Even at 38 baht to the pound most retirees won’t and cannot leave Thailand

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

True, but the problem is that many people who say the self-insure are actually uninsured.

 

Self-insure means having a large some of money put aside (or readily liquidated asset) solely for health care costs.

 

I find most people here who say they are ":self insured" have not done this. And some couldn't if they wanted to. Which if they are also unable to afford insurance, or can't get it due to pre-exisitng conditions, IMO means they cannot afford to live in Thailand, but people tend not to accept that and insist on believing that somehow they are immune to major accidents and catastrophic illness or "I'll just forgo treatment and die" . Haven't seen anyone say that when the time comes, though, and anyway it is rarely a case of medical care or drop dead. More often, medical care  or be in excrutiating pain and/or unnecessarily disabled. 

 

Bed charges, in any hospital, are the very least of what most hospitalizations will cost. 

 

Govt hospitals are cheaper by a factor of 2-5 times depending on the treatments involved, but even in a government hospital it is quite possible to run up bills in excess of 1 million baht.

 I have 500,000 baht set aside. I can call on 2 million baht inside and outside Thailand at short notice. As for pain management, I have a ( legal ) supply of endone on hand, not that I am using it.

Provided I am physically able to get on a plane to Australia, I am privately insured there and hospitals/surgery cost me nothing.

I don't know what else I can do to insure myself. If you have any other options, I'd like to hear them.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

 So you live on 180,000 baht a month.

 

A Real gentleman does not talk about their income, There are millionaires who use this forum but they don't patronise the members who have less by talking about what they have.

 

You will not be very well respected on this forum with an attitude like yours

The anonymity of TV means posters can make claims which would not stand up in the light of day.

[janclaes47]

34 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

I say it’s off 25% in five years and you post a link to a one year chart you say proves otherwise....

Please try to follow along.

 

Really?

 

This is when you click on the link. We now know how you got to 25%, because you can't read

 

https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=EUR&to=THB&view=5Y

 

[billd766]

1 hour ago, Chivas said:

No such direct exchange rate between the Euro and Baht.

 

Dollar/Baht mutiplied by Dollar/Euro is the pairing.....the latter has seen the decline in the exchange rate we see today

 

Kasikorn Bank does a daily forex between Euro/THB.

 

On Friday it was 37.59.

 

You can also find it in this link.

 

https://daytodaydata.net/default.aspx

[nausea]

Self insuring is fine. The real problem occurs when the worst happens and your resources are drained to near zero. What do you do then? I have already survived one major health crisis and I have serious concerns about living in this country after the age of say 70. My agèd parents (80/90s) seemed to go from one crisis to another. Unless you have really big money, and a million baht doesn't cut it, you're gonna have problems. 

[mogandave]

Really?
 
This is when you click on the link. We now know how you got to 25%, because you can't read
 
 

Actually this is what I get when I click your link:

[janclaes47]

Just now, mogandave said:

 

Actually this is what I get when I click your link:


 

 

 

 

Try to fool someone else, a link works for everyone the same, the hint is at the end of the link

 

https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=EUR&to=THB&view=5Y

[bigginhill]

On 8/18/2018 at 5:46 AM, BritManToo said:

I agree with you apart from your expensive accommodation. Plenty of decent places near me from 1,500-4,000bht/month.

New furnished apartments at the end of my road for 2k/month with free wifi and a swimming pool within 100m.

So where do both of you live??

[mogandave]

 
 
Try to fool someone else, a link works for everyone the same, the hint is at the end of the link
 
https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=EUR&to=THB&view=5Y

I think the difference may be the app I’m using. I noticed the 5y at the end of the link.

Call me a liar, I’ve been called worse by better

[Wake Up]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

The whole of Ireland is (and always has been) an economic disaster, I'd give it all (and Scotland) to the EU as a leaving gift.

Considering you do not own Ireland that is really arrogant and offensive. Considering how you treated the Scottish they would gladly go. I use to think the British were pompous but smart. Now I think I was wrong about the smart part with some of the British expats.  Too bad it is your children  that will truly suffer and given your attitude toward Ireland, Scotland, and the EU you get what you deserve.  I just wish you were not going to take the good British citizens down with you. 

