cafeteria plan

noun

1. a fringe-benefit plan under which employees may choose from among various benefits those that best fit their needs, up to a specified dollar value.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cafeteria plan¹

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

Some insurers are offering exchanges themselves, with marketplaces looking more like an old-style cafeteria plan and limited to a single insurer but with a broader array of plans than an employer might typically offer.

From New York Times

Amazon’s cafeteria plan for picking partners gives the company greater control over the customer experience and its overall product strategy.

From Forbes

That’s because many health plans that offer employees the ability to pay for coverage on a pretax basis — under an arrangement known as a cafeteria plan — are governed by a section of the Internal Revenue Code, Mr. Solomon said.

From New York Times

The employees' lunchroom—conducted on the cafeteria plan—serves four thousand men and women each working day.

From Project Gutenberg

"I kind of have a cafeteria plan, where you take the things that work for you and discard the things that don't work," he said.

From Seattle Times