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Defined-benefit plan

A defined-benefit plan is a retirement arrangement in which an eligible retired employee receives specified payouts from his former employer throughout retirement. The employer is responsible for managing the money to be able to make these pension payments, so the payouts can be reduced or eliminated if circumstances warrant.

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The defined-benefit plans that many workers in the past relied on for income in retirement are definitely on the wane, being replaced by defined-contribution plans such as 401(k) retirement saving vehicles, which have employees contribute and manage their own retirement investments within a framework set up by their company. Some companies match a portion of what employees set aside in the accounts.

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