I would chalk it up as working for an employer whose retirement package does not coincide with my goals. And would start looking for another employer so I can make it more compatible.
Agreed. You have to look at your options, your goals, and make a decision in line with your plans. No one answer will fit everyone in regard to this question.
I do have a pension, and it is in line with my retirement goals. My goal has never been to retire super-early, and with my genes I could easily live to be 100+. Since you "can't outlive your money" and medical benefits are included, a pension is a good option for me.
I definitely agree with those who express concerns over whether the pension will be there at retirement. After all, many things can happen over the course of a 20-30 year career -- both inside and outside the company -- and even if you don't personally know someone who's been hurt by a pension promise broken, you've heard stories. I've kept a watch on mine, and although I won't say I'm not concerned, we're stable (in fact, we're the second most stable teacher pension plan in the country).
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that a pension does tie you down to the job. I'm a STATE employee. Twice my husband has had an unsolicited job offer in the another state, and each time we've weighed the pros and cons. Both times we've stayed, and my pension was
a part of that decision. If you're married and your spouse has a career too, being tied to a specific job makes your life slightly more complicated.
Another difficulty, if you're married, is that we plan retirement funding as a couple . . . but a pension belongs to an individual alone. So, if you're the spouse with the pension and you die first, your spouse could suddenly find himself or herself with a reduced income. Typically, when you begin drawing your pension benefits, you must make a one-time choice whether to accept the pension completely in your name (which would leave the spouse out entirely), or to take a reduced benefit but know that the spouse would still have a reduced benefit after your death . . . but that, of course, is a gamble. If the spouse dies first, you've still accepted a reduced benefit for life. It's a question every pension-earner should consider.
And a pension is a risk in yet another way: I could retire and draw benefits for two years . . . and then die early. If that happens, the state "wins" because I've deposited for years, and my children cannot inherit my pension. On the other hand, if I live to be 100, I'll "win" because I'll end up receiving more than I deposited over the years. Of course, most people fall somewhere in the middle, and it's impossible to say who'll "win" and who'll "lose". In that regard, a 401K and other retirement savings are more "sure" because you KNOW how much you have, and you can at least leave it to your heirs.
I'm one of the youngest people still in on the "old" good pension plans. People who started only a year or two after me are on a lesser plan, and people who've started in the last five years or so are on a lesser-still plan. As such, I have to avoid a break in service -- if I were to leave (I'm not having another baby, but any of us could become ill or could need to provide care for an elderly parent), I'd come back in under the newer, lesser plan.
If you're looking for a job with a pension, it's important to know exactly what the pension will pay and what you must do to qualify for it. I can only talk about what I know: Teachers.
The majority of teachers do not end up staying long enough to get full pension benefits, and many are ill-informed on the benefits. For example, I was talking to a teacher friend about this not long ago. She's looking at retiring in another 1-3 years, so she went to a retirement seminar . . . and was surprised to learn that the pension isn't equal to her current paycheck. Of course, it was also news to her that she may spend less in retirement than she does now. This information is available just for googling; she hasn't informed herself.
Overall, people today are bewailing the fact that pensions are going the way of the dinosaurs, but I think most people would not end up collecting big benefits. People today change jobs more often, which has never been the way to earn a pension benefit. And for those looking to work a few years at a high salary then retire, a pension isn't likely to be a possibility at all.
Finally, even if you're expecting to draw a pension, it should never, never be your only source of retirement income.
Is a pension a good choice for you? I don't know. That question involves too many variables for any blanket answer to be correct.