Total fringe benefits

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ECS-001947",
  "term": "Total fringe benefits",
  "field": "Economic statistics",
  "term_source": "Total Fringe Benefits",
  "definitions": [
    "This item is the employer's costs for social security tax, unemployment tax, workmen's compensation insurance, state disability insurance pension plans, stock purchase plans, union-negotiated benefits, life insurance premiums, and insurance premiums on hospital and medical plans for employees. Fringe benefits are divided into legally required expenditures and payments for voluntary programs. The legally required portion consists primarily of federal old age and survivors' insurance, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation. Payments for voluntary programs include all programs not specifically required by legislation, whether they are employer initiated or the result of collective bargaining. They include the employer portion of such plans as insurance premiums, premiums for supplemental accident and sickness insurance, pension plans, supplemental unemployment compensation, welfare plans, stock purchase plans on which the employer payment is not subject to withholding tax, and deferred profit-sharing plans. They exclude such items as company-operated cafeterias, in-plant medical services, free parking lots, discounts on employee purchases, and uniforms and work clothing for employees.",
    "($1,000) The total sum of fringe benefits of all non-leased full-time and part-time employees on the payrolls of firms during any part of the year. Includes expenditures made by the employer for legally required and voluntary fringe benefit programs for employees. The legally required portion consists primarily of federal old age and survivors' insurance, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation. Payments for voluntary programs include all programs not specifically required by legislation, whether they were employer initiated or the result of collective bargaining. They exclude such items as losses on company-operated cafeterias and snack bars, cost of in-plant medical services, cost of free parking lots, discounts on employee purchases, cost of uniforms and other work clothing supplied to employees and similar expenditures, and wages and salaries reported in payroll (holidays, vacations, sick pay, bonuses, jury pay, costs for training, and partially subsidized housing and safety). Data are shown in thousands of dollars ($1,000).\n\nSector-Specific Information:\n\nManufacturing and Mining Sectors\n\nTotal benefits are comprised of four benefit types that were collected for the Manufacturing and Mining industries:\n\n• Employer's cost for health insurance ($1,000)\n\n• Employer's cost for defined benefit pension plans ($1,000)\n\n• Employer's cost for defined contribution plans ($1,000)\n\n• Employer's cost for other fringe benefits ($1,000)\n\nThese four types of fringe benefits are defined as:\n\n• Employer's benefit for health insurance - Insurance premiums on hospitals, medical plans, and single-service plans such as dental, vision, and prescription drug plans.\n\n• Employer's benefit for defined benefit pension plans (qualified and nonqualified) - Plans that specify the benefit to be paid to employees upon retirement, generally either a specific amount or a percentage of compensation. Employer contributions are based on actuarial computations that include employee's compensation and years of service and are not allocated to specific accounts maintained for employees.\n\n• Employer's defined contribution plans - Plans that define the employer contributions to a separate account provided for each employee. The employee \"benefit\" at retirement depends on the amount contributed and the results of the account's activity. Examples include profit sharing plans, money purchases (e.g., 401k, 403b), and stock bonus plans (e.g., ESOPs).\n\n• Employer's benefit for other fringe benefits - Payroll taxes, employer-paid insurance premiums, and other employer-paid benefits. Employer's cost for other fringe benefits includes payment towards items such as social security, workers' compensation insurance, unemployment tax, state disability insurance programs, life insurance benefits, Medicare, pre-tax benefit accounts (health and dependent care savings accounts), education assistance, stock options, long-term care insurance, employee assistance programs, and other benefits not specified above.\n\nConstruction Sector\n\nTotal benefits are comprised of two benefit types that were collected for the Construction industries:\n\n• Employers cost for legally required fringe benefits ($1,000)\n\n• Employers cost for voluntarily provided fringe benefits ($1,000)\n\nThese two types of fringe benefits are defined as:\n\n• Legally Required Expenditures - Includes expenditures made by the employer for Social Security and Medicare contributions, unemployment compensation, worker's compensation, and state temporary disability payments.\n\n• Voluntary Expenditures - Includes expenditures made by the employer for life insurance premiums, pension plans, insurance premiums on hospital and medical plans, welfare plans, and union negotiated benefits."
  ],
  "references": [
    "U.S. Census Bureau Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/economic-statistics/total-fringe-benefits/"
}