Social Security

Well that was an interesting documentary!

那部纪录片挺有意思的！

For sure! I didn’t really understand some of the technical jargon they used in the film when they talked about social security in the US.

没错！他们讲美国社保时用的那些术语，我其实没太听懂。

Like what?

比如什么？

Well, they mentioned how people put away money in something called a 401K?

嗯，他们提到人们把钱存进一个叫401K的东西里？

Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but a 401k is a type of retirement plan that allows employees to save and invest for their own retirement. Through a 401K you can authorize your employer to deduct a certain amount of money from your paycheck and invest it in the plan Everyone tries to contribute as much as possible so that when you retire, you can rest peacefully on your nest egg.

对，我知道听起来很奇怪，但401K是一种退休计划，让员工为自己的退休储蓄和投资。通过401K，你可以授权雇主从工资里扣一定金额投入计划。大家都尽量多存，这样退休后就能安心地靠这笔积蓄生活了。

That’s interesting and logical I guess. In my country, we also have to contribute to a government run retirement fund, but most people don’t really trust it so they just invest in properties or things like that.

有意思，也挺有道理的。在我国，我们也要交政府管的退休金，但大多数人不太信任，所以就去投资房产之类的。

That seems a bit unstable, don’t you think?

这样好像有点不稳定，你不觉得吗？

Yeah, but corrupt governments in the past have created distrust among banks and financial institutions, so now people prefer to have money hidden in a jar or a piggy bank.

是啊，但过去腐败的政府导致人们对银行和金融机构不信任，所以现在大家更愿意把钱藏在罐子里或存钱罐里。

I’ve been thinking of doing that lately! I don’t want some banker to run off with my money!

我最近也在想这样做！我可不想让哪个银行家把我的钱卷走！