Compensation And Benefits Planning

Our latest State of Global Compensation Report - featuring equity insight from our partners Carta - just dropped, and this one is led by Jessica, Deel’s own Head of Global Compensation. Jess shapes Deel’s comp strategy and has been foundational to how we think about fairness and competitiveness across 150+ countries. This new edition gives HR and comp leaders real, actionable insights on how to navigate a fast-changing pay landscape. Highlights: - Equity is going global. With Carta’s data, we’re seeing ownership become a powerful way to build wealth and alignment across borders, especially in Brazil and India. - AI and tech roles are redefining pay norms. Specialized talent is commanding 20–25% premiums, pushing teams to rethink comp structures. - Gender pay gaps persist, but are progressing in countries like Brazil and Colombia shows what’s possible with transparency and intentional hiring. - Contractor markets are maturing. Countries like Argentina and Mexico are thriving hubs for flexible, high-skill talent. If you’re building or scaling a global team, Jessica’s insights offer a practical roadmap for fair, data-driven compensation design. Read on 👉 https://lnkd.in/dtmXytds

In India, a private employee's compensation package often includes a CTC (Cost to Company) figure, which is the total amount that the company spends on the employee, including the salary, benefits, and various allowances. ⏭️ However, the actual take-home salary that an employee receives after all deductions can be significantly lower than the CTC. Let's break down why this can lead to a situation where the net salary is much less than expected: 📌Income Tax: One of the most significant deductions from the salary is income tax. The tax is levied on the employee's income, and the amount depends on the individual's income slab as per the prevailing tax rates. Many times, employees might not factor in the tax deduction while considering their CTC, leading to a surprise when they receive their actual salary. 📌Provident Fund (PF): A part of the employee's salary is contributed to the provident fund, which is a savings scheme for the employee's retirement. While this is a beneficial savings avenue, it reduces the take-home salary. 📌Professional Tax: Some states in India impose professional tax on salaried individuals. This tax is a small percentage of the income and is deducted at the source. 📌Health Insurance and Other Deductions: Employees often contribute a portion of their salary towards health insurance or other benefits provided by the employer. These deductions can further reduce the take-home salary. 📌Variable Pay Components: The CTC might include variable pay components such as performance-based bonuses or incentives, which may not be guaranteed and depend on individual or company performance. 📌Gratuity and Other Employer Contributions: Employers may contribute to the gratuity fund and other funds on behalf of the employee, which are not part of the take-home salary. 📌Misleading CTC Breakdown: Sometimes, the CTC breakdown might not be transparent, and certain components might be inflated to make the package appear more attractive. ⏭️ It's essential for employees to understand the various components of their CTC and how they impact their take-home salary. While a high CTC can initially seem attractive, the actual salary after deductions might not meet the employee's expectations, leading to financial challenges or disappointments. ⏭️ To have a clearer understanding of the net salary, employees should review their salary structure, including all deductions and tax components. It's also a good idea to consult with financial advisors or HR representatives to better understand the salary components and make more informed decisions about financial planning. LinkedIn for Creators

There's $200+ billion in medical debt in the U.S. Here's how you can use your medical expenses to build wealth: What is an HSA? It's a tax-advantaged account where you use the funds for qualified medical expenses. But the reason why we love it? It is the only investment vehicle with a triple tax benefit. Which looks like this: 1) Contributions are tax-deductible (Like a Traditional IRA) 2) Funds grow tax deferred (Like any IRA) 3) Funds distribute tax-free (Like a Roth IRA) for medical expenses But of course, it's not flawless: 1) Must have a high-deductible health insurance plan. 2) Low contribution limit (Including employer match) [2024] - $4,150 for individuals - $8,300 for families 3) Taxed and hit with a 20% penalty if not used for medical purposes Is it locked forever? If funds are not used for medical purposes but taken out at 65, they're taxed but not penalized. So if you boil it down, it becomes like a Traditional IRA down the line. Interesting fact about the HSA: There is no time limit on when funds must be utilized for expenses. For example, you could: - Incur a medical expense - Not distribute the funds immediately - Wait 10 more years and make a distribution - Still use that expense to make it tax free Why is this important? You can keep your funds inside and have it continue growing. That way you don't disrupt compounding interest and take the funds out tax free backed by all the medical receipts you collected. It's a strategic way to grow and distribute tax-free income. This means you should keep receipts on file over time. And these can only be expenses made after the HSA was opened. So be sure to keep the receipt on file for its use in the future. You'll want to make the most of those bills! So, who is it right for? For whoever needs a high-deductible health insurance plan, which is typically suitable for: - Young adults - Those seeking to lower monthly premiums - Healthy individuals (who don't see doctors often) The health plan should align with you first.

