Kenny202

Just wondering if anyone has been in a similar position over the last few years and withdrew their super while living here. I have been living here 7 years and last year at 57 I became eligible to withdraw up to $200k of my super should I wish per m birth year. I think I can withdraw all at 60yo providing I don't plan to work in Australia again. One thing that has constantly gnawed at me is because I have been out of the country for over 2 years and own no property in Australia, I am a non resident for tax purposes person, which means I pay full whack tax on interest, income, investments in Australia. I have been assured by the super company that there will be no tax payable on my super when I withdraw it but they took a lot of prodding and didn't seem to be very confident of their reply and kept referring me to my accountant who was in turn referring me back to them. My Super is bog standard employer contributions by the way. No salary sacrifice or anything unusual. Apart from fees etc has anyone in my position withdrawn their super recently? Was there any taxes etc or your payout was pretty much what was in the fund less some sort of processing fees I imagine? Time comes to withdraw can it be done from Thailand? Hoping I wont need a trip back to Australia to get it transferred. Any advice or help appreciated.

Bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question but becoming increasingly concerned about my superannuation account back home. I am of eligible age to withdraw a fair chunk of it now as of 57 yo per my birth date, but have left it in there as I have funds. I have been living here 7 years without returning to Australia, haven't returned in that time or worked here. This Covid situation spooking me a bit if my Super goes South I am screwed and it will be back home living on the pension. To be honest it has done better last 3 years than it has in the 7 years I have cane here covid and all. Has been dropping / rising last few months...stagnating really. I believe it's in a suitably safe fund as I am older. I clearly know little about money or investing and with my financial luck since I have been in Thailand I would be loathe to gamble it on bitcoin or the share market without knowing what I am doing particularly in these uncertain times. I guess my main concern is it is basically on the share market via my superfund although I believe fair chunk of it is in very safe stuff like cash, real estate etc. Just worried the stock market will take a nosedive and I'll lose half of my retirement and wont be able to wait until things bounce back again. I will need that money within a couple of years so there is no long term, 5 year thing for me. probably sound stupid but should I draw it out and put it in some sort of "safe" bank term deposit or something to be on the safe side? I would much prefer to leave it in Super for now as two years should see a growth of 5-15% depending on how the market pans out

So you mean he would have has to get the Pension all approved, done and dusted and started receiving his first payments and then went? Or he would have had to reside in OZ 2 years after he started receiving the pension? and then it was portable?

My friend was telling me before he is actually married to his Thai wife here. Married in Thailand and she has never been to Australia. He must have told them he was married and is on a reduced married pension or something? Even though his wife has no income or pension. So he's not on a half pension he's on about 66%

I think I got it now ???? So say I am eligible at 67yo, I could return to Australia at 65yo, wait 2 years until I was eligible for the pension....start receiving payments then immediately leave to live in Thailand again? I am eligible to take out some of my Super as of this year (Birth year 1963), up to 200k I believe. haven't touched it yet. I was worried at one stage I would have to pay full whack tax on it as I have been out of the country for 7 years now and have no property there so am a non resident for tax purposes. But I have been assured now several times as long as you are of age and eligible, there is no tax payable and non resident etc doesn't come into play. My super was just very basic PAYG employer funded contributions, no extra salary sacrifice etc. Does that sound about right?

No, he worked all his life in Oz. One of those never missed a day guys. Will have to go back and prod him for more info. Very interested myself however it could be doubtful we'll even still have the pension by the time I am eligible. It's normally $1200 a fortnight right for a single person? I didn't realize it was that high? Thats nearly 60k a month I could live easily on that

