A pension plan is a type of employee benefit that some companies, organizations, and government entities offer to help their employees prepare for retirement. Pension plans, unlike other types of retirement plans, are often designed to guarantee workers a certain income during retirement, making them one of the most attractive for workers.
Pension plans used to be far more popular in the United States, but have become increasingly less common in recent decades. While more than half of U.S. employees participate in a workplace retirement plan, according to the Pension Rights Center, less than a quarter participate in a pension plan. That being said, they are still more common among government workers — roughly 94% of state and local government employees have access to a pension plan.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to define “pension plan,” how they differ from other employer-sponsored retirement plans, and some key characteristics you need to know.
How a Pension Plan Works
How a pension plan works depends largely on whether it’s a defined-benefit or defined-contribution plan. While pension plans can fall into either category, they were traditionally defined-benefit plans. That type of plan is still available to some workers today.
In a defined benefit plan, your employer contributes money on your behalf, and you are often given the option of contributing as well. The employer invests the money in the pension plan, just as you would invest the money in your 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA). Then, once you reach the retirement age set by your company, you’ll receive a guaranteed income.
A defined-contribution has many similarities in how it operates. Your employer will contribute money on your behalf, and your total contributions will depend on your salary and years of service with the company. The difference is that the benefit you receive during retirement will be based not on a promise from the company, but on the investment performance.
Unlike with other types of retirement plans, the money in a pension plan generally isn’t yours to take with you when you leave. In other words, you typically can’t roll it over into a 401(k) or IRA when you leave your employer. Instead, it stays with your previous employer, and you will receive the benefit from them during retirement.
While employers with defined-benefit plans are required to abide by their promises and deliver employees’ benefits, the money in the plan is insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which was created in 1974 to encourage employers to continue to offer these plans and to ensure retirees received their benefits on time.
When it’s time to start receiving your pension plan benefits during retirement, you may be given distribution options to choose from. Often, you can decide between either monthly annuity payments or a single lump-sum payment. Often the lump-sum payment will then be deposited into an IRA, where it will continue to be invested.
Pension Plan vs. 401(k)
Pension Plan
401(k) Plan
Guarantees a benefit during retirement
Doesn’t guarantee a benefit during retirement
Primarily employer funded (employees may also contribute)
Primarily employee funded (employers may or may not contribute
Employer contributions are based on compensation
Employer contributions are based on compensation
Investments are employer-directed
Investments are employee-directed
Employer holds the investment risk
Employee holds the investment risk
A 401(k) is another type of employer-sponsored retirement that has become far more popular than pension plans. A 401(k) is a type of defined-contribution plan, where employers promise to guarantee a certain percentage of an employer’s salary. Those contributions are often dependent on the employee contributing first.
For example, suppose an employer agrees to match an employee’s 401(k) contributions up to 50% of the first 6% the employee contributed. If your annual income was $100,000, you could contribute $6,000, and your employer would contribute an additional $3,000. You can contribute more than that $6,000, but your employer won’t contribute any more.
Because a 401(k) is a defined-benefit plan, there are no guaranteed benefits during retirement. Instead, your retirement income depends on the amount you and your employer contributed to the account, along with the performance of the investments.
A critical difference between pension vs. 401k plans is how the investments are managed. As we mentioned previously, the money contributed to a pension plan is pooled together into a pension fund, which is invested together. But in the case of a 401(k) plan, each employee can choose their own investments, usually from a select list provided by the employer.
Pension Plans and Vesting
When you start working for a new employer, you may be required to work there for a specific amount of time before you become eligible to participate in the workplace retirement plan. Earning the right to participate in these benefits is called vesting. With some employers, vesting happens immediately. With others, you may be required to work there a certain number of years before you’re fully vested.
Under ERISA, employers can choose between a cliff or graduated vesting schedule.
Under a cliff vesting schedule, you don’t vest at all until you’re with the company a certain number of years. But once you reach that tipping point, you’re 100% vesting.
A graduated vesting schedule is when employees become partially vested each year until they reach 100%.
Employers can require a maximum of five years for cliff vesting and six years for graduated vesting.
No matter what your company’s vesting schedule, you are always 100% vested in your own contributions. Suppose your employer has a five-year cliff vesting schedule. During your first five years with the company, you automatically have a right to any money you contribute to the plan. Then, once you’ve been there five years, you also have a right to any money your employer has contributed thus far.
If you leave the company before you’re fully vested, you may receive only part of your employer’s promised benefit during retirement (or even none at all, in the case of a cliff vesting schedule).
Do You Need a Pension Plan?
Pension plans — especially defined-benefit plans — are becoming increasingly less common, as more employers have put the responsibility on workers to fund their own retirements. That being said, you may still have a pension available to you.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 3% of workers have access only to a defined-benefit plan, while another 12% have both a defined-benefit and defined-contribution plan available to them. If this type of plan is available to you, it’s certainly worth participating. It’s usually funded primarily by the employer, meaning it doesn’t have to cost you anything, but still provides you with a guaranteed income during retirement.
What If You Don’t Have a Pension Plan Available to You?
You probably still have options. A 401(k) plan is still an excellent option to help you save for retirement. This type of plan comes with serious tax advantages, allowing workers to reduce their taxable income by putting money into their retirement account. And while this type of plan puts the responsibility primarily on the employee rather than the employer, it’s still preferable to not contributing to a retirement account at all.
And while 401(k) plans may be less attractive than pension plans in some ways, they also have some advantages over them. First, you can choose your own investments for your 401(k) plan — at least within the confines of the options provided by your company. Additionally, you can take your 401(k) with you when you leave a company, unlike a pension plan that likely must stay with the company.
The Bottom Line
No matter what type of plan you have available to you, it’s important to prioritize retirement savings. If your employer offers a pension plan, then you’d probably be well-served to take advantage of it. If no pension plan is available, then a 401(k) or even an IRA (or both) can still help you prepare for a financially comfortable retirement.
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Author is not a client of Personal Capital Advisors Corporation and is compensated as a freelance writer.
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