I’m currently living on an island. I won’t tell you which one. It is not relevant. But my story is relevant to you. Wherever you live.

Imagine putting your money in a pension fund every year. Every month you pay your premium.

You great man/woman. You do what you are told is good. The government tells you this is great. Your premium gets deducted from your gross income.

You think: I need to save for my older days. After 65 I have my pension savings account.

So far so good!

You work 10-20 years.

The Central bank of your country supervises the pension funds. The Central bank, those economists, risk managers, those educated people. They know what they are doing. They got my back. You think.

So you keep paying. Your savings are pilling up.

You play it safe. You tell your pension fund adviser, your best friend, to invest in safe bonds. Safe stocks. Your friend got your back.

Then something happens. A foreign investor buys the pension fund. Yep, on small islands this can happen. I think in your country they would call it, your pension fund merges with another pension fund. Often the name changes. Great you think. Good news.

Then fast forward to 2023.

Headline Breaking News Your governement is negotiating for a loan of say 500 million dollars.

This loan needs to be initiated to fill the gap on the balance sheet of your pension fund. Are you still with me?

Apparently the investor stole 500 million USD dollars from his pension fund. Are you still with me?

Keep breathing! Take a deep breath. You are gonna need it.

This has been happening since 6-7-8 years ago.

The investor has bought some property and invested your premiums into that property. Has paid consultants to value that property at 500 million US dollars while it was not worth that money.

Your premiums are not in a piggy jar collecting dividents. Not in safe stocks, safe bonds. They are invested in a piece of shit property worth nothing.

Houston: we have a problem! Houston do you copy me? Houston I repeat: we got a problem.

Say bye bye to your retirement, because Dorothy Cansas is going bye bye.

Didn’t I say you needed a deep breath?

You look blue. Why are you lying on the ground. Get up.

Let me say it bluntly for you to understand.

Those economists, risk managers and supervisors at the Central bank have been sleeping.

There was no supervision.

No risk management.

No governance.

No oversight.

Nothing!

Nobody has been watching your back!!

Nobody!

Not your financial advisor. The pension guy.

Nobody is watching your back!

Take it.

That is the world we are living in!!

And now the government, your saviour is going to help you by getting a loan. To backstop the pension fund!

Seriously?

By now I expect you to see red flags!!

You are a pro now!

You have been hurt before.

So by now I expect you to see the lies coming from miles away!

So pause and tell me why it is a lie that this government loan is going to save you.

Think for yourself.

Don’t trust. Verify.

Don’t even trust me.

Who am I?

I’m just a storyteller.

Ok are you done?

This loan is going to be paid by you!

Yeah you will be screwed again.

And again.

Until you learn the lesson.

It is presented and sold like the government is your friend and saviour.

The government the Robin Hood of you the poor pension fund people.

But here is how you pay.

First, a loan is just money created out of thin air.

1-2-3 we got a loan.

But now you have to pay back.

Yes you will get your pension.

But maybe not all full.

And to pay for the loan we have to raise taxes.

The interest payments on the loan need to be paid.

So to do that we have to increase taxes.

Profit tax, wage tax, sales tax.

When you see debt to gdp or debt to income going up for your country, red flag.

By having a loan of 500 million USD in this case debt to income would go up to 90%. Close to 100%.

In case you live in the USA your debt to income of the whole country is 129%.

So you pay back in taxes.

Your taxes are going up.

So while you are happy with your pension you now see sales taxes, maybe property taxes (of your home) going up in the last decades of your life.

You see the irony?

Can you still laugh like me?

I’m laughing now!

Come on laugh with me.

Because there is a funny end of this story..

A stand up comedian gets on stage.

What’s the best way to screw the central bank, politicians, and a pension fund?

Stack sats!