Final answer:
Vested employees must generally wait until retirement to receive pension benefits, while those with defined contribution plans like 401(k)s have portable and tax-deferred accounts that can move with them between jobs.
Step-by-step explanation:
Once an employee is vested, he or she will not receive any benefit from the pension plan until they reach retirement age or meet the plan's criteria for early retirement. Vesting means the employee has earned the right to the benefits, but distribution will only occur according to the plan's rules, typically at retirement. Unlike pensions, defined contribution plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s allow for collected benefits to be portable, transferring with an employee from one job to the next. These are also tax-deferred and rely on investments that aim to counteract the effects of inflation. Furthermore, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation provides insurance to ensure workers receive at least some pension benefits if their employer goes bankrupt.