Cafeteria Plan

By Entrepreneur Staff

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Cafeteria Plan Definition:

An employee benefit arrangement allowed by IRS Code Section 125, under which employees are allowed to pay for certain employee benefits on a pre-tax rather than an after-tax basis.

Cafeteria plans, also known as Section 125 plans (because of the section of the IRS code that covers them), and flexible spending plans allow employees to use pretax dollars to choose among different types of benefits. Cafeteria plans typically have core benefits such as medical and life insurance, sick leave and sometimes disability benefits. Option benefits may include anything from dental insurance and elder care to vision coverage. They can't, however, include transportation assistance, tuition assistance or, unless part of a 401(k) plan, retirement benefits.

More from Employee Benefits

Cafeteria Plan

An employee benefit arrangement allowed by IRS Code Section 125, under which employees are allowed to pay for certain employee benefits on a pre-tax rather than an after-tax basis.

See full definition

Compensation

In financial terms, the salary and wages you pay to your employees for the work they do. Other, nonfinancial forms of compensation can also be offered to attract and retain staff.

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Benefits

A product or service's customer-oriented strengths; statements of a valuable product or service feature, with an emphasis on what the customer gets from the products

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Bonus

A monetary payment made to an employee over and above their standard salary or compensation package

See full definition

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