Thanks for the reply. You seem to say that I can get the pension straight away if I prove residency...understood. Then you say you don't need to be on the pension for 2 years before I come back and live in Thailand? Then say I need 2 years before getting portability? Ummm not really sure what you mean? I am missing something for sure. This guy is definitely on a half pension. $600 per fortnight. I know he doesn't have any tangible assets / real estate in Australia and at best maybe had around $200k when he applied for the pension. But now very little left. Basically what he did was leave work and go on the pension. After about only 3 months on the pension he decided her wanted to come and live in Thailand. Hence the half pension (Or so he seems to think). He's single by the way. Would it be because he already had residency in Australia 2 years prior? Is that the key? if you are a resident for 2 years prior to going on the pension it's portable....but if I was already here and not a resident last 2 years why I need to serve my time (Home detention they call it? lol). So is what you are saying you don't need to be on the pension for 2 years to make it portable, you need to be a resident for 2 years before applying? So at 63 years old I come back to Australia to live. I live there 2 years and go on the pension day I turn 65. Next day I can leave for Thailand and my pension will be portable?

Not sure were to go and get allergy tests but I have suffered with allergies of different kinds all my life and had a few tests and each one was a waste of time. Not sure what they do these days but used to give you the pin pricks all over your arm and then add certain irritant drops like what must be cut grass, pollen, dust etc. Each time I was just about allergic to everything. It struck me as normal that after sticking a needle in your arm and then adding some sort of drops to it surely it would irritate your skin anyway. What I can tell you is I have been an Asthma sufferer since I was 8yo, now going on 50 years. Was acute when I was younger but for the last 30 odd years more chronic. Seemed to be worse at different times, ie seasonal changes but I have been on Ventolin during most of these 50 years. I had been reasonably heavy smoker on and off for most of my life also I am ashamed to admit. I had tried preventative sprays etc, quite a few of them and looking back not sure if I didn't persevere, or what....but they didn't seem to make much difference with me. Anyway, particularly the last 10 years my use of Ventolin had increased to where I was going through an inhaler once a week. Maybe sometimes less, sucking on the thing all day and I was still wheezing and congested most of the time. I was actually starting to believe I was heading for emphysema or such (if I didn't have it already) and a probable early death. Sleep issues etc. Was talking to my son a few months back and he mentioned Seretide (the round purple powder inhaler type). He also had chronic asthma and said he doesn't use Ventolin anymore after using the Seretide twice a day. I was skeptical but thought I would try it again. They're not cheap at about 600 baht (enough for 1 month, 60 puffs....2 a day). As it turns out a lot cheaper than the amount of Ventolin I was using. Now there is all probable chance that being a long term Asthma sufferer you are already on some preventative, or tried them before....so forgive me for stating the obvious if this is the case....but if not I implore you to try a Seretide again even if you have before long ago. It has totally changed my life to where I have zero lung problems or congestion.....not anytime...never......and I completely stopped using Ventolin only a couple of days after starting the Seretide. I haven't used Ventolin for 3 months now and feel like I have a second chance at life. If I would have seen myself writing this story 3 or 4 months ago, or 20 years ago I just wouldn't have believed it. I normally take a hit 10am and 10pm at night. I have forgotten to take a puff in the morning a few times...only night time and no ill effects so thinking I might try one puff of the Seretide per day see if it is sufficient. Not sure where you live but if up in the provinces not sure all pharmacies stock it, may need to order as it is an expensive item. Good luck with it all and hope you find the answer

They threaten about taking home and land but they have no legal right to do that unless you signed it over as a guarantee and the courts wont let them do that either nor will they order it, not for a smaller debt anyway. They initially threatened that and then the company themselves admitted they couldn't do it. Then they moved tac to you will be up for compound interest and all our legal fees etc. I sort of don't harbor any ill feelings towards them to be honest as I used to be in collection back home and I hate people who default just because they can. Anyway for me a moot point now as she came to an agreement with them and paid it off in full I have no doubt with this being Thailand and the pettiness and the missing the whole point thing a large company here would robotically take you to court over 10 baht without even considering the financial loss or implications

