A savings account is just the beginning

For years we’ve been hearing that a key part of your financial health is 3 to 6 months’ expenses in a savings account. Now–especially if we’re public employees– it looks like we’ll need to have a serious retirement fund as well, if this bleeding edge example is anything to go by.

…if a company goes bankrupt, the federal government can take over its pension plan and see that its retirees receive their benefits. Although some retirees receive less than they were promised, no retiree from a federally insured plan in the private sector has come away empty-handed since the federal pension law was enacted in 1974. The law does not cover public sector workers.