a more discretionary nature. Often, perks are given to employees who are doing notably well and/or have seniority. Common perks 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. Pensions Traditional pensions, known as Defined benefit pension plans, provides employees with a guaranteed paycheck (or lump sum) in retirement. The benefit is usually "defined" by a formula based on the employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, and not depending on investment returns. Because of the high cost and responsibility of the employer to finance the plan, in recent years many companies have phased out their pension plans sometimes replacing them with defined contribution deferred compensation plans, which are defined by contribution. Deferred compensation Qualifying and non-qualifying Deferred compensation is any arrangement where an employee receives wages after they have earned them. Deferred compensation plans in the US often have the benefit of employers' matching all or part of the employee contribution. In the US, Internal Revenue Code section 409A regulates the treatment for federal income tax purposes of “nonqualified deferred compensation”, the timing of deferral elections and of distributions. Qualifying A "qualifying" deferred compensation plan is one complying with the ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Qualifying plans include 401(k) (for non-government organizations), 403(b) (for public education employers), 501(c)(3) (for non-profit organizations and ministers), and 457(b) (for state and local government organizations) Most medium-sized and large companies offer 401(k)’s. ERISA, has many regulations, one of which is how much employee income can qualify. In an ERISA-qualified plan (like a 401(k) plan), the company's contribution to the plan is tax deductible to the plan as soon as it is made, but not taxable to the individual participants until it is withdrawn. So if a company puts $1,000,000 into a 401(k) plan for employees, it writes off $1,000,000 that year. If the company is in the 25% bracket, the contribution costs it only $750,000 (with $250,000 saved in taxes). 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