I always thought for those of us Aussie expats living here in Thailand, we had to go back to Australia for 2 years to qualify for any sort of old age pension. I am currently 58yo and no where near age yet but talking to a mate of mine today and he said he is on a half pension from Australia. Roughly $600 a fortnight. I said why are you on a half pension? He told me it was because he came here to live? He never really checked it out too much as money wasn't an issue for him at the time (it is now lol). So turns out I assume he is on a half pension because he only applied for the old age pension and received it 3 months prior to moving here. So he hadn't been on it for 2 years or anything like that. I thought that was the rule....you had to be on the pension for 2 years before it became moveable to another country at the full rate? Or is it you have had to live in Australia for 2 years before receiving the pension or a mixture of both? I don't understand why he would be on half? I mean $600 a fortnight not a lot, but if you are set up here with your own home etc it is quite possible to live here on that, maybe with a monthly supplement from your own funds. If I was pension age, and I moved back to Australia permanently or otherwise, would I be eligible to receive the full pension in Australia immediately? If I was eligible to receive it immediately could I also, after a few months move back to Thailand and receive a half pension? I should qualify I have been out of the country (Australia) and living here for 7 years, haven't even returned for a holiday

When you say you will pay the owner, be very careful here as the car is on hire purchase, and the legal owner is the finance company. For all you know the current owner of the vehicle maybe in arrears for the last 6 months and its about to be repossessed. I doubt very much the bank or finance company would give you a loan or transfer the loan to you without work or assets, but TIT and stranger things happen. If theres no much owing maybe the bank happy to take the vehicle as security, or maybe your wifes land. The only way to do it would be to go and sit down with the current owner and the financier and se what can be done

We have a couple of large retail / wholesale markets in our province. They call one of the Pratunam like the big fashion / clothing wholesale market in Bangkok. Pretty big even for our area. And a few other large clothing and night markets. They have all been decimated, but that goes back to near the start of covid. I reckon 20 - 30% occupancy compared to 100% before. Having said that I thought Thailand was on a backslide before Covid. I remember going away to Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Koh Chang high season before Covid and it was so quiet. We got the most ridiculously cheap prices on really good accommodation.

I have noticed the banks very quiet too, and the roadside stalls, but unfortunately most of these go broke in 3 months. They have no capital and expect to be making a living from day one, which as most know is a fairy tale in any business. Usually lose what savings they had and back to work. Mind you never ending stream of people always seem to take their place. I think a lot are doing food from home through the delivery companies. Many many people doing grab taxis and deliveries although if Mrs restaurant anything to go by food deliveries seem to be down 50% at least to what they were a few months ago. That's one thing that has boomed through covid, well up until now, particularly with the govt's 50/50 incentives. Even the incentives seem to be doing it anymore.

Oh no doubt about it. But what surprises me is it's taken this long to bite up where I am. I mean obviously the tourist areas and the capital would have been feeling it from day one but up here has taken a while to filter through. I guess the overall damage been done to Thailand's economy which is by and large foreign driven and reliant, would have to eventually effect all Thailand. Maybe more of a local economy here but it must be driven by money and demand coming from the country and externally itself. I just think about all the money sent back to provincial families from tourist areas, factories etc. Foreign sponsors. Entertainment workers. There's a big chunk of the rural economy gone there, particularly people out in the boonies

It sounds like it might depend on which province you are. I would say ours going south slowly. Only really last 3 months its been noticeable. Up until then not a lot of change from normal. Guy from Udon seems to be saying the same thing, Udon Thani is next door to us

Kinda mirrors what we're seeing in Khon Kaen. My wife's business still getting some customers but mainly small items. I would say things started going South around the same time gradually getting worse

I do use wise, mainly to bring money into Thailand from Australia but thought maybe <$20 maybe to little an amount for them. Are there minimum transfer values?

He's a private guy by the way

I am sending money to the US, I am from Australia and whilst I think we have Western Union it's not something people commonly use or are aware of. Many on TV seem to assume everyone is from the States. I have heard of Western Union, never used them, not even sure if we have an office where I live or if can be done on line.

