pension

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

▪ I. pen·sion 1 [pension pensions pensioned pensioning] noun, verb BrE [ˈpenʃn] NAmE [ˈpenʃn]
see also ↑pension ²
noun
an amount of money paid regularly by a government or company to sb who is considered to be too old or too ill/sick to work
•to receive an old-age/a retirement pension
•a disability/widow's pension
•a state pension
•to live on a pension
•to take out a personal/private pension
•a pension fund

Word Origin:
late Middle English ‘payment, tax, regular sum paid to retain allegiance’ Old French Latin pensio(n-) ‘payment’ pendere ‘to pay’

Culture:
pensions
Pensions are regular payments made to people who have retired. Most people retire and start to receive a pension when they are about 60 or 65. The amount of money they receive depends on how much they have paid into their pension scheme and also on the type of scheme.
In Britain, a basic state pension has been provided by the government since 1908 for those who paid ↑National Insurance contributions while they were working. Pensions for each generation are paid for out of the contributions of people still working. A problem arising from this arrangement is that more people now live longer but the number of younger people in work has fallen, so that there is less money to pay for pensions.
Some pensioners complain that the state pension does not provide enough money for them to have a reasonable standard of living. People who do not qualify for a state pension, e.g. because they have not paid enough National Insurance, may receive ↑income support if they have no other source of money. War pensions for soldiers injured on duty are also paid by the government.
There are several other kinds of pension which pay larger amounts of money, though people have to pay more towards them. There are many company pension schemes, into which both workers and their employers pay certain amounts. A similar scheme, SERPS, was started by the government in 1978 for people who could not join a company scheme. Some people, especially those who are self-employed, belong to private pension schemes arranged through insurance companies. The money paid into company or private pension schemes is invested in the stock market and the pension funds, the organizations that manage this money, are among the most important investors in the City. In the 1980s the government encouraged people to leave SERPS and company pension schemes and take out private pensions instead and in some cases, where private pension funds have been a poor investment, people have lost money.
In the US there are three main types of pensions. The US government operates a programme called ↑social security, and people who work have to pay into this programme. The amount of money they get when they retire depends on how much they earned when they were working, but it is never a lot. It would be difficult to live only on social security payments, and so people also arrange to receive a pension from another source.
Many employers and unions operate pension programmes for their workers. As in Britain both employers and workers put money into these private pension funds and the money is invested. By law, pension funds must report to the government and to their members about the way they manage the money. Many people who want to be sure of having enough money when they retire also make their own personal arrangements. One common way of doing this is by opening a special bank account called an ↑IRA, or Individual Retirement Account. With this kind of account people pay less tax than normal, but must agree to leave the money in the bank until they retire.

Collocations:
The ages of life
Childhood/youth
be born and raised/bred in Oxford; into a wealthy/middle-class family
have a happy/an unhappy/a tough childhood
grow up in a musical family/an orphanage; on a farm
be/grow up an only child (= with no brothers or sisters)
reach/hit/enter/go through adolescence/puberty
be in your teens/early twenties/mid-twenties/late twenties
undergo/experience physical/psychological changes
give in to/succumb to/resist peer pressure
assert your independence/individuality
Adulthood
leave school/university/home
go out to work (at sixteen)
get/find a job/partner
be/get engaged/married
have/get a wife/husband/mortgage/steady job
settle down and have kids/children/a family
begin/start/launch/build a career (in politics/science/the music industry)
prove (to be)/represent/mark/reach a (major) turning point for sb/in your life/career
reach/be well into/settle into middle age
have/suffer/go through a midlife crisis
take/consider early retirement
approach/announce/enjoy your retirement
Old age
have/see/spend time with your grandchildren
take up/pursue/develop a hobby
get/receive/draw/collect/live on a pension
approach/save for/die from old age
live to a ripe old age
reach the grand old age of 102/23 (often ironic)
be/become/be getting/be going senile (often ironic)
die (peacefully)/pass away in your sleep/after a brief illness

Collocations:
Finance
Income
earn money/cash/(informal) a fortune
make money/a fortune/(informal) a killing on the stock market
acquire/inherit/amass wealth/a fortune
build up funds/savings
get/receive/leave (sb) an inheritance/a legacy
live on a low wage/a fixed income/a pension
get/receive/draw/collect a pension
depend/be dependent on (BrE) benefits/(NAmE) welfare/social security
Expenditure
spend money/your savings/(informal) a fortune on…
invest/put your savings in…
throw away/waste/ (informal) shell out money on…
lose your money/inheritance/pension
use up/ (informal) wipe out all your savings
pay (in) cash
use/pay by a credit/debit card
pay by/make out a/write sb a/accept a (BrE) cheque/(US) check
change/exchange money/currency (BrE) traveller's cheques/(US) traveler's checks
give/pay/leave (sb) a deposit
Banks
have/hold/open/close/freeze a bank account/an account
credit/debit/pay sth into/take money out of your account
deposit money/funds in your account
withdraw money/cash/£30 from an ATM, etc.
(formal) make a deposit/withdrawal
find/go to/use (especially NAmE) an ATM/(BrE) a cash machine/dispenser
be in credit/in debit/in the black/in the red/overdrawn
Personal finance
manage/handle/plan/run/ (especially BrE) sort out your finances
plan/manage/work out/stick to a budget
offer/extend credit (to sb)
arrange/take out a loan/an overdraft
pay back/repay money/a loan/a debt
pay for sth in (especially BrE) instalments/(NAmE usually) installments
Financial difficulties
get into debt/financial difficulties
be short of/ (informal) be strapped for cash
run out of/owe money
face/get/ (informal) be landed with a bill for £…
can't afford the cost of…/payments/rent
fall behind with/ (especially NAmE) fall behind on the mortgage/repayments/rent
incur/run up/accumulate debts
tackle/reduce/settle your debts

Example Bank:
•Employees enjoy generous retirement pensions.
•He draws his pension at the post office.
•He is now retired and on a pension.
•Only half of all women qualify for a full state pension.
•She lives on her pension and her savings.
•State pensions are funded by taxpayers.
•The state pension age for men and women will be 65.
•You will have to find out whether or not you qualify for a pension.
•the company pension fund
•workers who have lost all their pensions as a result of company insolvencies
Derived: ↑pension somebody off
 
verb
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
French
 
 
▪ II. pen·sion 2 [pension pensions pensioned pensioning] BrE [ˈpɒ̃sjɒ̃] NAmE [pɑːnsiˈoʊn] noun (from French)
a small, usually cheap, hotel in some European countries, especially France
see also ↑pension ¹