Pensions are earned when the work is done. They are paid in the future. It's easy to imagine a pension scheme that overpays to the point where the work becomes

Pensions are earned when the work is done. They are paid in the future. It's easy to imagine a pension scheme that overpays to the point where the work becomes uneconomical but because the costs are delayed and/or borne by someone else it exists anyway. Whether it is representative of the average scheme I have no idea. Anecdotally, my grandfather received a 100% of wage pension from the government after 10 years of service started in his mid 30's (Australia). The expected value of that would far exceed any self contribution scheme, even with tax advantages.