Retirement benefits vs. retirement pension

Retirement benefits are, after all, a form of reward for an employees loyalty and service to the employer, and are intended to help the employee enjoy the remaining years of his life, lessening the burden of worrying about his financial support or upkeep. On the other hand, a pension partakes of the nature of retained wages of the retiree for a dual purpose: to entice competent people to enter the government service, and to permit them to retire from the service with relative security, not only for those who have retained their vigor, but more so for those who have been incapacitated by illness or accident. [G.R. No. 116422. November 4, 1996]