Employee Benefits Plans Employee benefits have a significant financial and administrative impact not just on a business, but for an employee as well. The educated American work force has come to expect a comprehensive benefits program; the absence or inadequacy of such a program can seriously hinder a company's ability to attract and retain the best personnel. Designing the right benefit plan for you as an employee, is a complex task that includes taxes, legal aspects, funding, and selection of vendors and/or administrators.

What is an Employee Benefit Plan? An employee benefit plan protects a company's employees and their families from economic hardship brought on by sickness, disability, death, or unemployment; it can also provide retirement income to you and your family; and it provides a system of leave or time off from work. A comprehensive benefit plan usually includes health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, retirement plan, flexible compensation (cafeteria plans), and leave from work. Broadly defined, a benefit plan can include other components such as bonuses, service awards, reimbursement of employee educational expenses, and other benefits appropriate to employee responsibility. Why Employers Offer Employees Benefits? Here are some of the reasons employers offer benefits: To attract and hold capable personnel. To keep up with competition. To foster good morale. To provide opportunities for advancement and promotion as older workers retire. A combination of benefits programs is the most effective and efficient means of meeting employees' economic security needs. For many employers, a benefit plan is an integral part of total compensation, because employers either pay the entire cost of a benefit plan or have employee