pen·sion
ˈpen(t)-shən 
1
ˈpen(t)-shən
: a fixed sum paid regularly to a person:
: a fixed sum paid regularly to a person:
a
archaic
: wage
b
: a gratuity granted (as by a government) as a favor or reward
c
: one paid under given conditions to a person following retirement from service or to surviving dependents
2
\
päⁿ-ˈsyōⁿ 
\
[French, from Middle French]
\
[French, from Middle French]
a
: accommodations especially at a continental European hotel or boardinghouse : room and board
b
or less commonly pensione
[pensione, from Italian]
: a hotel or boardinghouse especially in continental Europe
pensioned; pensioning
ˈpen(t)-sh(ə-)niŋ
1
: to grant or pay a pension to
2
: to dismiss or retire from service with a pension
pensioned off his faithful old servant
Examples of pension in a Sentence
Noun
Her pension arrives in the mail every month.
retired people living on their pensions
Recent Examples on the Web
Alexandra Banner, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
In addition to the prison sentence, the federal court ordered Rocha to pay $500,000, forfeit future pension payments, cooperate with the U.S. government and share details of his dealings with Cuba.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Once the Local-specific agreements are complete, IATSE is set to enter its general negotiations, where hot-button issues like wages, working conditions, pension and health contributions and AI will be addressed.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
He also had been ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages from the civil trial, but Florida laws protected his home and pension income from seizure to satisfy court judgments, the New York Times also said.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Finally, and perhaps most tellingly, Fink can’t get his story straight about the destruction of pensions and their replacement by fancy savings accounts with barely any money in them.
—Randi Weingarten, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Yet, it was achieved by aggressively eroding retirement and pension payments and cutting all sorts of payments, including to provinces.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
His income dropped by two-thirds, the difference between his full salary and a city pension.
—USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
Dyken’s income from disability payments, Social Security, her late husband’s pension and tax-preparation work doesn’t go far in a region where housing costs have soared in recent years, echoing conditions in California.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Phoebe Wall Howard, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2022
The plans kick in on Nov. 1 and apply to eligible state and local law enforcement, firefighters, emergency response personnel, pensioned retirees, as well as parents, children, or spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty.
—Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2019
Nor can pension reform ever solve the deep inequality that lies behind the anger.
—The Economist, 8 June 2019
The Imperial Beach City Council recently approved a new two-year contract with firefighters that includes 5 percent pay raises, as well as adjustments to time off and pension contributions.
—David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2019
So could pension funds, which need returns of 7-8% to keep their promises to future pensioners, and have around 10% of their money stored in such investments, less than sovereign-wealth funds (15%) or endowments (25%).
—The Economist, 29 June 2019
Probably to help the dangerous situation in the northwest, a local aristocrat, Sir William Brereton managed to have the Abbot’s death sentence cancelled and he and his canons were pensioned off with the closure of Norton Abbey.
—James Rogers, Fox News, 2 May 2018
The elderly could be pensioned off, the young dispatched to college and those who had jobs sent back to work.
—The Economist, 28 Mar. 2018
Noun
Forecasters expect the cohort of workers age 75+ to double over the next decade as retirement plans evolve away from pensions that encourage workers to retire by 65.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
In addition to the prison sentence, the federal court ordered Rocha to pay $500,000, forfeit future pension payments, cooperate with the U.S. government and share details of his dealings with Cuba.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Once the Local-specific agreements are complete, IATSE is set to enter its general negotiations, where hot-button issues like wages, working conditions, pension and health contributions and AI will be addressed.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
He also had been ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages from the civil trial, but Florida laws protected his home and pension income from seizure to satisfy court judgments, the New York Times also said.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Finally, and perhaps most tellingly, Fink can’t get his story straight about the destruction of pensions and their replacement by fancy savings accounts with barely any money in them.
—Randi Weingarten, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Yet, it was achieved by aggressively eroding retirement and pension payments and cutting all sorts of payments, including to provinces.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
His income dropped by two-thirds, the difference between his full salary and a city pension.
—USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
Dyken’s income from disability payments, Social Security, her late husband’s pension and tax-preparation work doesn’t go far in a region where housing costs have soared in recent years, echoing conditions in California.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Verb
How much will pension payments drop in 2023?
—Phoebe Wall Howard, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2022
The plans kick in on Nov. 1 and apply to eligible state and local law enforcement, firefighters, emergency response personnel, pensioned retirees, as well as parents, children, or spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty.
—Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2019
Nor can pension reform ever solve the deep inequality that lies behind the anger.
—The Economist, 8 June 2019
The Imperial Beach City Council recently approved a new two-year contract with firefighters that includes 5 percent pay raises, as well as adjustments to time off and pension contributions.
—David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2019
So could pension funds, which need returns of 7-8% to keep their promises to future pensioners, and have around 10% of their money stored in such investments, less than sovereign-wealth funds (15%) or endowments (25%).
—The Economist, 29 June 2019
Probably to help the dangerous situation in the northwest, a local aristocrat, Sir William Brereton managed to have the Abbot’s death sentence cancelled and he and his canons were pensioned off with the closure of Norton Abbey.
—James Rogers, Fox News, 2 May 2018
The elderly could be pensioned off, the young dispatched to college and those who had jobs sent back to work.
—The Economist, 28 Mar. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pension.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pension
Cite this Entry
“Pension.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pension. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pension
1 of 2 noun
pen·sion
ˈpen-chən
: a sum paid regularly to a person especially following retirement or to surviving dependents
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