company in the capacity of sales.

Group RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan)

A contractual arrangement registered under Section 146 of the Income Tax Act between an individual and an insurer, trust company or corporation authorized to accept payments from an individual or his her spouse for the purpose of providing a retirement income for that individual or his or her spouse by, upon maturation of the plan, purchase of a prescribed form of annuity or transfer of the plan assets to a registered retirement income fund (RRIF). Subject to prescribed maximums, such contributions made by a resident of Canada having earned income are deductible for income tax purposes.

Group Term Life Insurance

A plan qualifying under Code Section 79 to provide employees with employer-paid life insurance coverage at little or no tax cost.

Group Universal Life Plan

A form of group life insurance that combines term protection for designated beneficiaries with an investment element for the policyholder, which can be used to create nontaxable permanent insurance or to accumulate tax-deferred capital. Participation is entirely voluntary and the employee pays all premiums.

Guarantee

The assumption of responsibility for payment of a debt or performance of some obligation if the liable party fails to perform to expectations.

Guaranteed Annual Wage (GAW)

A provision in a contract with an employer guaranteeing the employee a minimum income or work over a period of one year.

Guaranteed Income Supplement(GIS)

A nontaxable monthly benefit paid to lower-income OAS recipients on the basis of family income.

Guaranteed Insurability Rider (GI)

A rider now offered on most life insurance policies whereby additional insurance may be purchased at specified future times without a medical examination or other evidence of insurability. Rates are based on attained age at time of purchase.

Guaranteed Investment Contract

A deposit arrangement entered into with an insurance company, which guarantees both the principal and interest repayments. It is a type of annuity contract, not a marketable security. The amount deposited can be a single sum or a stream of monies deposited over a specified and limited period of time. Similarly, the deposit plus the guaranteed interest paid thereon can be repaid in a single sum or installments. Expenses related to the contract arrangement can be charged against the guaranteed interest payments or paid separately by the contract holder.

Guaranteed Issue Insurance

The insurer will issue up to some stipulated amount of insurance for each individual employee without evidence of insurability. The requirements are usually based on size of group and distribution by ages, and individual insurers decide on amounts.

Guaranteed Renewable Policy

An insurance policy, which is guaranteed renewable provided premiums are paid. The policy conditions remain unchanged although the insurers may review premium rates.

Guaranty Association

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico require licensed insurers to assume some of an insolvent insurance company's policyholder liabilities. Guaranty associations are the mechanism by which solvent insurers bail out the policyholders of companies that fails. The lines of insurance covered by guaranty associations and the maximum amount paid on any claim vary considerably from one state to another. In most states, two different guaranty associations cover life and health insurance lines and property/casualty lines.

Guide To Buying Life Insurance

In Canada, a written statement developed by the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA). The guide describes the types of life insurance available, so that prospects for life insurance can compare the advantages and disadvantages of each type of policy.

Guidelines Governing Group Accident And Sickness Insurance

In Canada, Superintendents' Guidelines that regulate several aspects of group health insurance contracts, including the types of groups to which a group health insurance contract may be issued and the particulars that must be included in the certificate issued to each person insured by the contract.

Guidelines Governing Group Life Insurance

In Canada, a set of guidelines issued by the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators. The guidelines specify, among other things, the types of groups eligible for group life insurance.