Retrospective Rating for Beginners by a Beginner

What is Retro? 

Retro is smart gambling. Like poker, employers who participate in Retro put money into a pot and at a certain point they can either profit from their gamble or they can lose money. If it’s like gambling, then why is it beneficial? Everyone knows that gambling comes with serious risk, so why would anyone want to partake in Retro? Retro mitigates the inherent risk of gambling in a few ways to make it safer and more beneficial to employers than simply putting it all on black. Retro has a support system. When you’re in a Retro group, you’re not alone. Even when you put money into the pot, it’s a pot filled with money from other employers. When gambling on your own, if you do bad, you lose money. In Retro, the money you get back is based on the group's performance as a whole, so if one person does bad you may still get money back.

Can Anyone Join? 

Anyone can do retro by themselves,, but not everyone can join Retro group. You must have certain qualifications like being an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) member and making $25,000 in premium...wait what even is premium? I guess premium is like how much you pay to L&I for workers comp’ insurance? Why couldn’t they just say that. Anyways, I digress. Retro is like a VIP club. There are rules that everyone must follow otherwise you could get kicked out of the club. That brings me to my next question. Who kicks people out? Who maintains order in the club? Well, that would be the Retro committee. They are made up of other employers participating in retro. The Retro committee is like the bouncers. They let people in and they can kick people out. Unlike bouncers, the Retro committee is a democracy. They vote on pretty much everything, so everyone is always in an agreement. Someone broke the rules? The retro committee votes on whether they should stay or be kicked out, and a majority rules. 

Refunds 

Refunds are when you get your money back. Simple, right? Nope! Retro refunds can be very confusing. In Retro, you have a plan year. At the end of the plan year you have to wait for a period of time. Then you get 100% of your refund back, but if you’re in a group, you don’t just get it all at once. There are three adjustments to each plan year. If you received all of your money at the first adjustment and then at the second you’dhave to give some back, that would be sad. So, the bouncers we mentioned give you some of your money at the first adjustment, more at second and the remainder plus interest at the third. 

Where does the Refund Money Come From? 

L&I manages all the premiums employers pay, so how do they refund money back to employers in retro. L&I says that people in retro are safer than those who are not, so they take the difference in claim costs between retro and non-retro and use the difference to pay refunds.  

Miscellaneous 

Retro groups are a part of a larger organization like ABC. However, if a company is big enough, they can start their own Retro group and operate on their own terms. This can be very beneficial but potentially riskier depending on how the company performs. Retro is also more than just getting money. Being an ABC member alone gets you safety training, 24/7 support, and many other benefits just like being in a private club. As an employer, you don’t need to be good at everything an employer does, but you should know how to get in touch with people who are experts in the field. Similar to how companies have a financial advisor, ABC, and Aspire are there to assist employers in anything and everything that they need help with in regards to retro and construction.