lower turnover by raising employee satisfaction and corporate loyalty, take advantage of deductions, credits in the tax code. Wellness programs can also lower health insurance costs. Many employer-provided cash benefits (below a certain income level) are tax-deductible to the employer and non-taxable to the employee. Some fringe benefits (for example, accident and health plans, and group-term life insurance coverage (up to US$50,000) (and employer-provided meals and lodging in-kind,) 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 accounts, 401(k)'s, 403(b)'s). 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. Executive benefits (e.g. golden handshake and golden parachute plans), exceed this level and are taxable. Full-time and high wage workers are much more likely to have benefits, as the charts to the right indicates. Benefits can be divided into as company-paid and employee-paid. Some, such as holiday pay, vacation pay, etc., are usually paid for by the firm. Others are often paid, at least in part, by employees. A notable example is medical insurance, which has risen in cost dramatically in recent decades and been shifted to employees by many American employers. Even when paid entirely by employees, these programs may still provide value to employees and be called benefits because their cost may be considerably lower than that of equivalent non-employer-sponsored programs, thanks to employers having negotiated discounts with providers. Some benefits, such as unemployment and worker's compensation, are federally required and arguably can be considered a right, rather than a benefit. American corporations often 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. Perks The term perks is often used colloquially to refer to those benefits of