DEFINITION of 'Unit Benefit Formula'. A method of calculating an employer's contribution to an employee's defined benefit plan. The employer calculates the contribution by multiplying an employee's years of service by a percentage of his or her salary. Next Up.
Currants are glossy red or black berries that grow on thornless upright shrubs. To be classified as a currant, the bush must be in the genus Ribes. Native to the Northern Hemisphere, these plants have been cultivated throughout Europe and Asia for centuries.
The English word 'currant' has been used for this fruit only since 1550, taken from the fruit's resemblance to the dried currants of Greece, raisins made from a small seedless grape. The much older English name 'ribes' is of ancient Indo-European origin and is common to other languages. Species: Red, pink and white currants belong to three European species (Ribes rubrum, R. petraeum, R. sativum). Black currants are related to European (R. nigrum) and Asian (R. ussuriense) species.