fringe benefit

noun

1. any of various benefits, as free life or health insurance, paid holidays, a pension, etc., received by an employee in addition to regular pay.

fringe benefit

noun

1. an incidental or additional advantage, esp a benefit provided by an employer to supplement an employee's regular pay, such as a pension, company car, luncheon vouchers, etc

fringe benefit

1. A payment to a worker in addition to salary or wages. It may take the form of cash, goods, or services, and may include such items as health insurance, pension plans, and paid vacations.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fringe benefit¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

It was one of the fringe benefits of living for so many years essentially alienated from the world around him: He could easily believe that he was right and the world was wrong.

Read more on Literature

That relentless pressure from an organized working class “raised real wages and created a set of fringe benefits, including health insurance and retirement pay,” he says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Workers would likely have to pay income tax on the fair market value of the fringe benefits they receive unless their employers decide to cover some or all of the tax burden.

Read more on Salon

One is that it applies only to wages, tips, bonuses, commissions, and some fringe benefits — generally, almost anything that appears on the annual W-2 forms workers receive from their employers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Finally, unions tend to provide fringe benefits such as health insurance, paid sick days, vacation days, and retirement plans.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• compensation package www.thesaurus.com
• perk 
• perquisite