pension

[pen-shuh n; French pahn-syawn for 3] /ˈpɛn ʃən; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3/
noun, plural pensions
[pen-shuh nz; French pahn-syawn for 3] /ˈpɛn ʃənz; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3/ (Show IPA)
1.
a fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to the person's surviving dependents in consideration of past services, age, merit, poverty, injury or loss sustained, etc.:
a retirement pension.
2.
an allowance, annuity, or subsidy.
3.
  1. a boardinghouse or small hotel.
  2. room and board.
verb (used with object)
4.
to grant or pay a pension to.
5.
to cause to retire on a pension (usually followed by off).
Origin
1325-75; Middle English (< Old French pensïon) < Latin pēnsiōn- (stem of pēnsiō) a weighing out, hence, a paying out, installment paying, equivalent to pēns(us) (past participle of pendere to weigh out, pay by weight, equivalent to pend- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > s) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
pensionable, adjective
pensionably, adverb
pensionless, adjective
nonpensionable, adjective
unpensionable, adjective
unpensioned, adjective
unpensioning, adjective
well-pensioned, adjective
Examples from the web for pension
  • Health insurance is good and your pension benefits can be paid to you outside of the country if you leave later.
  • Some will argue that pension schemes will simply cut benefits instead.
  • The government's pension insurer is taking equity in a troubled company.
  • These may include access to health insurance, a pension plan and discounts for training courses.
  • And pension obligations are legal contracts and compensation for services rendered, and should be the last to suffer.
  • Calculating the potential exposure of taxpayers to pension promises is complicated.
  • If you have a pension and don't have to work, it is not so important.
  • The gap in pension provision between the two sectors is even wider.
  • pension systems in rich countries are not working properly.
  • And you can sop our your own oil spills and provide your own pension and health insurance while you're at it.
British Dictionary definitions for pension

pension1

/ˈpɛnʃən/
noun
1.
a regular payment made by the state to people over a certain age to enable them to subsist without having to work
2.
a regular payment made by an employer to former employees after they retire
3.
a regular payment made to a retired person as the result of his or her contributions to a personal pension scheme
4.
any regular payment made on charitable grounds, by way of patronage, or in recognition of merit, service, etc: a pension paid to a disabled soldier
verb
5.
(transitive) to grant a pension to
Derived Forms
pensionable, adjective
pensionless, adjective
Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Latin pēnsiō a payment, from pendere to pay

pension2

/pɑ̃sjɔ̃/
noun (in France and some other countries)
1.
a relatively cheap boarding house
2.
another name for full board
Word Origin
C17: French; extended meaning of pension grant; see pension1
Word Origin and History for pension
n.

mid-14c., "payment for services," especially "reward, payment out of a benefice" (early 14c., in Anglo-Latin), from Old French pension "payment, rent" (13c.) and directly from Latin pensionem (nominative pensio) "a payment, installment, rent," from past participle stem of pendere "pay, weigh" (see pendant). Meaning "regular payment in consideration of past service" first recorded 1520s. Meaning "boarding house, boarding school" first attested 1640s, from French, and usually in reference to places in France or elsewhere on the Continent.

v.

1640s, "to live in a pension," from pension (n.) or else from French pensionner. Meaning "to grant a pension" is from 1702. Related: Pensioned; pensioning.

pension in Culture

pension definition


Payments made to a retired person either by the government or by a former employer.