pension1
noun /ˈpenʃn/
/ˈpenʃn/
- an amount of money paid regularly by a government or company to somebody who has retired from work
- to receive a retirement pension
- The party promised to increase the basic state pension by £15 a week.
- a disability pension
- to take out a pension
- a workplace/an occupational pension
- on a pension She was struggling to live on a small pension.
- I've been paying into a private pension for years.
- a pension fund
- a pension scheme/plan
Collocations The ages of lifeThe ages of lifeChildhood/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/in 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
- 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 turning point 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
- 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 FinanceFinanceIncome- earn money/cash/(informal) a fortune/the minimum wage/a living wage
- make money/a fortune/(informal) a killing on the stock market
- acquire/inherit/amass wealth/a fortune
- build up funds/savings
- get/receive/leave (somebody) an inheritance/a legacy
- live on a low wage/a fixed income/a pension
- get/receive/draw/collect a pension
- depend/be dependent on (British English) benefits/(North American English) welfare/social security
- 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/contactless card
- pay by/make out a/write somebody a/accept a (British English) cheque/(US English) check
- change/exchange money/currency
- give/pay/leave (somebody) a deposit
- have/hold/open/close/freeze a bank account/an account
- credit/debit/pay something 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 North American English) an ATM/(British English) a cash machine/dispenser
- be in credit/in debit/in the black/in the red/overdrawn
- use a mobile/an online banking app/platform/service
- manage/handle/plan/run/ (especially British English) sort out your finances
- plan/manage/work out/stick to a budget
- offer/extend credit (to somebody)
- arrange/take out a loan/an overdraft
- pay back/repay money/a loan/a debt
- pay for something in (especially British English) instalments/(North American English usually) installments
- 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 North American English) fall behind on the mortgage/repayments/rent
- incur/run up/accumulate debts
- tackle/reduce/settle your debts
Culture pensionspensionsPensions are regular payments made to people who have retired from work. Many people retire and start to receive a pension when they are about 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 and the age at which people start to receive the state pension goes up. This problem is likely to get worse in the future. 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, for example, 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.Other kinds of pension pay larger amounts of money, though people have to pay more towards them. By law, employers have to offer a workplace pension, into which both workers and employers pay certain amounts. Company pension schemes are less generous than they were in the past: people are living longer, and it has become clear that some pension schemes have not had enough money paid into them. 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 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 private employers offer a 401(k). This is an account in which an employee can save or invest money for their retirement without paying tax until the money is taken out. In some cases employers will also contribute. A 403(b) is offered for public service employees such as teachers. Many people who want to be sure of having enough money when they retire 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.Extra ExamplesTopics Moneyb2, Life stagesb2, Working lifeb2- 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.
- workers who have lost all their pensions as a result of company insolvencies
- Employers like freelancers as they avoid the extra expense of pension contributions, sick pay and national insurance.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- adequate
- big
- decent
- …
- collect
- draw
- get
- …
- age
- contributions
- fund
- …
- on a pension
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘payment, tax, regular sum paid to retain allegiance’): from Old French, from Latin pensio(n-) ‘payment’, from pendere ‘to pay’. The current verb sense dates from the mid 19th cent.