Do I have enough money?

[Mook1e]

I'm 43 and still 5 to 7 years from retiring for good with my wife. We're still deciding between Malaysia, Thailand, and a few other locations. I currently will be retiring from my first career with a 3000usd/month pension. I hope to have 50k usd saved in 7 years and then we'll move. Will that be enough for 2 people for retirement visas and living expenses in Hua Hin?

[lopburi3]

15 minutes ago, Mook1e said:

I'm 43 and still 5 to 7 years from retiring for good with my wife. We're still deciding between Malaysia, Thailand, and a few other locations. I currently will be retiring from my first career with a 3000usd/month pension. I hope to have 50k usd saved in 7 years and then we'll move. Will that be enough for 2 people for retirement visas and living expenses in Hua Hin?

I take it both are non-Thai ?  First career?  Not much chance for employment in Thailand if that is a consideration.  Medical expenses/insurance could be a deciding factor - along with lifestyle.  If you need the normal western retirement two car garage home it could prove a real challenge I suspect - but no two people are the same so what works for one would not for another.

[Mook1e]

24 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

I take it both are non-Thai ?  First career?  Not much chance for employment in Thailand if that is a consideration.  Medical expenses/insurance could be a deciding factor - along with lifestyle.  If you need the normal western retirement two car garage home it could prove a real challenge I suspect - but no two people are the same so what works for one would not for another.

Thank you for the response. Yes, both non-Thai. I'll be working for the next few years on top of my pension and then I'm done. I won't be working in Thailand. Medical expenses/insurance shouldn't be an issue. We don't need the whole 2 car garage home. A couple of clean bedrooms and a nice view is all we need. We'll be living and traveling lightly. 

[zaZa9]

The hard part is predicting what your currency will be worth in 7 years time - the US has varied 5 baht on the dollar since Ive lived here in Thailand. Over my 10 years here , my Australian dollar has varied by 9 baht ! Try to have more than $50k saved up. Its a very slim margin for coping with  a crisis situation . The pension itself is more than adequate for a simple holiday lifestyle.

[Mook1e]

13 minutes ago, zaZa9 said:

The hard part is predicting what your currency will be worth in 7 years time - the US has varied 5 baht on the dollar since Ive lived here in Thailand. Over my 10 years here , my Australian dollar has varied by 9 baht ! Try to have more than $50k saved up. Its a very slim margin for coping with  a crisis situation . The pension itself is more than adequate for a simple holiday lifestyle.

The pension will be closer to 4k usd a month by that time. I'll be saving from this summer until then, but half will go to my current mortgage to pay it off by the time we're ready to punch out. How much would be best over 50k? We'll have health insurance, so besides that what other crisis might we have to deal with?

[lopburi3]

10 minutes ago, Mook1e said:

How much would be best over 50k? We'll have health insurance, so besides that what other crisis might we have to deal with?

If any family members you might be called on to help/emergency travel to see.  You have confirmed health insurance covers overseas and can not be canceled?  The other big unknown are the specific retirement stay requirements at the time, as they could change (hopefully not after you actually start such extensions however - but any break would likely require meeting new requirements).  But if health is covered and pension is inflation adjusted you should be in fairly good standing.  Just remember there is not much organized elderly care available outside home here - but by the time that is required there may well be.

[zaZa9]

Ok , so you will  still have a house back home?

I didnt see that bit ..

And at $1,000 US a week  (  I thought you said $3k a month ) , you would be able to actually bank some of the leftover to allow for inflation or poor X rates that will occur from time to time.

Someone I know was medivac'ed home and the bill was close to $40k US.

Top insurance isnt cheap.

 

 

[Mook1e]

Just now, zaZa9 said:

Ok , so you will  still have a house back home?

I didnt see that bit ..

And at $1,000 US a week  (  I thought you said $3k a month ) , you would be able to actually bank some of the leftover to allow for inflation or poor X rates that will occur from time to time.

Someone I know was medivac'ed home and the bill was close to $40k US.

Top insurance isnt cheap.

 

 

It'll be 3k this summer, but in 7 years it'll be closer to 4k. I could also be medevac'd to the VA hospital in the PI instead. 

[lopburi3]

18 minutes ago, Mook1e said:

It'll be 3k this summer, but in 7 years it'll be closer to 4k. I could also be medevac'd to the VA hospital in the PI instead. 

You might want to put Philippines into the mix - surely plenty of places with views there without the language issues and many ex military living there.  

[Ahab]

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 8:13 PM, Ahab said:

100,000 baht per month living expenses? We live quite comfortably on less than 40,000 baht per month in rural Thailand.

 

 

Yes we live on 40K baht per month, truck is paid for, house is paid for, I have health insurance, I drink beer when I want, we eat what we want. At the end of the month there is normally some left over. 40,000 baht is what we budget each month, not the amount that we have coming in each month. We save and invest the rest. Life is good.

