Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 760, Paycheck Deductions.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 760.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development.
I almost forgot where I was from.
Oh yeah, beautiful Los Angeles, California.
This episode, like all of our episodes, has a learning guide.
You should go to ESLPOD.com to download it.
This episode is a dialogue between Bill and Carol about paycheck deductions.
This is money that your company takes out of your paycheck.
What you get paid every week or every month for a variety of purposes.
Let's get started.
It's about time.
I've been waiting for my first paycheck, and now it's finally here.
I'm ready to party this weekend.
Whoa!
What's the matter?
What happened to all my money?
The amount of this check is a lot less than I expected it to be.
Yeah, my first paycheck was an eye-opener for me, too.
Look at the pay stub and you'll see all of the deductions.
After federal income taxes, state income taxes, and FICA, you're not left with a lot of money.
You're right, but what's FICA?
Those are taxes for Social Security and Medicare.
Did you sign up for a retirement plan?
If you did, those retirement contributions are deducted too.
Thank God I didn't.
But you know what?
That still doesn't account for all of the deductions.
Let me take a look.
Oh, it looks like your wages are being garnished.
They're garnishing my wages?
What for?
Um, do you have to pay child support or something like that?
Oh, yeah, I guess I do.
I'd forgotten about that.
I guess I'd better change my weekend plans.
I guess so.
Our dialogue begins with Bill.
He says, it's about time.
It's about time is an expression that usually means that you are happy that something has finally happened.
You've been waiting for it for a maybe even angry that this thing hasn't happened.
I called my sister the other day and she didn't call me back.
I waited a week.
I called her again.
She didn't call me back.
Then, suddenly, three weeks later, she called me.
I said to her well, it's about time, meaning I'm happy you called, but I'm not happy I had to wait so long.
Well for Bill it's about time that he has finally got a job and is getting paid.
He says I've been waiting for my first paycheck and now it's finally here.
Your paycheck is the money that you get for working.
Some people get paid every week.
Most people get paid every two weeks.
Some people only once a month Bill says, I'm ready to party this weekend.
That is, I'm ready to go out and celebrate, to have a party.
Then suddenly he says, whoa, whoa, is what you might say to a horse to stop it.
That's where you hear that expression.
But it now means more generally that you are surprised by something, that you want to stop the conversation or to stop what you were talking about because something surprising often negative has happened.
Carol says, what's the matter?
What's wrong?
Bill says, what happened to all my money or all of my money?
He's looking at his paycheck.
He sees that the amount that he was paid is less than he expected.
He says, the amount of this check is a lot less than I expected it to be.
Carol says, yeah, my first paycheck was an eye-opener for me, too.
To say something is an eye-opener means that it is a very surprising experience, because but something that teaches you an important lesson about something.
That's an eye-opener.
It opens your eyes.
You suddenly see something you didn't see before or know something you didn't know before.
Carol says, look at the pay stub and you'll see all of the deductions.
A pay stub S-T-U-B is the document that the company that you work for gives you in addition to your check.
That tells you all of the things that were taken out of your check.
It also tells you typically how many hours you worked, how much you got paid for working that number of hours and so forth.
Nowadays, most people don't get paid with a physical check.
Many companies simply send the money directly to your bank, what we would call direct deposit.
However, most companies still give you a pay stub or make one available electronically to you that shows all of the deductions.
A deduction is a noun.
It comes from the verb to deduct. which is the same as subtract or take out of.
Deductions are things that the company takes out of your total pay.
Carol mentions a couple of these deductions.
She says after federal income taxes, state income taxes and FICA, you're not left with a lot of money.
Income taxes are money that you pay to the government.
Almost everyone pays some percentage of their money to the national or federal government.
If you don't make a lot of money, the government will give you that money back at the end of the year, technically the following year after you file your income tax returns.
That is you tell the government how much you made last year how much you paid in taxes.
Some people get their money back.
Many people don't.
The more money you make, the less likely you are to get any money back from the government.
Americans also pay, in most states, a state income tax.
Here in California, that can be as high as I think close to 10% of the money you make.
The federal income taxes can be as much as 35%. depending on how much money you make.
You have to be making a lot of money to be paying the top or maximum amount of 35%, however.
Everyone pays FICA or FICA taxes.
FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act.
Basically, that was a law that required employers to hold part of the money that you earn every week or every two weeks, to take some of that and give it to the government, who uses it for retirement and health care purposes.
