Who pays Captain Jamison's pension?

[thrash]

Before there was the Official Traveller Universe (tm), there was the setting implied by the rules as written. For the most part, this was a broadly drawn space opera of the imperial variety. But there were occasional quirky, idiosyncratic bits thrown in.

The Merchant career was described in simple, generic terms:

Merchants of the commercial enterprises. Merchants may crew the ships of the large trading corporations, or they may work for the independent free traders which carry chance cargos and passengers between worlds.

Like the Navy, Marines, and Army careers (but unlike Scouts or "Others"), merchant characters who complete 20 years' service or more receive retirement pay, in the form of an annual pension. It's not a lot -- Cr4,000 (or about $20,000 in 2023) per year at 20 years, +50% per additional four-year term -- but it is enough to cover basic subsistence-level food and lodging (Cr3,600/year).

The question, however, is who pays this pension?

For the military careers, this appears to be fairly straightforward: the service or its parent government pays. For merchants who "crew the ships of the large trading corporations," it also seems reasonable to infer that the corporation is responsible for paying.

The problem is merchants who "work for the independent free traders." How are individual, privately owned ships able to afford to pay these kinds of pension over the life of the recipient? (Note that characters from the Army career "may also be mercenaries for hire," which raises some of the same issues.)

One possibility is this expense is factored into the life of a standard starship mortgage. In this case, the banks involved set aside a portion of the monthly payments they receive to create a pension fund. This implies a "merchant service" that can at least track merchant personnel over the duration of a career and validate their years of service, even if split among multiple employers, and assign individual accounts to banks to pay.

Another possibility is that the "merchant service" itself acts as a guild, collecting funds (still likely from mortgage payments, broker fees, and such) and dispersing them directly to retired members. This implies a more powerful organization, especially if it can force the large corporations to contribute.

Somewhere in between is a split solution, where a "Free Traders Association" fills the role of a guild for the independent ship owners but large lines manage pension funds on their own or through the banks.

The existence of a strong "merchants guild" might, however, go a long way to explaining another mystery: who funds the "ship acquisition program" (so called in the Alexander Jamison Character Generation Example) that grants millions of credits in equity to selected merchant captains?

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by thrash

Before there was the Official Traveller Universe (tm), there was the setting implied by the rules as written. For the most part, this was a broadly drawn space opera of the imperial variety. But there were occasional quirky, idiosyncratic bits thrown in.

The Merchant career was described in simple, generic terms:

Like the Navy, Marines, and Army careers (but unlike Scouts or "Others"), merchant characters who complete 20 years' service or more receive retirement pay, in the form of an annual pension. It's not a lot -- Cr4,000 (or about $20,000 in 2023) per year at 20 years, +50% per additional four-year term -- but it is enough to cover basic subsistence-level food and lodging (Cr3,600/year).

The question, however, is who pays this pension?

For the military careers, this appears to be fairly straightforward: the service or its parent government pays. For merchants who "crew the ships of the large trading corporations," it also seems reasonable to infer that the corporation is responsible for paying.

The problem is merchants who "work for the independent free traders." How are individual, privately owned ships able to afford to pay these kinds of pension over the life of the recipient? (Note that characters from the Army career "may also be mercenaries for hire," which raises some of the same issues.)

One possibility is this expense is factored into the life of a standard starship mortgage. In this case, the banks involved set aside a portion of the monthly payments they receive to create a pension fund. This implies a "merchant service" that can at least track merchant personnel over the duration of a career and validate their years of service, even if split among multiple employers, and assign individual accounts to banks to pay.

Another possibility is that the "merchant service" itself acts as a guild, collecting funds (still likely from mortgage payments, broker fees, and such) and dispersing them directly to retired members. This implies a more powerful organization, especially if it can force the large corporations to contribute.

Somewhere in between is a split solution, where a "Free Traders Association" fills the role of a guild for the independent ship owners but large lines manage pension funds on their own or through the banks.

The existence of a strong "merchants guild" might, however, go a long way to explaining another mystery: who funds the "ship acquisition program" (so called in the Alexander Jamison Character Generation Example) that grants millions of credits in equity to selected merchant captains?

