Final answer:
Employee benefits encompass supplemental pay, insurance, health, retirement, and legally required contributions. These benefits are essential for employee security, with mandates for pension and workman's compensation insurance that ensure protection against company bankruptcy and on-job injuries.
Step-by-step explanation:
Within the realm of employee compensation, benefits serve as a critical component alongside direct wages. These benefits encompass a variety of offerings, such as supplemental pay, insurance, health benefits, retirement and savings plans, and protections legally required by the government. Two prevalent forms of retirement plans are Defined Benefit plans, which promise a specified monthly benefit at retirement, and Defined Contribution plans, where the contribution amount is prescribed, but the benefit amount can vary.
Pension insurance is a vital aspect of retirement benefits where employers must pay a portion of their pension plans to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, safeguarding some level of pension benefits in the event of bankruptcy. Workman's compensation insurance is another mandatory protection, mandating employers to contribute to state-run funds that provide benefits to workers who get injured on the job.
Moreover, legally required contributions extend to employer payments towards Social Security, unemployment and worker’s compensation insurance, and coverage under Medicare. The table titled "Hourly Compensation: Wages, Benefits, and Taxes in 2014" derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) offers a comprehensive look into these aspects of employee compensation.