Every business has certain employees who are absolutely critical to its success. You may have worked long and hard to recruit and hire the right people to fill key leadership positions in your company--your executive chef, your head designer or engineer, your lead financial analyst or top salesperson, for example. You know who these key people are because you could not run and grow your business without them. Replacing them would be difficult and expensive. But, you are also aware that your competitors have their eyes on them, too. You want to put in every effort to ensure your key people stay on board.

Offering an extra layer of benefits at the executive level is one way you can keep your most critical talent on your team. Executive benefits offer your highest level of employees benefits beyond the standard package you offer to all employees. There are several kinds of executive benefits, and they fall into two categories:

• Tax-advantaged retirement benefits allow business owners and key executives to save more money for retirement than standard employer-sponsored retirement plans typically provide, and they also allow for greater tax savings for highly compensated employees.
• Compensation plans provide cash or stock options, usually linked to the employee's or company's performance.