In Q1 2025, LTI (Ongoing Equity) Programs Had 4x the “Pay for Performance” Differentiation for Promoted Employees Vs. Salary Raises Companies generally reward top performers through three types of compensation programs: [A] Salary Raises [B] Long Term Incentives (LTI)–often ongoing equity grants [C] Short Term Incentives (STI)–often called a bonus program Today, let’s compare how much differentiation there is across the market for top performers between [A] and [B]. ________________ 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: We recently took a look at Q1 2025 merit cycle data across 46k+ employees from Pave's dataset. 1st, our data science team grouped and analyzed employees across four groups:  • [1] Promoted  • [2] Above expectations (no promo)  • [3] Meets Expectations or equivalent (no promo)  • [4] Below Expectations (no promo) 2nd, our data science team looked at two dimensions across salary and ongoing equity grants  • [1] What % of employees received a compensation update?  • [2] For those who received, what was the size of the increase? Note that for equity, this was measured by the % increase in net equity value compensation vesting over the next 12 months 3rd, our data science team multiplied “participation” with “amount” to find the “𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲” as a method of measuring pay for performance. ________________ The Results: ✅ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱  => Salary: +9.7% expected value increase => Ongoing Equity: +38.6% expected value increase ✅ 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗡𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼)  => Salary: +4.5% => Ongoing Equity: +11.0% ✅ 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗡𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼)  => Salary: +3.1% => Ongoing Equity: +3.8% ✅ 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗡𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼)  => Salary: +0.3% => Ongoing Equity: +0.0% expected value increase ________________ 𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: 1️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝟯𝟴.𝟲% “𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲” 𝘃𝘀 𝗮 𝟵.𝟳% 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲. This means that for promoted employees, the equity comp is ~4x as outsized from a pay for performance standpoint. 2️⃣ 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀” (𝟯.𝟴%) 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 (𝟯.𝟭%) 𝗳𝗼𝗿 “𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀” 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀. This suggests that the real LTI/ongoing equity comp differentiation is happening for top performers (both those in the “promoted” and “above expectations (no promo)” buckets. ________________ 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗛𝗥 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: Analyze your company’s “expected value” salary and equity raise amounts. How do your outcomes compare to the Q1 2025 benchmarks from this post? And where + how should you consider tweaking your "recommendation logic” to guide your company towards more or less merit cycle differentiation for different cohorts of employees?

Startup founders & employees - compensation at startups has changed significantly in 2023. Here are the key things to know: 1. Salaries for startup employees have stayed basically flat this year. Which, hey, it's better than declining but certainly not keeping up with inflation.     2. Equity packages are down 26% from November 2022. That is a STEEP drop. And that's not because companies are now worth less than they used to be. The percentage of the company given to each new employee has fallen, for entry-level through VPs. 3. Startup hiring is moving very slowly. Carta companies hired 314,000 new people in H1 2022 and only 129,000 new workers in the first half of this year. 4. Out-of-state hires made up 58% of new hires in Q2 2023 across startups. This percentage is much smaller in some physical industries like Biotech and Hardware.     5. Startup salaries across the US have drifted closer to SF rates. Places like Charleston, Las Vegas, Raleigh, and Jacksonville all closed the salary gap with bigger cities (not entirely, but the movement was strong). Our full State of Startup Compensation report went live this morning. We swam through the salary and equity data from 280,000 employees working at startups using Carta Total Compensation. Then added a dash of labor market data from the 1 million + employees employed at all Carta companies. Worth your time if you are a founder looking to expand your team in the coming year, an investor advising your portfolio companies, or an employee curious about the talent market today. Bonus - if you download the addendum at the end of the (free, ungated) report, you get our best equity information on: employee option pools, first 10 hire equity, advisor equity, board member equity, and equity for 20 key startup countries across the world. And after all that, if you still have specific comp questions you want answered, throw them in the comments below! Link to the report will live there too. #cartadata #founders #startups #compensation #equity #salary #jobmarket

The recent shifts in compensation strategies by tech giants like Google and Amazon underscore a broader trend: a decisive move towards rewarding sustained high performance. Google’s approach to expanding its top performance rating category—while adjusting rewards for other tiers—and Amazon’s focus on rewarding long-term top performers with up to 110% of their pay band, reflect a growing emphasis on consistent contribution. These strategies not only incentivise excellence, but also reinforce cultures that value reliability and long-term impact. But as these changes take root, transparency becomes even more important. Employees need to understand the thinking behind these shifts to stay engaged and aligned. The message is clear: it’s not just about the big wins anymore. It’s about showing up, delivering value over time, and knowing how that effort will be recognised. https://lnkd.in/dWjz29Mx #DrJaclynLee #PerformanceCulture #FutureOfWork #HRLeadership