If I recall Jamison made an intelligence coup. That is enough to justify the Imperium paying him off.

[thrash]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

If I recall Jamison made an intelligence coup. That is enough to justify the Imperium paying him off.

Not in the Character Generation Example (Book 1, pp. 26-27), or other pre-Official Traveller Universe sources. That later sources have expanded upon this character does not invalidate the question. Please stick to the topic at hand.

[DeadParrot]

I think the best answer is some variation on the union/guild idea. In order to be a Merchant in good standing and therefore eligible for hire, you have to have your union card. Union/guild privileges include the ability to post your resume up on the union 'Members available for hire' board and a union pension. A union approved ship contributes a portion of all payroll to the union pension fund.

Don't keep your union dues paid or do something to get them revoked? Well there is always the Others branch. Same for ships that don't participate in the union program. No union members in good standing will hire on. By the same thought, as long as they only hire non members, they are left alone. Mostly.

Try to bypass or openly violate the union rules, well "That's a nice ship you have there, be a shame if something happened to it." Or for Travellers, "To bad you slipped on that wet pavement 14 times...Next time you will be part of it."

Of course, none of this is really in the early books. Just a guess a few decades after publication.

[J Crocker]

Or, he could have made payments to a private pension fund.

But responsible banking isn't replete with roleplay opportunities, I'd recommend a payoff from The Big Score.

[thrash]

Originally Posted by J Crocker

Or, he could have made payments to a private pension fund.

Note that in 1977 when Traveller was written, Individual Retirement Accounts in the US were still four years in the future (1981).

But responsible banking isn't replete with roleplay opportunities, I'd recommend a payoff from The Big Score.

That's not what the rules as written say. This is a pension for service until retirement. The Big Score (such as it is) is represented by rolls on the Cash Table.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by thrash

The problem is merchants who "work for the independent free traders." How are individual, privately owned ships able to afford to pay these kinds of pension over the life of the recipient?

It's not inherently more difficult than it is for a larger corporation, it's just a case of "a pension with a business that might not exist in twenty years isn't very useful".

The simplest answer is some form of guild or union; the crewmember or shipping company (depending on how it's set up) pays the dues, which are paid back years later as retirement. See for example the SIU. In the implicit Traveller setting, it's probably associated with the TAS.

[thrash]

Originally Posted by Anthony

It's not inherently more difficult than it is for a larger corporation, it's just a case of "a pension with a business that might not exist in twenty years isn't very useful".

It's also problematic if the business that the pensioner retires from hasn't yet been in existence for twenty years (to accumulate the necessary capital).

The simplest answer is some form of guild or union; the crewmember or shipping company (depending on how it's set up) pays the dues, which are paid back years later as retirement.

Agreed, and also consistent with much of the presumed source literature (e.g., Norton' Solar Queen stories or Heinlein's Starman Jones), but not otherwise attested in the rules as written. It certainly never made it into the discussion of merchant characters in the OTU.

In the implicit Traveller setting, it's probably associated with the TAS.

Here, I disagree.

TAS memberships are associated with the prestige services (Navy and Marines, which both benefit from high social status and provide significant social status improvements) or large amounts of ready cash. The existence of a "blackball" process implies a certain level of exclusivity. Merchant characters, on the other hand, don't even rate middle passage tickets at mustering out. If TAS administers pensions for random merchants, that service goes beyond "members and their guests."

Since we know that banks (which finance starship purchases) exist in the implied setting, these or some other mundane financial institution would suffice.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by thrash

It's also problematic if the business that the pensioner retires from hasn't yet been in existence for twenty years (to accumulate the necessary capital).

Pension systems don't require capital unless they're set up as investments, they can be handled as unsecured debt on the business (the unsecured part, of course, is why employees would be reluctant to rely on a pension from a company they aren't confident will still exist in fifty years). That's why any smaller entity would handle it by giving the money to a presumed-reliable third party.

[Mike Wightman]

TAS is available to anyone who has the cash and avoids being black balled.

So TAS may also offer a pension scheme.

Or it could be a pension you buy from an institution on a planet in your setting.