If your employer offers a pension or retirement savings plan, join it as soon as you can and contribute as much as the plan allows. This match is usually 25 - 50 percent of the investment, a much higher rate than that which can be found in an alternative investment. Remember, by saving early you have time on your side. Your savings will grow and your earnings will compound over time. In many companies, you may have to work for five years to become eligible to receive pension benefits.
Some workplaces have a shorter vesting period.
Too often employees, especially women, quit work, transfer to another job or interrupt their work lives just short of the time required to become vested. Ask the personnel office, pension plan administrator or union representative about the vesting period and other details of your company pension plan. The SPD is a document that pension plan administrators are required to prepare, and it outlines your benefits and how they are calculated. You probably received a copy of the SPD when you joined the pension or savings plan, but you may request another one from your employer or plan administrator. Also remember to keep pension-related records from all jobs.