Employee benefit

"Employee benefits" redirects here. For the classification given by the International Accounting Standards Board, see IAS 19: Employee Benefits.

"Perq" redirects here. For the computer workstation, see PERQ.

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v t e

Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, perqs or perks) are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. In instances where an employee exchanges (cash) wages for some other form of benefit is generally referred to as a 'salary packaging' or 'salary exchange' arrangement. In most countries, most kinds of employee benefits are taxable to at least some degree.

Examples of these benefits include: housing (employer-provided or employer-paid), group insurance (health, dental, life etc.), disability income protection, retirement benefits, daycare, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, vacation (paid and non-paid), social security, profit sharing, funding of education, and other specialized benefits.

The purpose of employee benefits is to increase the economic security of staff members, and in doing so, improve worker retention across the organization.

The term perqs (also perks) is often used colloquially to refer to those benefits of a more discretionary nature. Often, perqs are given to employees who are doing notably well and/or have seniority. Common perqs are take-home vehicles, hotel stays, free refreshments, leisure activities on work time (golf, etc.), stationery, allowances for lunch, and-when multiple choices exist-first choice of such things as job assignments and vacation scheduling. They may also be given first chance at job promotions when vacancies exist.

Canada [edit]

Employee benefits in Canada might include additional health coverage that is not included in the provincial plan (such as medical, prescription, vision and dental plans); Group Disability (STD/LTD), Employee Assistance Plans (EAP), Group Term Life & Accidental Death & Dismemberment, health and dependent care; retirement benefit plans (in addition to Canada Pension Plan (CPP)); and long term care insurance plans; legal assistance plans; transportation benefits; and possibly other miscellaneous employee discounts: wellness programs, discounted shopping, hotels and resorts, and so on.

United States [edit]

Employee benefits in the United States might include relocation assistance; medical, prescription, vision and dental plans; health and dependent care flexible spending accounts; retirement benefit plans (pension, 401(k), 403(b)); group-term life and long term care insurance plans; legal assistance plans; adoption assistance; child care benefits and transportation benefits. Benefits may also include formal or informal employee discount programs that grant workers access to specialized offerings from local and regional vendors (e.g., movies and theme park tickets, wellness programs, discounted shopping, hotels and resorts, and so on). Companies who offer these types of work-life perqs seek to raise employee satisfaction, corporate loyalty, and worker retention by providing valuable benefits that go beyond a base salary figure.

Some fringe benefits (for example, accident and health plans, and group-term life insurance coverage up to US$50,000) may be excluded from the employee's gross income and, therefore, are not subject to federal income tax in the United States. Some function as tax shelters (for example, flexible spending, 401(k) or 403(b) accounts). Fringe benefits are also thought of as the costs of keeping employees other than salary. These benefit rates are typically calculated using fixed percentages that vary depending on the employee’s classification and often change from year to year.

Normally, employer-provided benefits are tax-deductible to the employer and non-taxable to the employee. The exception to the general rule includes certain executive benefits (e.g. golden handshake and golden parachute plans).

American corporations may also offer cafeteria plans to their employees. These plans would offer a menu and level of benefits for employees to choose from. In most instances, these plans are funded by both the employees and by the employer(s). The portion paid by the employees is deducted from their gross pay before federal and state taxes are applied. Some benefits would still be subject to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA), such as 401(k) and 403(b) contributions; however, health premiums, some life premiums, and contributions to flexible spending accounts are exempt from FICA.

If certain conditions are met, employer provided meals and lodging may be excluded from an employee's gross income. If meals are furnished (1) by the employer; (2) for the employer's convenience; and (3) provided on the business premises of the employer they may be excluded from the employee's gross income per section 119(a). In addition, lodging furnished by the employer for its convenience on the business premise of the employer (which the employee is required to accept as a condition of employment) is also excluded from gross income. Importantly, section 119(a) only applies to meals or lodging furnished "in kind." Therefore, cash allowances for meals or lodging received by an employee are included in gross income.

The term "fringe benefits" was coined by the War Labor Board during World War II to describe the various indirect benefits which industry had devised to attract and retain labor when direct wage increases were prohibited.

Employee benefits provided through ERISA are not subject to state-level insurance regulation like most insurance contracts, but employee benefit products provided through insurance contracts are regulated at the state level. However, ERISA does not generally apply to plans by governmental entities, churches for their employees, and some other situations.