I got scammed badly by Paypal 4 years ago, had $2000 drained out of my account over a period of 2 weeks, locked out of my account as the passwords had changed and not only unable to put a hold on the account I wasn't even able to send them a message without logging on. As it turned out the scammer was within Paypal! Was a nightmare, worst thing was trying to get a reply from them...something other than a robotic "check with the seller" response. It was the bogus seller that was hacking me! Only by sheer luck managed to get onto someone in their office and talk to them who immediately said....yep this is wrong, money will be refunded by the end of the day. Apparently quite common, if you don't believe me google it. I couldn't believe such a major financial institution could be nearly impossible to contact. Only way I could stop the bleeding of money was to cancel my linked credit cards to my Paypal account and never reinstated it again. Even if I wanted to would have to add cards to my account again and wait for them to verify etc at least a week.

Yes I never knew that before recently. One of the major causes of food poisoning mind you not uncommon for my Mrs to leave rice in the pot for half a day and overnight then put it in the fridge for a couple of days and we've never got sick. Mind you in 7 years in Thailand I have never got sick and eat at small Thai roadside places and takeaway all the time. Only time ever got even close to getting sick was a small case of the trots after eating at a foreign style burger restaurant in Phuket lol and have heard similar stories. Maybe they don't know how to manage foreign food as well as they do Thai stuff. I often notice a lot of these little Thai restaurants have a toilet with only a pot and bucket of water to wash your A$$. I asked my girl once how they do it and she showed me her fingers lol so I assume they use a mixture of rinsing with the ladle of water and fingers (spew emoji). And never see anywhere to wash your hands and if there is no soap. So the person before you has done all this, touched the ladle handle with their shetty fingers, then touched the door etc. You would think it would be an ecoli / covid paradise. And your cook will be doing the same thing. I just don't think about it anymore. The mind boggles.

Hi all, I need to send a small amount of money to a guy in the States to cover some postage fees. Probably only $10-20. I don't have a paypal account but I use trasferwise (Or now Wise) to bring money from Australia sometimes. Could I send a small amount like that to the US with them or is there another easier / cheaper way. I could just do a direct deposit to his bank account from my Australian bank account I guess but not sure what that would cost? Fees may be higher than the cost of what I am sending

Yeah I think if it came down to a survival of the fittest in Thailand the meek would certainly do the best as these people have very little to lose and always seem to be able to rustle up a feed just off the road. I do feel sorry for the mom pop noodle soup sellers and restaurants as most of them live hand to mouth. I predict tough times ahead

Yeah our area the same as you say, and up until a few weeks ago I would have agreed with you. We have seen quite a lot of long time operators shut down here. Mainly what you would call luxury or non essential type sellers (I use the word luxury loosely in Thailand) and restaurants that were high turnover small margin aka Moo kata, Shabu. These restaurants seem to survive on having lots of bums on seats and even a 10% downturn seems to knock them around. We are forever having new restaurants and businesses opening here, and usually shutting down within 3 to 6 months. They just don't seem to do their homework....but never a shortage of someone to take over the shop and try a new business. I often thought to myself the best business here would be the landlord who rents the shops, not the sellers themselves.

I live in a large North East city and up until a couple of months ago hadn't noticed much effect commercially from Covid. Few shops shutting down etc but the government has had various stimulus programs which encouraged people to go out and buy food etc. Last two months though have seen many shops and restaurants shutting down. My wife has a small business and it seems to be really stalled lately as are the restaurants around her. Always figured there must be some fallout from all the setbacks last two years but seems maybe a delayed reaction up here and the worst yet to come, even if things are slowly recovering medically. Has anyone noticed the same thing or any of you have a wife with a business here? I am talking more so a provincial area / Isaan. I think Bangkok were restricted so long they could only be doing better now.