Correct term for "expectancy" in relation to accounting

Janet

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I've been asked what the best translation is for a German term, "Anwartschaft". This is a concept in German law referring to the assumption that after a certain number of years you will get a certain amount of money. Used particularly in relation to pensions and insurances, it can also, apparently, be sometimes be used in accounts to show an amount that someone expects to receive in the future.

Various dictionaries offer terms like pension expectancy; (vested) right to future pension payments; entitlement to a pension; deferred benefits; contingent rights. While some or all of these might explain the concept, is there one in particular which would more usually be used in accounting or legal terms?

I'm not sure that knowing in historical novels I've often read that someone might be "living on the expectancy" makes me more or less likely to think that pension expectancy is the best term to use (that translation of the term is from a Dietl/Lorenz dictionary, one of the more reliable sources).