The word "pension" is confusing.  The general term is "retirement plan" which can be a pension, meaning a series of payments when you retire, or it can be like a bank account (e.g., profit sharing and 401(k) type plans are typical of these).  And, in the case of the bank account type plans (e.g., profit sharing plans) the total balance in the account can be used to purchase an annuity series of payments... so the point is that a "pension" is strictly a series of payments that end when you die, and some plans allow for pensions to be continued to the surviving spouse, but an election has to be made at a certain point in time...