In the modern world, however, few people remain with one employer throughout their working life.
This raises the question of what to do with your retirement pot after your leaving drinks are over.
Kerry Nelson (pictured), director at Nexus IFA, says you need to seriously consider the implications of moving your pension plan from one employer to another or to a personal scheme because the benefits rarely outweigh the cost of the shift. "It should not be taken lightly, like any pension transfer," she explained.
Nelson says the impacts differ depending on the type of pension you hold, but she says there are three key questions you need to ask yourself before undertaking a change in your pension plan.
What type of pension arrangement do I have?
Nelson says you need to know what type of pension you hold with your previous employer and how it will be affected by a move into another scheme.
While the negative impact is lessened for stakeholders or investors in group personal pension schemes, Nelson says anyone in such a situation still needs to seriously consider what it would mean for their bottom line to make the shift.
For example, if you switched from a group personal pension plan and into a SIPP, you would have more control over the underlying investments, but may forgo the lower costs that are often associated with a larger group plan.
She adds that if you are in a final salary scheme, it is almost never beneficial to move your money to another type of pension.
"It is nigh on impossible to replicate the type of benefits of a final salary scheme. It is the exception to move rather than the rule," she said.
"You’d have to have amazing investment returns to pay the equivalent of the scheme and be confident the returns would be consistent over a very long time."
Nelson says this is because such schemes are calculated on years worked and on your final salary, which is not subject to market movements.
However, she adds that you need to assess your own personal goals and consider the future financial stability of your previous company, which could be an incentive to move your money.
What is the cost of changing my pension plan?
One of the most important considerations for pension investors, according to Nelson, is the charges they will incur either in the act of moving their pension or losing discounted fees by moving out of a wider scheme and going it alone.
"Leaving is often the best route, but you have to go through all the calculations to weigh up the costs."
"It can be a very good thing because you want to take control of your pension benefits, but you need to be aware of the financial impacts and ask yourself if they outweigh the benefits of moving."
"You don’t want to move from pillar to post and erode your capital with charges. Someone will take a slice for doing that work as you go along."
Nelson says you should ask yourself if you can find funds that perform as well or better than those in the current pension scheme and find out whether higher charges would even out the higher gains.
"What you don’t want is to move from a very cheap contract to a very expensive one," she said.
"Too many people have been negatively affected by transferring out of pensions."
She says that the volatile market environment following the financial crisis in 2008 has added another hurdle for investors looking to move their long-term savings.
"You could end up timing the market badly and coming out [of your pension] when it has taken a knock."
"By the time the next scheme receives the funds it could have bounced back and you would’ve missed that market movement."
Nelson says transferring between schemes can take two to three weeks, or as much as several months when it comes to unravelling a final salary plan.
What is the investment scope?
Nelson says there is a big advantage in moving from a limited scheme and widening your investment universe in terms of fund choices.
Many employer schemes have only certain funds available to their employees, which may not fit their requirements later in life.
Moving from an employer’s pension scheme and into your own personal pension is one way you can take control of your financial future.
How to move your pension
Once you have carried out the necessary analysis, if you have decided the best option is to move your money, Nelson says the process is very straightforward.
She says you first need to understand the type of scheme you are currently in to find out how to get the relative transfer value.
"You should have someone help you through that process," she said.
Next, you need to get the relative values information and use it to analyse whether you are making the right move.
Before taking your money out of the current scheme, you need to have your new pension plan set up.
The last step you need to take is filling out transfer forms for both the scheme the funds are coming out of and the new scheme that the funds will be going into.
"The receiving scheme will do the rest," she said.
"The hardest part is the analysis, the work you have to do to make sure you are making the right decision."