peterpop

20 hours ago, cleopatra2 said:

That is not true. 

Anybody who gained pension entitlement prior to April 2016 is treated under the old rules. It is still possible to inherit a pension as a surviving spouse if specific conditions are met.

True but only if there were additional voluntary contributions to the pension such as SERPS.  My Thai wife is entitled to approx 65 gbp per month

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Nobody is forced to be a police officer. They know how much they get paid before they apply for the job. And as far as I know many (or all) pay a lot of money to get a low paid job in the police. There is no place for honest people in that job.

Big mouth as usual.  Some are honest and hard working and that includes my brother in law of 15 years.

I think this headline typifies my 15 year experience of Thailand. All mouth and no trousers.  Hub of this and that.  Hub of Hot Air more like.

Handsome is as Handsome does.... as they say in Cornwall.

What a load of tosh.  My golf stresses me out every time I play.  Then I have to pretend I am not stressed. 

I tried to do this over the last year and failed.  There is no equivalent product available from Thai institutions.  In UK they would not because of stupid legalities about my wife's nationality.

As stated above it is a poor investment anyway.

My answer has been to arange in my will that a Trust Fund is opened on my death and that fund is used to secure an income for my wife.  It was expensive to arrange, but I am happy with the outcome.  The success of the investment will be determined by your choice of investment funds or your wealth manager [who are all thieves].

Because of the delay in getting a Trust Fund up and running, I advise you have some cash available here to keep her going.

Whoops sorry I may have answered a different question.  If the income is for you, and you are an American,I have no idea how best to proceed.

20 hours ago, ttkeric said:

This a new one. Thanks for the heads-up!

Not new.  I have been aware of this for many years.  Just not often checked.

What annoys me most when this sort of thing happens, is that the IMO smiles hugely and thinks that they are doing you a large favour.  Then it is repeat next year and you have done nothing wrong.

One does not lower oneself to respond to such remarks.

Unfortunately I am experiencing difficulties in Chiang Mai.  I have a fibre optic connection and a 5 or 2.4 g service.  However at peak times my internet is often cut off for minutes.  It just may be my PC it is 6 years old.  I changed from 3BB to Truemove trying to improve my situation but it is worse with the new ISP.  I live in a built up area on the south side of the city.

About 2 years ago the UK gov made all holders of UK stock broking accounts have a UK Bank and address.  I use DeGiro and my Thai address and UK Bank.  This was OK 7 years ago but now they will not take on new clients unless UK based.  DeGiro gives a poor AIM service.

So you have to find an international broker who deals on the London market and many do.  I think Interactive Investors may be good.  Charles Scwab in the USA is good but signing up is hard.  Some Thai Banks claim to do a service, yes, but no one in their right mind would use it.  You have raised a problem area in investing.  It seems to be more difficult all the time for the likes of us.

Thanks for your reply but you are not local.  I can never get any sensible reply from local ISPs.  They only admit to always playing catch up.  Is this the same in other countries.  I suspect it is only Thailand that is so far behind in providing a decent service.

On 2/28/2021 at 7:54 PM, connda said:

I've got the fibre optic plan for 600 THB a month.  It's smoking fast.

Some advice please.  I was disappointed with 3 BB fibre in Chiang Mai South [Padaed] because although the speed was good the service would regularly crash and I would have to wait minutes for it to be resumed.

I changed to TRUE, that has been a disaster.  The outages are far more frequent. 

On both services the speed was super fast when connected.

What /who should I use for a reliable service in Chiang Mai

The point is that he has to keep the Navy onside.

This picture seems to indicate 'symbolic' caning.  But difficult to be sure.

We should all be grateful to Trump for clearly revealing something that we all suspected; that 4o% of Americans are brain dead, radicals with zero education or experience of the rest of the world.

On 1/1/2021 at 3:04 PM, Kalorymetr said:

Thanks for replies.

Can I open brokerage account in my bank(SCB)? I am not sure how it works here or in other countries, but in my country its just few clicks on the mobile banking app and you are trading stocks.

How do I handle tax then? I understand that I don't pay tax on any gains, but is it instant or do I have to keep the stocks for some time? Also I should probably include every transaction in the tax report anyways, even if the tax is 0.

 

And for the answer on why, I just think its better to keep my money in the stock market than bank account, I work here and don't want to be moving the money offshore and explaining to my government that its legal money. I might also invest in NASDAQ or London stock exchange if thats allowed here and not too expensive.

 

 

Don't be put off by the ''opinions'' here.  I have been investing in the SET reasonably successfully for 11 years.  Tisco Securities have a very good website and service.  There are some decent financial blogs in English.  The market is difficult to read and without doubt there are some dodgy companies about .  Nevertheless it is fun, and money is being made.

Maybe Thai Visa with their connections could suggest to the Thai Government that British pensioners in Thailand would contribute more to the economy if their pensions were not frozen.  I am not holding my breath.

50 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Depending on your age and term of "investment", term life insurance is an option. Also investment in Thailand's SET (thru an account through your wife) is another approach as the elite 1% seems to sacrifice everything to keep it growing. 

Yes indeed.  I trade the SET via a TISCO broker.  It has provided an exciting ride.  I do not yet have faith even after 12 years of investing.  Some high interest paying stocks and REITs may be suitable for a pension, but can I trust someone to manage /assist my wife in the future?  I don't think so.

23 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

Peterpop

 

I am a former head of a trust deparment for a major bank in the USA  There is probably nothing better for the salesperson of an insurance company than to sell you an annuity.  Huge commissions, typically large imbedded fees, and typically they run for a specific period of years and then the entire investment evaporates.  Here is what Dave Ramsey a nationally syndicated investment guide says about annuities.  To provide for your wife and potentially any children if you were worried about her being able to manage the money, I would set up a trust with a reputable bank.  Upon your death all of the assets would be then managed by the bank pursuant to your instructions to them and they would oversee the investment of those monies.  You could direct them to provide your wife with a specific amount of money each month ( just like an annuity) and/or give the Trustee Bank latitude to provide your wife with extra money as she requests it for specific expenses  like home repair, purchase of a vehicle, unusual medical expenses etc.  In effect the Trustee is making decisions on dispensing the money much as you would if you were still alive.  The typical standard is for the Trustee to be given the latitude to provide for the spouse keeping her living "in the same standard" as she did when you were still alive.  One additional benefit is that upon your wifes death the remaining assets go to any children and not the insurance company would sold you the annuity. 

https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/what-is-annuity

Now that is good advice.  Not sure about Thai banks but presumably a foreign bank of good standing will be able to do the same.  My wife has a UK bank account so maybe I should first look at UK banks.  Is this service expensive?  I do not mind paying a little because the alternatives such as annuities and so called Wealth Management companies are such poor value..

Thanks for looking.  I am a tad surprised that this is not a well trodden path.  St James 'Place [Financial Advisors UK]  offer a service but I am not impressed.  Annuities are not a very efficient investment but they are secure [in UK].  What I really want is to buy a portfolio of Investment Trusts, only available on the London Stock Market, to provide income and the ability to draw down.  My wife is an accountant so maybe I have to teach her  DIY investing, should be fun. Problem is opening a cheap stock broking account that can do this locally.

What I meant was do UK based Annuity providers such as Legal and General or Prudential provide annuities for Thai citizens resident in Thailand.

I am a UK ex pat thinking about providing a secure income for my Thai wife in the event of my death.  Has anyone explored this subject?  Do UK based annuities work?

Chiang Mai could be beautiful, but the city fathers have not got a clue how to tidy the place up.  Basically the town is a tip in the midst of some lovely countryside.