Pension plans are usually either a defined benefit plan that guarantees a specified monthly amount, that often is not adjusted to inflation, or a defined contribution plan, that grows tax-deferred but does not guarantee a monthly benefit. This plan is typically paid to the employee in a lump sum upon retirement.

• The pension leg of the stool is missing for many women. You are more likely to have an employer-provided pension if you work for local, state, or federal government, a large company, or one that is unionized. Companies that produce goods are more apt to provide pensions than ones in the service industry.

• 401(k) and 403(b) plans are do-it-yourself tax-sheltered plans that a company is not obligated to contribute to, so they are not federally guaranteed. All the burden of risk is on the employee's shoulders. However, these plans are portable in that they can be moved as you move from one company to another.

• Currently, women are more apt to get pension benefits as wives, divorcees or widows than on their own work record. Women must know their rights.

• The percentage of total retirement income derived from employer pension plans is projected to increase from 19 percent in 1988 to 25 percent in 2018.

• When income from Social Security and defined benefit or defined contribution pension plans are added together, they will probably equal about 60 percent of pre-retirement earnings, assuming retirement at age 65 and 30 years in the same pension plan. When Social Security is combined with defined contribution plans, it is more variable, but should fall in a similar range.

• Ideally, women should make every effort to find a good employer with a good pension plan, be vested, stay with the employer, and contribute as much as possible to their pension plans. In real life, this rarely happens.

• Pension integration, a practice in which a pension is reduced by subtracting Social Security benefits, more commonly occurs for women.

• The national trend is toward a part-time, temporary work force. When women who hold temporary and part-time jobs retire, their Social Security benefits will be low, and they will have little or no pension income.