Will having a public-sector pension affect my Social Security?
- What is a pension?
- Do I have to do anything to manage my pension?
- What if I leave my company before I retire?
- How does vesting work?
- When can I access my pension money?
- Can I take out a loan from my pension plan?
- Should I take a lump-sum payout or monthly payments?
- What are the advantages of taking a lump sum?
- Should I invest my lump-sum payout in an annuity?
- What's the difference between a single-life annuity and a joint-and-survivor annuity?
- Will I pay tax on my pension payouts?
- How should my pension affect my retirement planning?
- Will having a public-sector pension affect my Social Security?
It could - and not in a good way. There's a chance you may not be eligible for Social Security at all. An estimated 30% or so of public-sector workers across 12 states are not part of the Social Security system. (To find out if that's you, ask your employer's benefits administrator.)
That situation makes it all the more important to get serious about saving for retirement on your own, rather than relying on your pension to cover all your income needs down the line. 
