I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 243



Only Krnovel

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (243)

[USA, Retirement Pension Surpasses 1,500]

[Income replacement rate is about 43%]

This is America, and a sensitive topic has emerged as a social issue.

The first retirement pension system was established in the United States in 1875, and over the next 50 years, about 400 retirement pension systems were introduced.

As it has a long history, there are various types of retirement pensions operated by private companies, public institutions, and unions. First, if we divide them into two major categories, they are defined benefit pensions and defined contribution pensions.

Defined benefit pensions are simply public funds,

The company collects money from its employees, operates a single account, and pays pensions based on that account.

In contrast, with a defined contribution fund, each individual has a separate account and can receive a pension in proportion to the amount he or she has contributed.

The pension most suitable for a capitalist society is a defined contribution pension.

If I pay $500 a month and someone else pays $400 and gets $600 back, will there be any funds left?

The essence of pension is that you receive as much as you pay.

But some people fall into this illusion.

“Huh? The government has 10 billion dollars?”

“What good is keeping that money for? It should be used to help people in need like us.”

“What did you do to deserve that money? Have you ever paid taxes?”

Pension is not a concept of collecting taxes and handing them out.

The essence is that I receive as much as I contribute to society or the organization.

Only 52% of workers in the United States have a retirement plan, and even those who do get what they pay for.

Does that mean that it’s a lot of money?

A person who was earning $3,000 a month retires and receives $1,200 a month. Some people receive this all at once, which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Americans receive hundreds of thousands of dollars when they retire.”

“But why are we poor?”

How should the U.S. government answer this question?

It is true that there are over 1,500 retirement pension plans in the United States.

However, this is not a policy that the government collects taxes and distributes; it is a policy that is implemented voluntarily by unions or companies.

But poor people ask, why don’t we have any guarantees? Have they ever paid even a single penny in taxes to the government?

Yet the U.S. government has so far borrowed money and given it to its citizens.

The reason is that in a democratic country, everyone has equal voting rights, but more than 20% of people are not eligible to vote based on the amount of taxes or contributions they pay to the country.

Why do they exercise their right to vote and ask for help from the government when they don’t pay taxes? Despite this, the Democratic Party in the United States does not hesitate to spend money.

The mindset of just winning the election first.

When a news article comes out about some retiree getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits, poor people just get upset.

It is true that such complaints soon lead to votes. The Democratic Party is not stupid; it is just using the psychology of such people as an election strategy.

Of course, the Republican Party is gritting its teeth and rushing forward,

He raised the level of criticism, saying that the Democratic Party is ruining America.

“The Democrats give $2,000 to workers earning $1,000 a month, and take $2,000 from workers earning $5,000. And they lie to workers that they will get more in pension later on in proportion to the amount of money they put in.”

Do you really think that kind of fund management will work?

It’s called a retirement pension, but how is this any different from robbery?

People who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement pensions are also dissatisfied. They say they want to put the money they earn in their own account and manage it, so why are they forcibly taking it away from them?

If you think you can prepare for old age with a retirement pension, you are mistaken. Does it make sense that someone who used to earn 1 million won has to live on 400,000 won a month?

Poor people sarcastically say that it would be nice to earn that much money, but they don’t know the reality.

In the end, why on earth do we run a retirement pension system that everyone is dissatisfied with?

The mindset of Americans is that they would rather work when they are old than retire on a pension. In fact, the retirement age system in the United States was ruled unconstitutional in 1980.

Companies that fire workers because they are old,

The essence of the retirement pension system is to guarantee a comfortable life in old age, but isn’t it actually giving companies an excuse to lay off workers?

From the company’s perspective, the retirement pension system is actually beneficial.

The company does not suffer any losses because it takes some of the money that should be given to workers under the pretext of a fund and returns it after 20 to 30 years.

Are retirement pensions really a system for workers?

Why on earth does the Social Security Fund exist?

There are people who pay taxes and there are people who receive taxes.

The Democrats are using retirement benefits as an excuse to divide public opinion in the United States, but this time it’s the tax-paying middle class who are giving them the hammer blows.

“Why are you using the money I paid in taxes to sell your belongings?!!”

“Who gave permission to give that money to the homeless?!! Huh?!!”

“The country should implement policies for the people who pay taxes, not make abusive promises to give away voting rights to those who don’t pay taxes?!!”

The Democratic Party has turned 100 million middle-class Americans into enemies.

The startled Democratic Party came up with this excuse.

“In order for society to be maintained, the poor must be well taken care of. I hope that taxpayers will be generous and understanding.”

“That’s what you call selling tickets!! Do you think we enjoy working until we get old and have no retirement age?!!”

“Those Democrats only know how to print money and throw it away!!”

The American middle class fights back,

Companies that had been keeping an eye on the situation also began to abolish their retirement pension systems one by one.

