
A pension 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. A pension may be a "defined benefit plan", where a fixed sum is paid regularly to a person, or a "defined contribution plan", under which a fixed sum is invested that then becomes available at retirement age. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is usually paid in regular installments for life after retirement, while the latter is typically paid as a fixed amount after involuntary termination of employment before retirement.

The 2010 pension reform strikes in France were a series of general strikes and demonstrations which occurred in France throughout September and October 2010.

A defined benefit (DB) pension plan is a type of pension plan in which an employer/sponsor promises a specified pension payment, lump-sum or combination thereof on retirement that is predetermined by a formula based on the employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, rather than depending directly on individual investment returns. Traditionally, many governmental and public entities, as well as a large number of corporations, provide defined benefit plans, sometimes as a means of compensating workers in lieu of increased pay.

A defined contribution (DC) plan is a type of retirement plan in which the employer, employee or both make contributions on a regular basis. Individual accounts are set up for participants and benefits are based on the amounts credited to these accounts plus any investment earnings on the money in the account. In defined contribution plans, future benefits fluctuate on the basis of investment earnings. The most common type of defined contribution plan is a savings and thrift plan. Under this type of plan, the employee contributes a predetermined portion of his or her earnings to an individual account, all or part of which is matched by the employer.

A strike began on 5 December to protest against broad changes to France's pension system proposed by President Emmanuel Macron. Reforming the pensions was one of President Macron's promises and there are three primary proposals of the pension reform plan. The first is to create a universal state retirement plan, which would replace the 42 individual retirement plans that exist in France. The second is a "points system", to give a pension in proportion to the contributions paid. The third is to "improve the pensions of the most disadvantaged." The result of the system would increase the retirement age of many jobs in France.

The Pan-European Pension Product (PEPP) or like Pan-European Personal Pension Product is a proposed pension which will be available to residents of the European Union. The PEPP is designed to give the 240 million savers in the EU a better choice in the fragmented and uneven European market, where options are nearly non-existent in some member states. PEPPs are regulated by the Regulation 2019/1238. This regulation lays the legal foundation for a single European market for personal pensions. The PEPP will be complementary to existing state, occupational and private pension systems on national level. After endorsement by the European Parliament and official adoption by the European Council the PEPP regulation was published in July 2019 and will enter into application in August 2020. The first PEPPs are expected to be offered in late 2021.
A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.