19.9 Retirement Plans
Florida law does not regulate retirement plans. ERISA overrides any state laws. ERISA administers standards for funding, participation, vesting, termination of insurance, disclosure, fiduciary responsibility, and tax treatment of private pension funds.
Vesting Schedules
Vesting schedules basically provide the employee the right to share in his/her retirement fund if employment is terminated or if he/she retires early. The employee is always 100% "vested" in the benefits from his/her own contributions. Benefits accumulated from employer contributions are subject to vesting schedules established by law.
(See Illustration 13.2, page 237, in the Florida study manual)
