They are better than you and me. They are almost as special as teachers and government street department workers.
In Ohio the local communities are required to put 25% of the wages a fireman and policeman makes into the Public Employees Retirement System. That is almost four times the cost Social Security would be to the tax payers.
There is a difference between employee pensions and Social
security. SS is only supposed to cover around 40% of what you need to live on in retirement. (Less if you are a high income wage earner.) Employee pensions are to allow the person to live comfortably in retirement.