What Is A Retirement Plan Sponsored By An Employer? 
Generally an employer sponsored qualified retirement plan under ERISA -LRB- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 . -RRB- can be a defined benefit or contribution plan . Most employer sponsored plans today are defined contributions plans like a 401 -LRB- k -RRB- that permits pretax contributions , tax deferral accumulations and distributions taxed as ordinary income . 