United Kingdom [edit]

In the UK, Employee Benefits are categorised by three terms: Flexible Benefits (Flex) and Flexible Benefits Packages, Voluntary Benefits and Core Benefits.

Core Benefits is the term given to benefits which all staff enjoy, such as pension, life insurance, income protection, and holiday.

Flexible benefits, often called a "flex scheme", is where employees are allowed to choose how a proportion of their remuneration is paid or they are given a benefits budget by their employer to spend. Currently around a third of UK employers operate such a scheme. How flexible benefits schemes are structured has remained fairly consistent over the years, although the definition of flex has changed quite a lot since it first arrived in the UK in the 1980s. When flex first emerged, it was run as a formal scheme for a set contract period, through which employees could opt in and out of a selection of employer-paid benefits, select employee-paid benefits, or take the cash. In recent years increasing numbers of UK companies have used the tax and national insurance savings gained through the implementation of salary sacrifice benefits to fund the implementation of flexible benefits. In a salary sacrifice arrangement an employee gives up the right to part of the cash remuneration due under their contract of employment. Usually the sacrifice is made in return for the employer's agreement to provide them with some form of non-cash benefit. The most popular types of salary sacrifice benefits include childcare vouchers and pensions.

A number of external consultancies exist that enable organizations to manage Flex packages and they centre around the provision of an Intranet or Extranet website where employees can view their current flexible benefit status and make changes to their package. Adoption of flexible benefits has grown considerably, with 62% of employers in a 2012 survey offering a flexible benefit package, and a further 21% planning to do so in the future This has coincided with increased employee access to the internet and studies suggesting that employee engagement can be boosted by their successful adoption. Suppliers of flexible benefits technology in the UK include Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, Staffcare, Thomsons Online Benefits and Vebnet. The valuation of Thomsons Online Benefits was at "close to £100m" in 2013.

Voluntary Benefits is the name given to a collection of benefits that employees choose to opt-in for and pay for personally, although, as with flex plans, many employers make use of salary sacrifice schemes where the employee reduces their salary in exchange for the employer paying for the perq. These tend to include benefits such as the government-backed (and therefore tax-efficient) cycle to work, pension contributions and childcare vouchers (providers include Edenred, Busybees, Sodexho, Fideliti, KiddiVouchers, Co-operative Employee Benefits and Early Years Vouchers Ltd) and also specially arranged discounts on retail and leisure vouchers, gym membership and discounts at local shops and restaurants. They can be run in-house or arranged by an external employee benefits consultant.

Fringe benefits tax [edit]

In a number of countries (e.g., Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan) the 'fringe benefits' are subject to the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), which applies to most, although not all, fringe benefits. In India, the fringe benefits tax was abolished in 2009.

In the United States, employer-sponsored health insurance was considered taxable income until 1954.

Disadvantages [edit]

In the UK these benefits are often taxed at the individual's normal tax rate, which can prove expensive if there is no financial advantage to the individual from the benefit.

The UK system of state pension provision is dependent upon the payment of National Insurance Contributions (NIC). Salary exchange schemes will result in reduced NIC payments and so are also liable to reduce the state benefits, most notably the state second pension.

References [edit]

"BLS Information". Glossary. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Information Services. February 28, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
Abenity: What Does It Cost To Replace An Employee?
"What Is An Employee Discount Program?", Abenity .
Tax topics, IRS .
Ford, J (1995), "State-Mandated Employee Benefits: Conflict with Federal Law?", Monthly Labor Review, "Questia" .
"ERISA", Health Plans & Benefits Employee Retirement Income Security Act, US: DOL .
March 7, 2011 author Employee Benefits magazine
Aon Hewitt Benefits Administration Survey 2012
Personnel Today: Reward and benefits of perks over pay rises for improving employee engagement
employee benefits: Which flex technology providers have the biggest market share?
Money Marketing: US private equity firm takes majority stake in Thomsons Online Benefits
"New income-tax rules on perks to replace FBT notified". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 22 December 2009.
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and Health Reform at National Bureau of Economic Research.
490 (2008) Employee Travel - A tax and NICs guide for employers

External links [edit]

Website for UK based Employee Benefits magazine, published by Centaur
Fundamentals of Employee Benefit Programs (book available on-line), Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), covers benefit programs in the US
Website for the Employee Benefit Research Institute, covers health and retirement benefits in the United States

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Information source: wikipedia.org

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