Our qualifying employees prepare for retirement by participating in the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI), which is among the nation’s strongest retirement programs. It is a hard-to-find, Defined-benefit pension plan that provides life benefits to vested members. Vesting occurs after five years of service, and the employee and employer contribution rates are listed
below:

PERSI website

All employees participating in PERSI also have the option to contribute additional amounts to the PERSI 401(k) Choice plan. Finally, we also offer a 457(b) retirement plan option through Nationwide Insurance for qualifying employees who would like to further contribute to their retirement investments in either a pre-tax or post-tax (Roth) account. Bannock County truly offers many programs in an effort to help employees reach their retirement planning goals.

Bannock County participates in the Government Employees Medical Plan (GemPlan). GemPlan provides health, dental, vision, pharmacy, life, and mental health insurance with low deductibles and employee contributions.

GemPlan website

• Monthly payments are $22 monthly for the employee and $32 for each dependent.
• Yearly deductibles are $500 per individual or $1,000 for the family.

Additional benefits and features can be found in the plan summary.

Medical Flexible Spending Account

We also offer a Flex Spending Account (FSA) that allows employees to save and use pre-tax dollars for qualified medical expenses
such co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles, with a portion of funds allowed to carry over each year.

Bannock County offers several paid and optional life, accidental death, and long-term disability options for employees:

For life insurance, employees who enroll in health, dental, and vision coverage through Gem Plan can also enroll in a paid $10,000 life insurance policy that is doubled to $20,000 in cases of accidental death.

Employees also have paid group life insurance and AD&D coverage through USAble that pay up to 2 times their annual salary, not to exceed $150,000. This paid life coverage can also include $1,500 for a spouse and $1,000 for each child.

Employees can also apply to receive additional voluntary life and AD&D coverage through USAble or NCPERS at an additional cost.

Employees also receive paid Long-term Disability coverage that covers up to 40% of their wages for qualifying events.  Employees can choose to pay additional premiums to be covered at 60% of their wages for qualifying events.

Additional details are at USAble Group Life, USAble Long Term Disability, USAble Voluntary Life, and NCPERS.

Experience a better work-life balance with the following generous paid leave options available:

PTO

New full-time employees receive 20 hours of PTO upon hire for immediate use, but PTO does not pay out upon separation of employment.

Compensatory Time-Off

As a public employer, we can offer approved employees compensatory time-off (comp time) computed at one and a half hours for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Comp time is subject to established approved accrual limits and is to be used before the use of accrued vacation leave.

Vacation Leave

Vacation leave is accrued each pay period when an employee works at least 56 hours. Any excess over 240 hours not used during the year in which it accrues will be forfeited on December 31.

Sick Leave

Sick leave accrues at the rate of 4 hours for each pay period a full-time employee works at least 56 hours. Sick leave can accrue to a maximum of 480 hours for new employees, and no additional sick leave will accrue until the employee’s accrued hours are reduced below the maximum.  Sick leave is not available for pay-out upon separation for employees hired after July 1, 2023.

Full-time and part-time employees enjoy 10 paid holidays each year, with part-time employees receiving 4 hours of pay on each observed paid holiday during the weeks they work. 

Ten official holidays are provided:

1. New Year’s Day – January 1st
2. Martin Luther King, Jr./Idaho Human Rights Day – Third Monday in January
3. Presidents’ Day – Third Monday in February
4. Memorial Day – Last Monday in May
5. Juneteenth – June 19th
6. Independence Day – July 4th
7. Labor Day – First Monday in September
8. Columbus Day – Second Monday in October
9. Veterans Day – November 11th
10. Thanksgiving Day – Fourth Thursday in November
11. Christmas Day – December 25th

Bannock County 2025 Payroll and Holiday Calendar

Bannock County 2026 Payroll and Holiday Calendar

Bannock County also offers additional benefits and perks that employees can enroll in or utilize according to their needs:

• Supplemental coverages are offered through AFLAC that include individual cancer, critical illness, accident, hospitalization, short-term disability, and dental policies.
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA)
• Nurse advice line
• Employee Assistance Program
• Travel Assistance
• Identity Theft Assistance
• Military and jury duty leave
• Health fairs and other wellness activities
• BlueXtras
• Blue365