The Federated City Employees' Retirement System ("System") is a defined benefit retirement plan serving the employees and retirees of the City of San José. Our attorneys have the specialized law expertise to help public agency or "governmental" plan providers develop excellent and compliant benefits plans.Benefits of a Personal Defined Benefit Plan. (ERISA) that governs Qualified Domestic Relations. What compensation is used to determine my Plan benefits? Cliff vesting – employees become fully vested in the defined benefit plan after a certain number of years. If you are seeking retirement benefits, the first thing you need to do is to get the Summary Plan Description. This section covers the presentation of defined benefit plans in a reporting entity's financial statements and the disclosures in the accompanying notes. A Defined Benefit Plan is any plan that is not a defined contribution plan.