Final answer:
Individualized benefit plans in employment settings are known as cafeteria plans or flexible benefit plans, which give employees options to select various pre-tax benefits. These can include health insurance, retirement accounts, and other insurance options, all part of a growing trend to replace traditional defined benefit pension plans with defined contribution plans.
Step-by-step explanation:
Individualized benefit plans allowed by some employers, in order to accommodate employee preferences for benefits, are known as cafeteria plans or flexible benefit plans. These plans enable employees to choose from a variety of pre-tax benefits, similar to how one might choose from a selection at a cafeteria. Typical benefits may include health insurance, retirement accounts like 401(k)s and 403(b)s, and other insurance options.
The concept of cafeteria plans is part of the broader category of employer-sponsored benefit plans, which include both employment-based insurance and direct-purchase insurance. Company pensions are another form of benefit, with legal requirements for contributions to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to ensure some benefits if the company goes bankrupt. Within the context of pensions, defined contribution plans are increasingly common, replacing traditional defined benefit pension plans, and these may form part of the individualized benefit plans offered to employees.