KPMG Publishes 2025 Employee Benefits Handbook With Regional Variations

The KPMG Employee Benefits Handbook is a firm‑published PDF resource that aggregates the firm’s benefits, retirement, leave, and other employee‑facing policies, the document says, and it carries the copyright block "© 2025 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved." The handbook is published by KPMG with the caveat that "regional variations apply."

The handbook foregrounds technical accounting topics by name. It references Topic 420 as one-time termination payments and exit and disposal costs, Topic 712 for direct payments through an established termination plan, and Topic 715 for termination payments through a retirement plan. It also references Topic 718 generally while explicitly treating Subtopic 718-40 as "Transactions with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)" in Chapter 12.

Under Topic 715 the handbook lists concrete examples of covered benefits: "Compensated absences; Lump-sum payments under union contracts; Deferred compensation arrangements (including those using Rabbi trusts); One-time direct termination payments (Topic 420); Direct payments through an established termination plan (Topic 712); Termination payments through a retirement plan (Topic 715); Defined contribution plans; Defined benefit pension plans; Defined benefit OPEB plans; Multiemployer plans." Those items appear verbatim in the handbook fragments provided.

The handbook addresses boundary cases for postemployment accounting. It states "To the extent those benefits are payable through retirement plans (e.g. a pension plan), this Handbook applies to [...] such as whether the benefits were: - voluntary or involuntary; and - paid pursuant to a contract with employees, as part of an ongoing plan or on an ad hoc basis." The text also warns that "involuntary termination benefits paid under a one-time termination benefit plan may fall in the scope of Topic 420 (exit and disposal costs), which has its own accounting requirements." The handbook notes complexity and that "This Handbook uses decision trees that guide readers through the" a phrase preserved in the excerpt.

On share-based payments the handbook draws a clear line: "All share-based payments to employees (e.g. stock options, stock appreciation rights), except payments to ESOPs. Not covered in this Handbook." At the same time the document includes the explicit navigation fragment "Reference Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapters 5 to 11" and the explicit chapter label "Chapter 12 ESOPs" alongside Subtopic 718-40.

KPMG’s careers and benefits messaging sits alongside the handbook in the firm’s employee materials. The careers copy instructs users to "Select the organization you are applying to below to view a convenient summary of the full-time employee benefits program. Benefit offerings are based on those in effect at the time of eligibility." The site displays buttons reading "View KPMG LLP benefits resource View KPMG Performance Hub benefits resource" and emphasizes the work model "Flex with Purpose" with the line "KPMG has transitioned to our Flex with Purpose work model, a consistent but flexible way of working that creates opportunities for purposeful collaboration as we move between in-person and remote work." Promotional language also states "Numerous enhancements were made to KPMG’s benefits and compensation package focused on mental, physical, social and financial well-being" and that "A great compensation package can make the difference — and KPMG delivers."

Taken together, the 2025 PDF ties technical accounting guidance for Topics 420, 712, 715 and subtopic 718-40 to the firm’s employee-facing messaging on "Enhanced benefits", "Mental Well-being support" and "Total Rewards Designed for You", while preserving the firm's 2025 legal attribution and the note that regional variations apply.