In French, a Pension Is Where You Sleep
A pension is a regular payment after retirement. The same spelling in French means a boarding house, from the same idea of a regular payment.
A pension is a regular payment made to someone who has retired. The French word looks identical and means a small guesthouse, because a *pension* was originally board paid for regularly. Both come from Latin *pensio*, a payment, from *pendere*, to weigh — money was weighed before it was counted.
- A regular payment after retirement. *A state pension.*
- A payment for past service. *A war pension.*
- A small guesthouse (from French). *We stayed in a pension.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | pension | A company pension. |
| Plural | pensions | Pensions policy. |
| Person | pensioner | A state pensioner. |
| Verb | pension off | He was pensioned off. |
| Related | annuity | Buying an annuity. |
How it is used in a sentence
- She draws a pension from two employers.Draw a pension is the usual verb.
- He was pensioned off at fifty-five.Retired, often not entirely voluntarily.
- The pension pot grew over thirty years.British term for accumulated savings.
Pension vocabulary
- Defined benefit — pays a set amount, usually based on salary and service
- Defined contribution — pays whatever the invested pot supports
- Annuity — an income bought with a pension pot
- Vesting — when rights to a pension become yours to keep
- Auto-enrolment — automatic workplace pension membership, with an opt-out
From Latin *pensionem*, a payment, from *pendere*, to weigh or pay out. The same verb gives *pending*, *pendulum* and *expense*.
Defined benefit or defined contribution?
A defined benefit scheme promises an income; a defined contribution scheme promises only what the fund grows to. The risk sits with the employer in the first and the saver in the second.
Why does *pension* mean a guesthouse in French?
Because it originally meant regular payment for board and lodging. The payment gave its name to the place.