A pensioner is a person who receives a
pension
A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
, most commonly because of
retirement
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
from the workforce.
This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of pensionable age may also be referred to as an 'old age pensioner'. In the United States, the term retiree is more common, and in New Zealand, the term superannuitant is commonly used. In many countries, increasing
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
has led to an expansion of the numbers of pensioners, and they are a growing political force.
Political parties
*
50Plus
50PLUS (; abbreviated 50+) is a political party in the Netherlands that advocates pensioners' interests. The party was founded in 2009 by Maurice Koopman, Alexander Münninghoff, and Jan Nagel. Henk Krol served as the party's leader from 2016 to ...
in the Netherlands
*
Dor, the Israeli Pensioners' Party
*
National Party of Retirees and Pensioners
National Party of Retirees and Pensioners ( pl, Krajowa Partia Emerytów i Rencistów, KPEiR) is a minor political party in Poland.
The main goal of KPEiR is protecting retired seniors, pensioners and trust-busting.
The current leader (Prezes, P ...
in Poland
*
Party of United Pensioners of Serbia
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
*
Pensioners' Party Pensioners' Party or Party of Pensioners is a name commonly adopted by political organizations composed primarily of people who have a pension (generally elderly retirees) and who are interested in issues affecting their demographic group. However, ...
*
Norwegian Pensioners Party
*
Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party
The Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party (SSCUP), later the All-Scotland Pensioners Party from March 2011, was a Scottish political party. It was formed on 3 February 2003, in time to contest that year's elections to the Scottish Parliament. The l ...
*
Swedish Senior Citizen Interest Party
The Swedish Senior Citizen Interest Party (Sveriges pensionärers intresseparti, SPI Välfärden) is a political party in Sweden. As of 2018, it holds no seats in parliament or regional councils, but is represented in Hörby
Hörby () (old da, ...
Other uses
* In the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, a pensioner is a
student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
who is not a
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
or
sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...
and who pays for his or her tuition and
commons
The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
. The term
commoner
A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...
may also be applied, especially at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
* A
political pensioner
A political pensioner enjoys a pension awarded due to his or political career or significance.
UK domestic politicians
By the Political Offices Pension Act 1869, pensions were instituted for those who had held political office. For the purpos ...
is a member of a formerly ruling dynasty who is paid a 'pension' (e.g. by the British raj) as a partial compensation for the income lost by not exercising an ancestral claim to a native throne.
* A
Chelsea Pensioner
A Chelsea Pensioner, or In-Pensioner, is a resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is home to 300 retired British sold ...
is a retired British soldier who lives within the Royal Hospital.
* In the
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
industry, a pensioner is a
stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
that has been retired from
stud
Stud may refer to the following terms:
Animals
* Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding
** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred
Arts and entertainment
* Stud (band), a British progressive rock group
* The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...
duty due to declining fertility (usually related to age).
See also
*
AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)
*
Age UK
Age UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 25 February 2009, and launched on 1 April 2009, which combined the operations of the previously separate charities Age Concern England and Help the Aged to form the UK's largest cha ...
*
Elderly care
Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often called re ...
*
ProtectSeniors.Org
The Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc. advocates for more than 205,000 Bell Atlantic, NYNEX, GTE, MCI, Idearc Media, Idearc/SuperMedia, and Verizon union and management retirees. The association also represents active Verizon employees regardin ...
*
Reminiscence therapy
Reminiscence therapy is used to counsel and support older people, and is an intervention technique with brain-injured patients and those who appear to have "Alzheimer's and other forms of cognitive disease."
A 2018 AARP article about a standalone ...
*
Senior citizen
Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...
*
Silver surfer (internet user)
References
External links
University of Cambridge JargonPension WatchPension watch is a comprehensive online resource on non-contributory (social) pensions.
Pensions
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