means A regular sum of money paid to someone after they retire, typically funded over years of working life by the worker, employer, or state.

from From Latin 'pensio,' meaning a payment or installment, from 'pendere,' to weigh out or pay — money was once literally weighed on scales. The word arrived in English through Old French 'pension' in the late Middle Ages, first meaning any regular payment or stipend before settling into its modern retirement sense. The same 'pendere' root quietly weighs out 'pendant,' 'suspend,' and 'expense' — all things hung in the balance or paid out.