pension

American  

[pen-shuhn, pahn-syawn] / ˈpɛn ʃən, pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ /

noun

plural

pensions

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. (in France and elsewhere in continental Europe)

   1. a boardinghouse or small hotel.

   2. room and board.

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verb (used with object)

1. to grant or pay a pension to.

2. to cause to retire on a pension (usually followed byoff ).

pension ¹ British  

/ pɑ̃sjɔ̃ /

noun

1. a relatively cheap boarding house

2. another name for full board

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pension ² British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to grant a pension to

pension Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

• nonpensionable adjective
• pensionable adjective
• pensionably adverb
• pensionless adjective
• unpensionable adjective
• unpensioned adjective
• unpensioning adjective
• well-pensioned adjective

Etymology

Origin of pension

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French pensïon, from Latin pēnsiōn-, stem of pēnsiō “measured weight,” hence, “payment, rent,” from pēns(us) “weighed” (past participle of pendere “to hang, weigh out, pay by weight”) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

"Retire and rehire" schemes are designed to retain experienced officers who leave to access their pension.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Some investors hoping for a more durable rebound have begun pinning their hopes on pension funds.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

Williams, a retired civil servant who is undergoing cancer treatment, considers her pension to be "fairly decent," but as the US cost of living has risen, she has had to dip into her savings.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said staff were "rightly outraged that management wants to slash pension benefits, tear up local and national agreements and divide the workforce".

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

“Where I’m gonna get a thousand dollars, though? All me and Ignatius got is my poor husband’s Social Security and a little two-bit pension, and that don’t come to much.”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Related Words

• allowance
• annuity
• grant
• payment
• premium
• retirement account
• reward
• social security
• subsidy