verb
to retire (someone), to pension off
B1
Pensionieren: transitive verb meaning to retire someone or to pension off. Uses auxiliary haben in perfect (habe pensioniert). Weak (regular) conjugation; participle pensioniert. Non-reflexive. Can form passive (pensioniert werden) meaning 'to be retired.' Not modal or separable; mainly administrative use.
Examples
Der Chef hat den langjährigen Mitarbeiter pensioniert.
The boss retired the long-time employee.
Er wird bald pensioniert.
He's retiring soon.
Nach 45 Jahren Dienst hat die Firma ihn pensioniert.
After 45 years of service the company pensioned him off.
Details
Mnemonics
picture a manager handing an envelope with a pension check to an employee
sounds like 'pension-ear' – think 'pension' + 'ear' to remember pension
Notes
Typically used transitively (to retire someone). For retiring oneself Germans usually say 'in Rente gehen' or 'sich pensionieren lassen'. Formal imperative ('Sie') is marked 'not applicable' in the conjugation table because conjugation values must not include personal pronouns; the formal imperative requires the pronoun 'Sie'.