The 401(k) retirement plan, introduced in the Revenue Act of 1978, is still a relatively new workplace benefit.  For example, employee-provided health insurance goes back to the early 1940s in response to concerns about inflation as the US started coming out of WWII.  Going back even further, it was in 1911 to little fanfare that Pantasote Leather Co. started offering group life insurance policies to their 121 employees.