Retirement plan for 49% of Taiwanese is to 'not retire’ 85% do not have confidence that their pension will be enough to live on
Ok, so most people do not have enough to get by, savings run short, and the people with money give the example of working until they drop dead. And somehow they believe their system will go kaput before it has even started -though this last I wonder if it is for real or a mere brainwash by bosses who do not like to pay their part. I mean, in the ol country we make less, get full salary pensions and some for ridiculous amounts… it has not failed in over 100 years. And when you hear government officials saying this in spite of 18% and perks such as low rate electricity and fre cable… well, there is defineively something afoot.
Retired from military and teaching positions: They may complain but they are in good shape with their “old” pensions.
Working in small companies: Probably need to work until very old due to their company does not pay high salaries combined with not actually contributing the required amount to the govt. pension system. The company just basically cheats the employees out of their pension money…they do so because employees there a long time and do not feel are employable elsewhere. When an employee does retire the boss just gives them a little money. No one dares report the companies to the govt as they think the boss will close down the company and just reopen under new company name meaning they may loose any money promised to them.
Wife’s parents: My wife’s parents are retired and living simple life on their monthly pension income. The father was basically unemployed for last 20 years but kids kept putting money into pension system for him and his wife.
It is increasingly difficult for older workers to seek employment in a market dominated largely by service industry jobs. Why hire older workers when they often cost more, slower to learn new task, fatigue more easily than younger workers. As government subsidies and pension fund dries up, the future looks grim for seniors as they age. Taiwan’s low birth rate and rapidly aging demographic trend is contributing to the worsening economic outlook. As of 2017 the population of citizens over age of 65 have officially surpassed the population of citizens age 14 and under. Taiwan’s population will steadily decline over the next decades.
It’s a very legitimate fear, but I’d like to point out that if the company does it too obviously, the retiree can sue for compensation on the basis that the new company is really the same as the old company, and to hell with the change of name. The Supreme Court has endorsed this.
Government pensions are nothing but a pyramid scheme - they all turn to shit once the population starts aging. Better to tax people less so they can at least fund their own retirement, rather than funding the previous generations and likely having nothing for themselves (my situation - I have to be realistic and plan for my own retirement while funding other peoples retirement. makes me sick).
The thing is that there are many ways to - pardon my French- screw the workers out of their pensions. So what I read into this is that the system is not reliable in that sense, so not only there is the fear you will not get it, but also that what you get won’t be enough.
Like even the government. the officials are Ok but they are useless in day to day affairs, only good for shuffling papers and writing gonwens in Sung poetry style. You need the people on contract who are the ones who actually do stuff, and those get screwed royally. We had masive firings, and from those, a third were people targeted because they had been working 23 years. It is illegal to fire someone if they have been working 24 years in one place, so basically they stole a reasonable pension from these folk. One wonders where the money went… Moreover, there is no chance these people will find a job since they are pushing 50. I do not know what they expect people to do, jump off a bridge? They can’t even find work at 7-11.
I also worked before in private industry and remember our boss secretary, overworked, burned out, way past 50. She just wanted to leave but couldn’t. Even with savings, she couldn’t support herself. This company was so shady that they had officially “burned” their factory twice -on paper- so there were no records of her working there, so many ghost transactions, no way to fight legally if she wanted to.
On and on many stories I know people try to do the right thing, save, invest… only to be kicked to the curb and have to survive on those savings…Go back to work unfit, sick.
Seriously, the government should contemplate what to do to help these growing mass of unemployed -but certainly not unemployable- people. Loans for small enterprises come to mind, with training, incubators or something. Seniors helping seniors in an investment scheme. But the government is also guilty of these disgusting practices. The Taiwanese bosses are mostly short sighted and blaming the victims does not help the economy.
The whole thing is fucking sick, no matter what country you live in.
It used to be that the milkman made enough money to have a wife and two kids. Now there are college graduates busting their asses who can’t even dream of owning a house, having a wife at home, or children.
It’s all rigged. The money is out there, but the fucking fatcats at the top are keeping it all.
You are so right and I’m one of them and no idea what will happen to me.
Can’t see the future or not future at all for seniors but I know will still be doing some work don’t want to idle at home.
At this stage still support my 2 old parents + 1 disable brother (back home) and adding up I’m single mom the good thing is my teenage is entering Uni and will work at the same at Hsinchu.
I don’t want to say any bad things about Taiwanese boss, without her I wouldn’t be able to support my parents and brother.
Some more data in this article… And who knows this online application called “What’s Your Number?” mentioned in the article?
90% of Taiwanese workers clueless about retirement needs: online poll
Forty percent of employees in Taiwan who have a retirement plan would like to retire at the age of 58, but 90 percent have no idea how much money they would need for retirement, according to a recent poll published by PCA Life Assurance Co., Ltd.
The online poll showed that about 70 percent of Taiwan employees estimate that they will require NT$5 million (US$159,551) in retirement savings, when in fact the ideal amount is close to NT$10.51 million, the insurance company said.
The estimate of NT$10.51 million was calculated based on an average retirement age of 58, an average life expectancy of 80 years, and average cost of living of NT$478,000 per year, the company said.
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It said that in an effort to help employees calculate their retirement needs, it has launched an online application called “What’s Your Number?”
It’s not evil to make money. It is evil to steal your employees’ pensions, close the company to avoid paying them the pension, make them work excessive overtime, and pay them really horrible wages.
The market should determine what skills get paid what, but here they just pay crap wages to almost everyone, regardless of job. It’s why cha bu duo exists in this culture.
…which is already happening. However, the lights are out as the bosses do not get it. They put their money in mosquito halls and pyramid schemes in the stock market. They buy semi working companies, push their stock and then sell for highest profit…then move on like leeches on teh next one. And on and on.
If somebody was making a big profit out of hard work and creating stuff, no one would be complaining. But gutting their own carcasses and destroying every hope of building again is stupid and selfish and it si not good business by any definition.