View source for User:Rebecca E. Harvey/Defined benefit pension plan

A '''defined benefit pension plan''' is a type of [[retirement plan]] in which an employer allocates specific amounts of money for participating, vested employees in a tax deferred account.<ref>http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/defined-benefit-plan.html</ref> The plan is "defined" because the formula for calculating the amount contributed by an employer is known in advance. Differing from a [[defined contribution plan]], the benefits a retiree receives from a defined benefit plan (commonly referred to as a ''DB plan'') are not dependent on the success or failure of the [[portfolio]] in which the employer's contributions are invested.<ref>http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Defined-Benefit+Plan</ref> This distinction places the entire liability of economic market fluctuations and the particular portfolio's performance on the employer (or the ''plan sponsor''). The benefit that a participating employee will receive is traditionally calculated based on length of employment and terminal wages.<ref name=Investopedia>http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/definedbenefitpensionplan.asp</ref> In some instances, the management level of a participant will also factor into the calculation. Because of the plan's tax-deferred status, there are restrictions on how early benefits can be received.<ref name=Investopedia /> The academic study of [[retirement]] is in the field of [[financial economics]].


==Calculation of defined benefit pension plans==
===Eligibility===
To be eligible to receive benefits from a DB retirement plan, an employee must first work for an employer who is offering the plan. This is becoming much less common since the introduction of defined contribution plans in the 1980s, due to the decreased risk put on the employer by these plans.<ref>http://money.cnn.com/retirement/guide/pensions_basics.moneymag/index6.htm</ref> Only about 10% of employees in the United States private sector have defined benefit plans, although 90% of state and local governments still offer the plans.<ref>http://money.cnn.com/retirement/guide/pensions_basics.moneymag/index7.htm</ref><ref>http://money.cnn.com/retirement/guide/pensions_basics.moneymag/index8.htm</ref>

Once an employee is hired, they must first meet participation requirements in order to join the plan. This is often either one year of employment with the plan sponsor or 1000 hours of service (about half a year of full-time employment).<ref name=indiv>http://www.individual401k.com/defined_benefit_plans/faq.htm</ref> 

After joining, the employee (now a ''participant'') must become vested in the plan or else they will not receive benefits upon retirement. Employers are permitted by law to require a participant to work at least 5 years before becoming 100% vested.<ref name=whatyou>http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/wyskapr.html</ref> However in a graduated vesting schedule, the employer may require 7 years for 100% vested, but they must permit lower percentages of vesting for lesser years of service (such as 60% vested after 4 years of service).<ref name=whatyou /> Once vested, a participant can terminate their employment at any time and still receive benefits at retirement.

===Calculation===
The plan sponsor, while working with an outside company that is administrating the plan, can choose to calculate participants' benefits in several ways. In every type of plan, the final calculation is multiplied by the percent that the participant is vested.<ref name=whatyou /> If a participant did not meet the vesting requirements of their employer, then the final calculation is multiplied by 0%, resulting in no benefit. If the participant completed the years of employment requirement, then they are 100% vested and they receive the full calculated amount of benefit.

====Fixed benefit plan====
The monthly benefit is determined by a fixed percentage of the participant's compensation.<ref name=waddell>http://www.waddell.com/personal_investors/products_retirement_sponsored.aspx</ref>

====Flat benefit plan====
Monthly benefits are a flat-dollar amount.<ref name=waddell />

====Unit credit benefit plan====
Benefits at retirement are determined by the years of service to the employer, either as a fixed percentage of compensation per year or as a flat-dollar amount per year.<ref name=waddell />

===Early or late retirement===

==Payouts available==
A ''lump sum'' payment is the entire account balance that the plan sponsor has contributed to for a particular participant.<ref name=whatyou />

If a participant's calculated account balance is less than $5,000 when they terminate employment with the plan sponsor, the sponsor is permitted to require a ''mandatory cash out''.<ref name=whatyou /> In an MCO, a participant receives the full amount of their account balance (even if they haven't yet retired), but they do not receive any benefits upon retirement.

At retirement, the entire lump sum can be transferred into an [[IRA]] account if the participant desires, which would continue to be tax-deferred.<ref name=whatyou />

==Management of defined benefit plans==
===United States federal retirement laws===
:''See also [[Federal retirement laws]]''

A participant must begin receiving payments from their DB plan by April 1 following the year in which they turn 70.5 years old, regardless of employment status at this time.<ref name=whatyou /> Specific plan sponsors may require their employees to begin receiving distributions before age 70.5 even if they have not yet retired.

===Investment strategies===

==Benefits==
Participants in a DB plan have very little control over their benefit, which translates into very little responsibility required. In the United States, when employees are faced with making monthly investments, setting up employer-matching contributions, choosing which funds to invest in, and planning out how much money is needed to support a retiree from retirement to death (which are all true for defined contribution plans), they often choose to do nothing or do too little.<ref name=CNNadv>http://money.cnn.com/retirement/guide/pensions_basics.moneymag/index9.htm</ref> DB plans are administered by an outside company and are funded by the plan sponsor, taking nearly all of the responsibility out of the hands of the participant. In a basic DB plan, the only actions required by a participant are filing initial paperwork to enter the plan, keeping their employer updated of address changes even after they leave the company, and choosing a type of monthly payout upon retirement.<ref name=whatyou />

==Criticisms==
Although the performance of the pension's portfolio does not affect payments made to retirees, some critics of defined benefit plans argue that participants should have a higher degree of control over the investments.<ref name=CNNDisat>http://money.cnn.com/retirement/guide/pensions_basics.moneymag/index10.htm</ref> The most common argument for this is that participants can't invest more in their plans if they want to. If a DB participant desires a higher post-retirement payout, he or she must take out a separate [[IRA]] or [[defined contribution plan|401(k)]], if available.

DB plans require a participant to work for their employer for a set number of years in order to become vested in the plan, whereas retirement options such as defined contribution plans allow the participant to be 100% when they first open their plan.<ref name=whatyou />

Defined benefit plans also traditionally have no adjustments for [[inflation]] post-retirement.<ref name=CNNDisat /> If a retiree is receiving $400 per month for the rest of their life, this amount will not increase even if the [[price index]] doubles, reducing the real value of the $400.

==Related pension plans==
===Cash Balance Plan===
===Money Purchase Plan===

==References==
<references/>

==Notes and links==
===Related articles===
*[[Retirement]]
*[[Early retirement]]
*[[Financial economics]]
*[[Macroeconomics]]
*[[Defined contribution plan]]
*[[Federal retirement laws]]
*[[United States Department of Labor]]

===Further reading===
===Selected external links===