Workplace pension schemes: how do defined benefit schemes differ from defined contribution ones?

UK workplace pension schemes come in two forms: defined benefit and defined contribution. But what's the difference between them?

Workplace pension decisions represented by a clock ticking from work towards retirement (image: Getty Images)
What's the difference between the two main types of workplace pension? (image: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

While a decent wage and good hours are what we tend to look for in a job, the workplace pension scheme on offer should also be a key focus.

With the cost of a decent retirement on the up, and uncertainty over the future of the state pension, it's getting more and more important to think about the sort of pension deal you're getting from your employer.

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Henry Sandercock has spent more than eight years as a journalist covering a wide variety of beats. Having studied for an MA in journalism at the University of Kent, he started his career in the garden of England as a reporter for local TV channel KMTV.

Henry then worked at the BBC for three years as a radio producer - mostly on BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine, but also on major BBC Radio 4 programmes like The World at One, PM and Broadcasting House. Switching to print media, he covered fresh foods for respected magazine The Grocer for two years.

After moving to NationalWorld.com - a national news site run by the publisher of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post - Henry began reporting on the cost of living crisis, becoming the title’s money editor in early 2023. He covered everything from the energy crisis to scams, and inflation. He also has bylines in MoneyWeek.