PLANNING FRINGE BENEFITS FOR THE WORK FORCE OF THE FUTURE
Fringe benefits comprise a large and growing proportion of employees' compensation costs in both public and private sector organizations. According to one report, the total fringe benefit expenditure of the average American employer is now forty percent of payroll. (Carter and Shapiro, 1983) [1] Government organizations certainly are not immune to accelerating benefits costs. Indeed, in some large cities, employee benefits as a percentage of pay exceed comparable figures for industry. (Friend, 1974 [and later editions] Government employers must seek ways to cap or at least control their rising benefits payments while remaining an attractive source of employment to current and potential workers. If the early 1980s are indicative of the remainder of the decade, it is unlikely that most public employers will be in a position to increase salaries for their workers at the same level as private employers. However, fringe benefits are another matter. Furnishing a competitive benefits package to public employees without increasing costs significantly could provide a means for making government work reasonably attractive, thereby encouraging bright young people to enter the labor force while persuading experienced employees to remain. Clearly, however, if public employers are to be competitive with the private sector in fringe benefits programs and if public employers hope to contain benefits costs effectively, they must