People who receive regular payments from a pension fund or government after retirement or due to disability.
From Old French 'pension' (payment, rent) from Latin 'pensio' meaning 'a paying, weighing out.' Originally referred to any regular payment before specializing to retirement income in the 17th century.
The word's root connects to 'pensive' and 'expensive' through the Latin concept of 'weighing' – originally pensions were literally weighed amounts of precious metals. In British English, 'pensioner' specifically refers to elderly people, while Americans typically say 'retiree.'
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