Thanks for your input Dweller - yes - I did mean allowances when I said allocations - sorry for the confusion. My particular company does not operate in terms of salary grades - and my position is a newly created one. Therefore - everything is negotiable at this point. One thing I hadn't considered is that an allowance can be adjusted at any time.

In your experience - what is a reasonable ration of base to allowance? My company is telling me its about 60:40. They haven't specified what will make up the allowances - I don't think it matters to them. Should it matter to me? Will I ever be asked to demonstrate spending in line with any allowances?

Thanks