Pensions aren’t like a magic box where if you put in $100, it will blow out $130. Even a profit-making company can’t do that. Can a government that only spends money do that?

The retirement pension system, which was a long shot from the beginning,

Voices calling for an increase in retirement age have filled American society.

The United States set the retirement age at 65 in 1967, then adjusted it to 70 in 1978, but finally gave up in 1986.

But will older Americans be able to keep their jobs if retirement age is abolished?

That’s a separate issue, when you get older you can’t work like you used to and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to earn as much money as you want.

The retirement pension system was introduced because of these problems, but it has been restored to its original state.

Even a superpower like the United States could not escape this hamster wheel.

***

“Have some fruit.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Where is it? I bought it at the market.”

This is Daedeok-gun,

Former Dong-A Ilbo president Park Sang-ui stared blankly at the plate his wife brought out.

Apples and pears were presented in such an appetizing manner that I wondered, ‘Is it okay for me to enjoy such luxury at this age?’

It’s already been 20 years since I retired from the Dong-A Ilbo, and now I’m in my 80s with only a few gray hairs left.

I thought I would die in less than 10 years after retirement, but I wonder when this tenacious life will end, and on top of that, I’ve already run out of money from working.

Even if you are the CEO, you are just a salaried worker and you don’t even get paid when you retire.

How can such an old man have money to eat fruit for dessert every day? Is there a jar of money in this house that never runs out?

That was the truth.

There is a son who donates 15 billion won to politicians because he has a lot of money, so does it make sense for his father to starve?

I receive 1 million won every month as living expenses, and considering that the average monthly salary of a skilled worker who works hard is 400,000 won, this is a luxury that I cannot afford.

How long will I have to live like this, only receiving money from my son?

The old man, who had been pondering for a moment, sat up.

“Where are you going?”

“Going to work.”

“No, where is a gentleman who can barely walk with a cane going?”

“I’m dying because I’m just eating rice. I have to do something.”

“So where are you going?”

The wife followed her husband.

A man who has been running around like crazy as a reporter for over 60 years, so isn’t it time to take it easy now?

I used to say that if I could only live to be 70, I would just play and die, but my husband is already way past that age.

But what would an 80-year-old man do now?

I tried to stop him, but he still went on his long journey.

***

“Your Majesty, your advisor has arrived.”

“Counselor? Are you talking about my father?”

“yes.”

This is the Daedeok County official residence.

I was working, and when I heard that my father had arrived, I sat up.

I was given the honorary position of advisor to Changgyeonggung Palace 15 years ago, but it was a title in name only, so it was forgotten in my mind for the past 10 years.

My father, who is enjoying a leisurely retirement at home, wonders what is happening here.

Could it be because of the money? I give her a generous allowance every month, so I ruled that out.

“Father, why are you here?”

“I came here to earn some money for a meal. Oh man, now I can’t even walk the way I want.”

“So why do you buy and create work?”

My father could barely lean his back against the sofa.

I couldn’t even respond to my mother’s nagging because she was so tired, so I offered to be her conversation partner.

“Are you here because you’re bored at home?”

“Rather than being bored, I just came here to find an answer because I don’t know why I’m still alive.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Honestly, I think I’ve done my duty as a person. I didn’t achieve anything great, but I’m proud of the fact that I’ve lived diligently, and that’s enough… I don’t know why I’m still alive.”

I couldn’t open my mouth.

If you just live, you live. Do you really have to find the answer?

My father said that living to be 80 years old was boring, but I couldn’t understand it because I was so obsessed with life that I even coveted the elixir of eternal life.

“Father, are you comfortable these days? Don’t think about such useless things.”

“Hey you, you little brat, are you saying something like that in front of your father?”

“I don’t have time to worry about that. I’m so busy every day that I can’t even think about that.”

“Yeah, you’re young… right… you’re already fifty-six, right?”

“Yes, time has passed like that.”

“Ahyo~ You’re getting old now. You’re getting old… .”

I was so shocked that I just laughed out loud.

It’s true that you’re getting older, but in modern society, aren’t you still at the prime working age?

My mother also scolded me, telling me not to say such nonsense, wondering why I was suddenly saying such things.

“If you’re going to say something like that, get up quickly. Sang-geun is busy, so why are you interrupting him?”

“Who said you came here to interfere? I’m just doing what I have to do as an advisor to Changgyeonggung Palace.”

“This isn’t Changgyeonggung Palace, this is Daedeokgun’s official residence. And didn’t your son give you the position of advisor just to talk nonsense like that?”

“Okay, I got it, I got it.”

My father, who was pushed by the nagging, finally got up.

I was following him to take my father in, when the butler brought urgent news.

“Your Majesty, we are in trouble.”

“What’s going on?”

“That’s… former Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui…”

“Huh? Why our justice?”

The butler said nothing to his father’s question.

Something big must have happened, so I moved to a place where my father couldn’t hear me.