What is a key characteristic of a Defined Contribution Plan?

A key characteristic of a Defined Contribution Plan is that the amount of contributions is predetermined and can vary. This means that both the employer and potentially the employee make contributions to the plan based on a specified formula or percentage of salary, but the ultimate retirement benefits depend on the performance of the investments made with those contributions.

In a Defined Contribution Plan, the employer establishes a contribution rate, which may be a percentage of the employee's salary, and this rate can differ among employees or over time. Unlike defined benefit plans, where the benefits are specified at the outset and are based on a formula related to salary and years of service, defined contribution plans do not guarantee a specific benefit amount upon retirement; rather, the retirement income is contingent upon how much has been contributed and how well those investments have performed.

This structure shifts the investment risk from the employer to the employee, as the retirement income from the plan is directly related to the contributions made and the investment returns achieved. This contributes to the flexibility and variability of the contributions in a Defined Contribution Plan compared to the fixed benefit structure found in Defined Benefit Plans.