[quote=“kellohitty”]I disagree about being able to save more money here. Yes, you save more right now, but mind you, you need to also factor in that you need to save for your pension. The pension here sucks. So you work 30 years here and you may have to save for the next 30 years of retirement. In Canada, you work for 30 and you don’t have to worry about the rest of your life. And the pension is almost the same $$$ as when you were working.
So factor that in and see if you can save that much here.[/quote]
I send money back to my pension fund in Australia. Easy.
[quote=“5566”][quote]I disagree about being able to save more money here. Yes, you save more right now, but mind you, you need to also factor in that you need to save for your pension. The pension here sucks. So you work 30 years here and you may have to save for the next 30 years of retirement. In Canada, you work for 30 and you don’t have to worry about the rest of your life. And the pension is almost the same $$$ as when you were working.
So factor that in and see if you can save that much here.[/quote]
that’s exactly the point! it’s the same in most western European countries.
I guess teachers from USA dont care about this pension issue though.[/quote]
Is it, the UK state pension scheme had a major shift a good many years ago when they removed the SERP element as they could no longet afford it, the french pension system is almost bankrupt and the german one is suffering as well.
Whilst an ageing population and longer life periods are the main reason, will the current systems in these countries and others like Canada still be in place in another 10 or 20 years time, to be honest i imagine not, or at least not in their current form.
Younger UK nationals have for several years been not only encouraged but to some extent expected to purchase their own top up to the state pension in the form of retirment funds etc, i can see otrhers going the same way, even Taiwan has now started on that road.
The TEACHER’s pension fund in Canada is for teachers only and you have to be working there in order to contribute and benefit from it.
As for the rest of the country, it has it’s own pension, which is not as cushy as the teacher’s pensions.
Also:
Those who come to Taiwan primarily for the money.
In my opinion, if you come to Taiwan primarily for the money, it’s not a good idea to stay for a very long time. In fact, it may not be a good idea to come at all.
I definitely agree that it’s not feasible to come to Taiwan for the money.
Those who come to Taiwan for a variety of other reasons
However, if you come to Taiwan for something like a “Peace Corps lite” type of experience, it can really be a great experience. If you want to live in another culture, experience new, different and exciting things, Taiwan is a great place to live.
Well, some people may come for that. But how long would you stay in another country just for those reasons? a year, maybe 2.
That’s why you get teachers who just stay for a relatively short time. You don’t experience a new and exciting culture for more time than that. After a couple of years, you move on to a different country or you go home. Eventually, most of us want a career and a home. We want to make some money, pay for house and settle somewhere. After all that culture shock has worn off, the money won’t keep you here…unless of course, you weren’t a teacher in the first place in your home country and earning decent money as one.
wouldnt it be still better than in taiwan? little is better than nothing.
anyways, i was talking about “real” teachers in my post. indeed, people working in public institutions (a. o. schools) in france and germany have benefits comparable to those for teachers in canada.
wouldnt it be still better than in taiwan? little is better than nothing.
anyways, I was talking about “real” teachers in my post. indeed, people working in public institutions (a. o. schools) in France and Germany have benefits comparable to those for teachers in canada.[/quote]
Feel free to correct if wrong, but ordinary french teachers, maybe not university level etc, are on the standard system, which is indeed generous, hence its problems.
Taiwanese do get a pension even before the changes to pensions last July, hence why most stayed with their companies for 20 years or more as this was the way of getting a pension, plus the Labour contribution also pays out at the relevant time, albeit the value is not great.
With the new rules, taiwanese are now on a comparable employer contribution to most western countries, and indeed better than some, as well as finally giving them the ability to switch employers without losing pension benefits as was the case.
As someone who contributes in total to their pension fund in greater volume than i could afford to do back in the UK, even when taking into account employer contribution, i for one will be significantly better off living and working here than i would back in Europe, cant comment much for N. America though.
[quote]Taiwanese do not get a pension even before the changes to pensions last July, hence why most stayed with their companies for 20 years or more as this was the way of getting a pension, plus the Labour contribution also pays out at the relevant time, albeit the value is not great.
With the new rules, Taiwanese are now on a comparable employer contribution to most western countries, and indeed better than some, as well as finally giving them the ability to switch employers without losing pension benefits as was the case.
As someone who contributes in total to their pension fund in greater volume than I could afford to do back in the UK, even when taking into account employer contribution, i for one will be significantly better off living and woirking here than I would back in Europe, can’t comment much for N. America though.[/quote]
very informative. thanks for this post.
as a teacher???
i wonder if it’s worth investing and relying on a pension in a ‘country’ whose future is very unclear.
Is it really any different from relying on a country where the future of the pension system is unclear.
If people took a real interest in their future when they first started work, the cost of providing for your own pension etc is not high, and would be a cost that i imagine all teachers here could afford.
That is the road i took, and whilst i will still draw whatever miserable pittance the UK government hands out as a pension when i retire, i will not thnak god be dependent upon it.
I am just wondering what people think is a decent monthly savings here–especially the qualified teachers from Canada. Barring the pension issue, I guesstimate that I can make more money per month here than back home (as a qualified teacher)–at least in the first few years of teaching. What do you send home? 30k/month 40k, 50k, 60k?
