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That's how it might work with some companies, if you work your entire life for the one company.

I was told by one former employer that I needed to have worked for the company for 5 continuous years to receive any benefit.

Another former employer told me that the money paid in on my behalf was frozen at the time I left (1977) and was not invested in any way.

In your ideal FS world, not only does the employer work for the same company but the same company still exists. If it goes bust and the funds were invested heavily in the company itself, you lose. If it gets bought by another company, the existing fund will likely be frozen and a new one started or you pay into the new company's scheme.

In another scenario, which I avoided but other colleagues fell into, the company insisted that people had signed that this pension was discretionary. Later, the company quoted that clause and paid nothing. We were told that if it was non-discretionary, it would be regarded as payment-in-kind and subject to income tax. I avoided that by refusing to switch to the new scheme, certainly until I could read the new Terms and Conditions. That hadn't arrived by the 6-month time time limit where a choice had to be made. A year later, I was let go. I actually rejoined the company 10 years later but made sure that the company paid into my personal pension on my behalf. No income tax and no National Insurance Tax. That has worked very well for me.