When it comes to employee benefits, perks like free snacks in the break room might do a lot for employee morale, but nothing beats a generous health plan for keeping workers happy.

Nearly 80 percent of U.S. workers would rather have better health insurance than a pay raise, according to Glassdoor.com, a jobs and recruiting site.

But when handed an explanation of benefits booklet every year during open enrollment, it is hard for most employees to tell if they are getting a good deal or not.

"The best indicator of whether you have a good or bad plan is talking to your friends and people who work at companies that compete with yours. Sometimes you find, wow, my grass is a little greener than I thought it was," says Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor's career and workplace expert.

Here are some other ways to tell if you are getting a great deal:

What's My Cost?

Everyone wants to know right off what will be coming out of their paychecks, but that is not the most important number to focus on, says Hall Kesmodel, consultant for Sequoia, an employee benefits firm headquartered in San Mateo, California.

To know if your employer is generous or not, you need to know what percentage you pay and what percentage your employer pays.

Most employee benefits packets will have a percentage number somewhere in the materials, or you can ask your human resources department. The average single employee pays 18 percent of a health plan's costs, according to Kaiser Family Foundation research.

In very competitive sectors like Silicon Valley's tech industry, Kesmodel sees well-funded start-ups with 300 or 400 employees asking employees to cover just 10 percent of healthcare costs. In a few cases, employers cover the whole amount, even for family coverage.

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