Guides / Fringe: cash or a plan?
This is the one that trips up the most subs, so here is the plain version.
The wage determination gives you two numbers for each classification: a base rate and a fringe rate. You have to deliver both. You can pay the fringe as cash added to the check, or into a real benefit plan, or a mix. All of that is fine.
Where it goes wrong: people pay the fringe as cash but do not show it, so the base looks short. Or they claim a plan that is not actually funded. Or they check the wrong box on the statement of compliance, the 4(a) plan box against the 4(b) cash box.
The rule of thumb: the base plus the fringe you actually delivered has to meet or beat the base plus fringe on the determination, and the form has to show how. If yours does not show it clearly, an auditor assumes the worst.
Send me one and I will tell you if your fringe reads right.
Send me one form →