Bill says, you're right, but what's FICA?
Carol then explains.
She says those taxes are for Social Security and Medicare.
Those are the two things I just mentioned.
Social Security relates to retirement for the most part.
That is, when you stop working when you are, say, 65 or 68 years old.
You get some money back from the government.
It's money in part related to the amount of money you paid in Social Security taxes.
Medicare is money the government gives people who need help paying their medical or hospital and doctor bills.
Medicare, like Social Security, was mainly designed to help people who are old, people who've stopped working.
It can also be used however, to help people who are disabled in some way, who can't walk, for example.
It will also help people who cannot work for some other reason as well.
That's Social Security and Medicare.
But your pay stub usually doesn't say Social Security and Medicare.
It says FICA.
Carol says, did you sign up for a retirement plan?
In addition to Social Security, many people also have their own retirement plan, money that they save each paycheck for their retirement when they are no longer working.
So retirement contributions would be money that you are saving yourself for your retirement.
Bill says, thank God I didn't.
Thank God means he's happy that he didn't, although someday he may not be happy that he didn't.
Bill says, but you know what?
That still doesn't account for all of the deductions.
To account for means to explain.
So Bill is saying that he understands the income taxes and the FICA taxes, but that It still doesn't explain where some of the money has gone, why his paycheck is not as big as he thinks it should be.
Carol says, let me take a look.
Oh, it looks like your wages are being garnished.
Wages, W-A-G-E-S, is another word for money that you get every hour for working.
Usually, wages is a term we use for people who get paid by the hour.
They get $12 an hour, $20 an hour, $25 an hour.
That's wages.
The more hours you work, the more money you make.
Another term related to that is salary, S-A-L-A-R-Y.
A salary is when you get paid one amount, and it doesn't matter how many hours you work.
The better the job, the higher the income from the job.
Typically, the more likely you will have a salary and not a wage.
Wages are for when you get paid by the hour, and the more hours you work, the more money you make.
Salary is when you have one amount of money, regardless of how many hours you actually work.
Carol says that Bill's wages have been garnished.
By the way, wage is a word with a couple of different meanings in English.
Go back to the learning guide that you downloaded from our website and you can see some additional definitions.
Bill's wages are being garnished.
To garnish means the company doesn't give you all of your money.
It holds some of the money.
Usually because you owe someone else money and legally they have to take some of that money and give it to someone else.
Now, why would they do that?
You may be asking.
Bill asks that as well.
He says they're garnishing my wages.
What for?
Meaning why?
For what reason?
Carol says, do you have to pay child support or something like that?
Child support is money that you have to pay the typically mother of the child, if you're a man.
It could be that the mother has to pay the father.
It depends on who...
When a couple gets divorced or when they are no longer with each other, supporting each other economically, the person who isn't raising the child primarily has to pay the other person money to pay for the expenses of the child.
It could be a baby.
It could be anyone up to the age of 18.
That's what child support is.
If you don't pay child support, the other person typically the wife will go to the court, to the legal system, and they will demand that you pay that money and they will tell the person you're working for.
They have to take some of that money and give it to the person who is raising your child.
That's what child support is.
Bill says, oh, I guess I do, meaning, yes, I do have child support that I have to pay.
He said, I'd forgotten about that.
A strange thing to forget about.
Bill says, I guess I'd better change my weekend plans.
He was going to go out and spend money on drinking or having a party, but now he realizes he doesn't have very much money, so he has to change his plans.
Carol agrees.
She says, I guess so.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Whoa!
What's the matter?
What happened to all my money?
The amount of this check is a lot less than I expected it to be.
Yeah, my first paycheck was an eye-opener for me too.
Look at the pay stub and you'll see all of the deductions.
After federal income taxes, state income taxes, and FICA, you're not left with a lot of money.
You're right, but what's FICA?
Those are taxes for Social Security and Medicare.
Did you sign up for a retirement plan?
If you did, those retirement contributions are deducted too.
Thank God I didn't.
But you know what?
That still doesn't account for all of the deductions.
Let me take a look.
Oh, it looks like your wages are being garnished.
They're garnishing my wages?
What for?
Uh, do you have to pay child support or something like that?
Oh yeah, I guess I do.
I'd forgotten about that.
I guess I better change my weekend plans.
I guess so.
Her scripts account for most of the success of ESL Podcast.
That her is our own Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2012 by the Center for Educational Development.
