The court adopted a carrot-and-stick approach of lavish pensions for compliant chieftains, coupled with a huge show of military force on the borders of their territories.

When recycled through the economy, he augured, these lavish pensions would "abolish unemployment" forever.

He was given a lavish pension as an older-generation party member and continued to reside in a luxurious Dorobanţi villa.

Foster was already thinking of retirement, probably without a lavish pension or savings.

They have been called "privilegiados" who collect lavish pensions and benefits, and portrayed as budgetary vampires who drain the pension system and contribute nothing.

He vows to do away with lavish pensions for ex-presidents.

What Mr. Missfelder said, in an interview with a Berlin newspaper, is that elderly people are soaking up Germany's financial resources, with lavish pensions and gold-plated health care plans.

Special-interest groups like judges and politicians have maneuvered to maintain relatively lavish pensions, for example, making it politically harder to demand sacrifices from ordinary workers.

Sir Roy received a lavish monthly pension but since he wasn't heir-apparent, he did not get possession of the diamond.

(But in truth, if you can remember this far back, Germany's lavish pensions and welfare programmes were under intolerable strain long before the euro crisis exploded.)