What Is Being Vested In A Retirement Plan? 
Being vested in a retirement plan means that you can take the benefit with you when you leave your place of employment . Immediate vesting is when you are immediately 100 % vested in your plan . Cliff vesting is is an either-or type of vesting . If you stay x number years or longer , you get to keep 100 % of the money in your retirement plan . If you leave before x number of years , you get none of it . Graded vesting allows you to get at least 20 % of the money after two years , and fully vested after 7 years or less . 