[Mook1e]

5 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

You might want to put Philippines into the mix - surely plenty of places with views there without the language issues and many ex military living there.  

We've thought about it, but we definitely prefer Thailand and Malaysia. It's been a few years since we've been back, but we'll be visiting and traveling throughout in the next few years. We'll re-examine the P.I., but I doubt my wife will change her mind.

[lopburi3]

5 minutes ago, Mook1e said:

We've thought about it, but we definitely prefer Thailand and Malaysia. It's been a few years since we've been back, but we'll be visiting and traveling throughout in the next few years. We'll re-examine the P.I., but I doubt my wife will change her mind.

She is aware of the divorce rate in Thailand for expats with foreign wives? 

 

No divorce in the Philippines.

[Mook1e]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

She is aware of the divorce rate in Thailand for expats with foreign wives? 

 

No divorce in the Philippines.

:D that's not a concern. We lived in Asia for 10 years with no problems. Divorce rates are other people's problems. They're high all over. 

[rickudon]

Just one factor if moving with a non-thai wife. I think you will both need 65,000 baht a month income for a retirement visa extension, So that is 130,000 baht a month, or nearly 4,000 US dollars. So unless your wife has a pension too, 4,000 US dollars a month would leave little to cope with currency fluctuations. You may well be able to live on a lot less, but need to think of visa requirements as the most fundamental hurdle first.

[lopburi3]

8 hours ago, rickudon said:

Just one factor if moving with a non-thai wife. I think you will both need 65,000 baht a month income for a retirement visa extension, So that is 130,000 baht a month, or nearly 4,000 US dollars. So unless your wife has a pension too, 4,000 US dollars a month would leave little to cope with currency fluctuations. You may well be able to live on a lot less, but need to think of visa requirements as the most fundamental hurdle first.

Only one has to meet retirement financials - the legal spouse can stay as dependent. 

[Mook1e]

11 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Only one has to meet retirement financials - the legal spouse can stay as dependent. 

That's definitely good to know. I have a good bit of time to prepare, and things may very well change in the coming months. I haven't obtained a disability rating yet, so I'm being extremely conservative with my numbers. Depending on that, we may not even have to worry if both need 65,000 a month. 

[gk10002000]

On 2/25/2018 at 7:43 PM, Mook1e said:

I'm 43 and still 5 to 7 years from retiring for good with my wife. We're still deciding between Malaysia, Thailand, and a few other locations. I currently will be retiring from my first career with a 3000usd/month pension. I hope to have 50k usd saved in 7 years and then we'll move. Will that be enough for 2 people for retirement visas and living expenses in Hua Hin?

So you worked for presumably 20 years or so, and do not have 50k USD saved?  Now your pension will be what, 1/2 of what your salary was, or 1/3?  Ask your self this, right now, if your pay was but in 1/2 could would you have a positive cash flow?   The bottom line is, a good rule of thumb is to check that you could live as do now, on 1/2 or less pay.  Many people think they will spend so much less in retirement than when they were working, but they often grossly mis calculate and under estimate what they really need.  You don't seem to have any investments or passive income, so I suspect you live up to your means, meaning you spent all of your pay every month and saved very little.  That is not necessarily horrible if one will get a 36,000 a year pension.  But right now, could you live on that?  If you don't pass that test, then your retirement would be a measly one, living in a small cramped place.  And we are not even talking about proper medical.

[Mook1e]

25 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

So you worked for presumably 20 years or so, and do not have 50k USD saved?  Now your pension will be what, 1/2 of what your salary was, or 1/3?  Ask your self this, right now, if your pay was but in 1/2 could would you have a positive cash flow?   The bottom line is, a good rule of thumb is to check that you could live as do now, on 1/2 or less pay.  Many people think they will spend so much less in retirement than when they were working, but they often grossly mis calculate and under estimate what they really need.  You don't seem to have any investments or passive income, so I suspect you live up to your means, meaning you spent all of your pay every month and saved very little.  That is not necessarily horrible if one will get a 36,000 a year pension.  But right now, could you live on that?  If you don't pass that test, then your retirement would be a measly one, living in a small cramped place.  And we are not even talking about proper medical.

No, I have investments including stocks, tsp (401k), and my home will be paid off by the time I will retire. I live below my means each month in order to invest and save. I don't have a savings account with cash, though. That will be where I hope to have 50k for emergencies. Also, my retirement will be 2/3 my pay and I'll be working making over double my current salary between now and my actual retirement. I don't include those assets in my calculations, as they won't be touched until I'm at least 62.

[Mook1e]

The medical care question is also interesting. US military and retirees get tricare overseas which is quite comprehensive. It's one of the highlights of military benefits.