Bassman, it’s very simple: Supply and demand.
Why are do some professions get paid more? Why don’t we all just each do a job and all get paid the same? Why does a construction worker or a bus driver (elementary grads) get paid more than a teacher (in Canada)? It’s not a perfect world man.
[quote=“Traveller”]If people took a real interest in their future when they first started work, the cost of providing for your own pension etc is not high, and would be a cost that i imagine all teachers here could afford.
That is the road I took, and whilst I will still draw whatever miserable pittance the UK government hands out as a pension when i retire, I will not thnak god be dependent upon it.[/quote]
Exactly. As an American, I’m sure as hell not going to rely on the Social Security system for my old age. It will most likely be bankrupt by then. Nor have I worked for an employer who contributed to a retirement plan for me. Instead, I’ve been putting away money on my own for retirement and, regardless of where one is from, that’s probably a wise idea.
I agree with the statements in this thread about Taiwan’s pension system. It’s a great improvement for Taiwanese employees. Previously almost none of them ever earned a pension; now almost all will. But the system doesn’t cover foreigners, so you still need to take care of yourself. But, with the lower tax rate and lower cost of living in Taiwan, that should be possible. I was terrible at saving for retirement before arriving in Taiwan and now find it fairly easy. You just need to pay yourself first (create a “don’t touch” retirement account and deposit a small sum in there regularly from your paychecks; it will add up).
Christ my palms go sweaty when I read threads like this.
How much do you figure a paper and aluminium recycler makes? Is it a viable pension alternative? In the absence of winning the lottery, I damned well hope so.
[quote=“kellohitty”]Bassman, it’s very simple: Supply and demand.
Why are do some professions get paid more? Why don’t we all just each do a job and all get paid the same? Why does a construction worker or a bus driver (elementary grads) get paid more than a teacher (in Canada)? It’s not a perfect world man.[/quote]
Really, that simple? I think there is a change in the air. Most owners that I knew in Taiwan were not having problems getting foreign staff, they struggled to get local staff. Not just good local staff to teach, but anyone that was slightly passable. Reason - the average earnings of local teachers sucked and there just weren’t large numbers of applicants.
Good local teachers are earning good coin in a very few number of high paying local teacher positions.
If supply and demand was really going to work everytime then they’d grow some … and get together to get what they are really worth.
Here’s the rub… most schools would go belly up in six months if they had to pay teachers what they are really worth. And there is another main source of contention between local and foreign staff. Many, not all, local staff need to work harder to earn the chicken feed that they are earning.
My point… it seems that it’s not just foreign teachers that don’t get paid what they should get.
I don’t think that I said that everyone should get paid the same. I just said, ‘everyone should get paid fairly’.
Honest days work - honest days pay.
How many bosses in Taiwan are straight up in financial dealings?
I know a number that pay teachers lower rates and then, to make it ‘worthwhile’ for the teachers, declare really low earnings on taxes to make the teacher have more in their pocket at the end of the month.
I agree with a lot of what everyone is saying, however, it’s important to realize the perspective MOST teachers in Taiwan are coming from.
Most teachers come here for 1-3 years at the most. They come here to experience another culture before graduate school, a full time career, etc. They don’t care about earning a LOT of money, because they don’t look at it as a career in any way, shape or form. It’s kind a Peace Corps type of experience, where they can actually save some money. For someone straight out of school, that’s really a fantastic opportunity monetarily.
Taiwan is probably not the place to save a lot of money for retirement, etc. (except that there are a lot of people who DON’T care about that kind of thing. They are very happy to live their life as long as they are happy and getting by. Nothing at all wrong with that perspective).
Like a lot of things in life, it all depends on your goals/ perspective.
[quote=“Taiwaner”]I agree with a lot of what everyone is saying, however, it’s important to realize the perspective MOST teachers in Taiwan are coming from.
Most teachers come here for 1-3 years at the most. They come here to experience another culture before graduate school, a full time career, etc. They don’t care about earning a LOT of money, because they don’t look at it as a career in any way, shape or form. It’s kind a Peace Corps type of experience, where they can actually save some money. For someone straight out of school, that’s really a fantastic opportunity monetarily.
Taiwan is probably not the place to save a lot of money for retirement, etc. (except that there are a lot of people who DON’T care about that kind of thing. They are very happy to live their life as long as they are happy and getting by. Nothing at all wrong with that perspective).
Like a lot of things in life, it all depends on your goals/ perspective.[/quote]
very well said!! :bravo:
May I safely assume that the people in this thread are/used to be teacher at one point or another?? How about working in TW other than teacher, is the benefits better? Maybe more $$ if you are a marketing director or in finance of some sort?
May I safely assume that the people in this thread are/used to be teacher at one point or another?? How about working in TW other than teacher, is the benefits better? Maybe more $$ if you are a marketing director or in finance of some sort?[/quote]
I used to be a buxiban director. I had seriously considered other lines of work and did my homework on the earnings. Working for a very large bike company would bring in much less money than what I was earning. Ok, the hours would have been slightly better.
But, you are probably right about those high level positions paying more. However, one would expect them to be expat packages that are secured from moving from ones own country to take the position and not applying while in Taiwan. I could be wrong and probably am.
