There are over 30,000 employer pension plans in the United States, according to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Pensions used to be considered a “guaranteed” retirement nest egg for loyal workers. However, more and more under funded pensions are making the news lately, putting the retirement savings of many workers into question. The PBGC, the government entity that bails out these troubled plans, predicts a crisis of funding.

To check the health of your pension, you can do two things:

1. Request a copy of your Summary Plan Description from your employer or plan administrator. This will tell you if your plan is covered by the PBGC.
2. Submit a written request to your plan administrator to obtain the plan's current funding status. This will tell you if your pension is stable enough so that you may receive all of your money.

Additionally, you can obtain a copy of your company's annual report if it has one. Somewhere in the report—most likely in the footnotes—you will find information about the pension's financial strength. If the plan's total assets are close to—or more than—its accumulated benefit obligation, the pension plan is probably in good shape.

But if the plan's obligation (the money it has promised to pay workers) is 15 percent or more than the amount of assets the plan has, you should think about forming a Plan B to offset a potential loss in your pension benefits.

Talking with a financial professional is often the first step to help you analyze other savings alternatives you have with your non-pension savings.