What does an employee generally receive under a Cliff Vesting scheme after 3 years?

In a Cliff Vesting scheme, an employee gains full ownership of employer contributions only after they have completed a specified period of service, which in this case is three years. This means that after the three-year mark, the employee receives 100% ownership of all contributions made by the employer to their retirement plan, such as a 401(k).

The key characteristic of this vesting method is that until the specified time is reached, the employee does not own any of the employer's contributions. This approach incentivizes employees to stay with the company for a certain minimum period to secure their benefits. Thus, after three years, the employee fully benefits from the contributions made by the employer without any gradual accumulation of ownership prior to that point. This is why the answer correctly identifies the entitlement to 100% ownership of employer contributions after three years of service.