Describe the difference between the legally required benefits and the discretionary benefits and provide two examples.

In order to understand the differences between these types of benefits, we should start by looking at the names of the types of benefits.  The first type of benefit is legally required benefits.  As their name implies, these are benefits that employers are required (by law) to provide for their employees.  For example, all employers must provide contributions to their employees’ Social Security funds.  They also have to provide workers’ compensation premiums for their workers.