A Defined benefit pension plan is a major type of pension plan in which an employer/sponsor promises a specified monthly benefit on retir...
A Defined benefit pension plan is a major type of pension plan in which an employer/sponsor promises a specified monthly benefit on retirement that is predetermined by a formula based on the employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, rather than depending directly on individual investment returns. It is 'defined' in the sense that the benefit formula is defined and known in advance. Conversely, for a "defined contribution pension plan", the formula for computing the employer's and employee's contributions is defined and known in advance, but the benefit to be paid out is not known in advance.
A traditional pension plan that defines a benefit for an employee upon that employee's retirement is a defined benefit plan.
The most common type of formula used is based on the employee’s terminal earnings (final salary). Under this formula, benefits are based on a percentage of average earnings during a specified number of years at the end of a worker’s career.
In the private sector, defined benefit plans are often funded exclusively by employer contributions. For very small companies with one owner and a handful of younger employees, the business owner generally receives a high percentage of the benefits. In the public sector, defined benefit plans usually require employee contributions.
Over time, these plans may face deficits or surpluses between the money currently in their plans and the total amount of their pension obligations. Contributions may be made by the employee, the employer, or both. In many defined benefit plans the employer bears the investment risk and can benefit from surpluses.
Defined Contribution Plan
In economics, a defined contribution plan is a type of retirement plan in which the amount of the employer's annual contribution is specified. Individual accounts are set up for participants and benefits are based on the amounts credited to these accounts (through employer contributions and, if applicable, employee contributions) plus any investment earnings on the money in the account. Only employer contributions to the account are guaranteed, not the future benefits. In defined contribution plans, future benefits fluctuate on the basis of investment earnings. The most common type of defined contribution plan is a savings and thrift plan. Under this type of plan, the employee contributes a predetermined portion of his or her earnings (usually pretax) to an individual account, all or part of which is matched by the employer. Generally, specifies a defined contribution plan as a plan which provides for an individual account for each participant and for benefits based solely on the amount contributed to the participant’s account, and any income, expenses, gains and losses, and any forfeitures of accounts of other participants which may be allocated to such participant’s account.
