What is the difference between a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan?

29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(34). In other words, an individual plan member holds his or her own account and the eventual benefits received by the plan member are tied exclusively to the level of earnings on those funds during the life of the plan. Unless the plan possesses these features, it falls within the catch-all category known as "defined benefit" plans. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(35). In contrast to defined contribution plans, members of defined benefit plans have no individual accounts and receive a fixed benefit upon retirement typically determined by a set formula. See Commissioner v. Keystone Consol. Indus., Inc., --- U.S. ----, ----, 113 S.Ct. 2006, 2009, 124 L.Ed.2d 71 (1993) (explaining the differences between defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans).