I have a pension at my current employer, but I have little faith it will be around when I actually retire. They've eliminated it for new hires, so as the folks grandfathered in retire off, I suspect it will eventually reach a point where it's more hassle than it's worth and they'll just give everyone left a buyout.
The benefits are calculated differently, essentially a percentage of your annual salary is used to accrue your final benefit. So, as your salary increases over the years, your pension benefit does as well. You can collect as early as 55 with 5 years of service, but you only get 50% of the earned amount. The reduction is gradually reduced until you get 100% at age 65. You get no bonus for working beyond 65, but you aren't penalized by working part time for a lower salary, either. I know of a lot of folks that are sticking around to avoid the benefits reduction period, but I can't imagine many folks even consider the pension vesting cliff in any sort of career decision.
As far as rating a pension, it's not like you have any control on what it is, so just be happy you still have one.