Be Market-Informed, Not Market-Led. Compensation survey data is a guide, not a rulebook. Too many companies take raw survey benchmarks and turn them directly into salary bands. The result? ❌ Pay structures with inconsistent jumps between levels. ❌ Career paths that don’t make sense internally. ❌ Overpaying or underpaying without a clear strategy. What percentiles actually tell you: 25th = Lower-paying employers or early-stage startups 50th = Mid-market positioning 75th = Competitive for talent 90th = Top-tier pay for rare skills None of these are inherently “good” or “bad.” What matters is what fits your strategy. Instead of being market-led (rigidly following percentiles), aim to be market-informed: ✅ Use market data as a starting point — not the final answer. ✅ Build structured salary bands that align with career growth. ✅ Ensure pay progression supports internal mobility. Compensation should be strategic, scalable, and intentional — not dictated by a percentile.

Linking sustainability to executive pay 🌎 The integration of sustainability into executive compensation is a critical step in aligning corporate decision-making with long-term ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals. Executive pay structures that incorporate ESG metrics not only drive accountability but also reinforce the strategic importance of sustainability within organizations. A clear approach involves embedding ESG KPIs into variable pay programs. This can be achieved through balanced scorecards, multipliers, or underpin thresholds. These mechanisms ensure that sustainability is a measurable component of performance and rewards systems, providing clear incentives for leadership to deliver tangible ESG outcomes. Long-term incentives (LTI) play a pivotal role in linking remuneration to strategic ESG objectives. By prioritizing material ESG metrics within the remuneration mix, organizations can highlight the long-term significance of sustainability goals. Metrics related to climate action, social impact, or governance improvements ensure that executive focus remains aligned with overarching corporate objectives. Alignment with reporting standards and harmonized ESG disclosures further enhances the effectiveness of these strategies. Synchronizing ESG metrics with globally recognized frameworks supports transparency, comparability, and stakeholder confidence. Additionally, ensuring that remuneration committees possess expertise in ESG strengthens governance and decision-making processes. The Sustainability Remuneration Guidelines (SRGs) by EY provide a comprehensive structure for implementing these measures. These guidelines address the integration of material ESG metrics into pay structures, the selection of impact-focused KPIs, and alignment with corporate purpose and reporting standards. Adopting such a framework ensures a robust and transparent approach to linking executive pay with sustainability priorities. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #climateaction

‘Did you check what WASN'T in the offer letter before accepting it?’ If yes, you’re one among those 72% professionals who accept job offers without understanding their complete compensation structure. Don't be one of them. Here’s your 5-step checklist before you say a ‘YES’ to it: 1. Base Salary Fine Print * Tax implications * Payment schedule * Performance review cycles * Increment policy * Probation period impact 2. Variable Pay Reality * Actual vs. Target earnings * Payment conditions * Historical payout rates * Assessment criteria * Frequency of payouts 3. Benefits Deep-Dive * Health insurance coverage * Leave policy details * Flexible benefits * Travel allowances * Remote work policies 4. Hidden Costs * Relocation expenses * Training bonds * Notice period rules * Non-compete clauses * Recovery clauses 5. Growth Framework * Promotion criteria * Learning budget * Certification support * Career progression path * Mentorship programs   Checking these points will give you a fair idea of the variability in pay, notice period, medical insurance coverage, etc. Result? You can negotiate better terms and even save $$$ in potential costs. The real compensation issues arise from unclear offer terms. 83% of companies are open to clarifying terms before joining Don’t take that burden of staying stuck after accepting it. P.S. The best time to clarify terms is BEFORE you sign. Are you doing that? Follow Priya Narang Nagpal for more Career & Corporate training strategies! Repost 🔁 if found useful. #careergrowth #jobsearch #corporatetrainer #softskills #resumewriter #interviewcoach

Managing Your 401k Isn’t Just About Saving for Retirement… It’s like saying a pawn is the whole chess game. Sure, it’s an important piece, but it’s not the whole strategy… Elements that make up your 401k strategy include: ☑️ Contributing more than just the employer match. ☑️ Taking advantage of catch-up contributions if you’re over 50. ☑️ Rolling over instead of cashing out when changing jobs. ☑️ Being aware of plan costs that can eat into your returns. ☑️ Seeking professional guidance to navigate investment options. ☑️ Avoiding over-investment in your company’s stock. ☑️ Understanding the implications of taking loans from your 401(k). Remember, it’s not just about tossing money into your account; it’s about strategically playing each piece to secure a win—your comfortable retirement. Think of your 401(k) as more than a savings account. It’s a dynamic part of your financial portfolio that requires attention, strategy, and sometimes, a little bit of finesse. P.S. Feeling overwhelmed with your 401(k) options or not sure if you’re maximizing its potential? Drop your questions in the comments! ⤵️