[bigginhill]

9 hours ago, pattaya1234was said:

Mine at 82 Pounds

What are the reasons a pension gets "frozen" at a certain amount and the basic 160 pounds not given? Is it because of assets exceeding a certain amount? 

Who has paid little income tax do they get the basic?

Sorry if these seem basic questions but I've not been in the Uk for 40yrs and not followed this side of things.

[Janner1]

25 minutes ago, bigginhill said:

What are the reasons a pension gets "frozen" at a certain amount and the basic 160 pounds not given? Is it because of assets exceeding a certain amount? 

Who has paid little income tax do they get the basic?

Sorry if these seem basic questions but I've not been in the Uk for 40yrs and not followed this side of things.

By and large the pension gets frozen if you move to another country where this happens and Thailand is one of those countries, Apparently the Philippines is not, please don’t ask me why.

 

However if you can move and not tell the UK revenue you will get all the increases as they happen.

 

Conversely if you were Eastern European ie Polish and you worked in England for 12 months and then returned home you would be paid tax credits for you and your children out of the public purse, even though you would not be working here or paying any tax into the system, and if you have a health problem the NHS will be there for you free at the point of use.

 

i have worked and payed my taxes and stamp for 47 years and I can not get my teeth fixed on the NHS, I have to pay privately

 

Moral of the story don’t be British and a tax payer because our wonderful government will s___t on you from a great height

[theoldgit]

Post flaming another member removed.

[mogandave]

By and large the pension gets frozen if you move to another country where this happens and Thailand is one of those countries, Apparently the Philippines is not, please don’t ask me why.
 
However if you can move and not tell the UK revenue you will get all the increases as they happen.
 
Conversely if you were Eastern European ie Polish and you worked in England for 12 months and then returned home you would be paid tax credits for you and your children out of the public purse, even though you would not be working here or paying any tax into the system, and if you have a health problem the NHS will be there for you free at the point of use.
 
i have worked and payed my taxes and stamp for 47 years and I can not get my teeth fixed on the NHS, I have to pay privately
 
Moral of the story don’t be British and a tax payer because our wonderful government will s___t on you from a great height

They have dentists in England?

[simoh1490]

5 hours ago, Scottjouro said:

And from that you got living in Bangkok on an expat package and shopping in villa and paragon or what ever you wrote

"I would argue that if you're in BKK burning...."

 

Which part of the word "if" do you not understand!!!

[smokie36]

I shall continue to shop in Gourmet market and eat out whenever I like.

 

Weekends in Hua Hin and Rayong and trips to Sydney or Bali whenever we feel like it.

 

38, 48 or 58 nothing changes here.

[mogandave]

I shall continue to shop in Gourmet market and eat out whenever I like.
 
Weekends in Hua Hin and Rayong and trips to Sydney or Bali whenever we feel like it.
 
38, 48 or 58 nothing changes here.

You shop?

Yuck

[The manic]

On 8/18/2018 at 4:46 AM, BritManToo said:

I agree with you apart from your expensive accommodation. Plenty of decent places near me from 1,500-4,000bht/month.

New furnished apartments at the end of my road for 2k/month with free wifi and a swimming pool within 100m.

2 k a month? Where?

[smokie36]

8 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

You shop?

Yuck

 

 

Well I steal the free cheese in between pubs.

 

Shhh.

[Sheryl]

 I have 500,000 baht set aside. I can call on 2 million baht inside and outside Thailand at short notice. As for pain management, I have a ( legal ) supply of endone on hand, not that I am using it.

Provided I am physically able to get on a plane to Australia, I am privately insured there and hospitals/surgery cost me nothing.

I don't know what else I can do to insure myself. If you have any other options, I'd like to hear them.

 

You actuslly ARE self insured and as long as you stick to government hospitals (for all but minor things) and have a plan for what to do as your reserve is depleted you are OK.

 

However you are unlike most "self insured" people on this board. Most of them have nothing or next to nothing put aside and call that being "self insured". It is not, it is being completely uninsured.

 

Whethet you would be better off getting health insurance depends on whether you have pre-existing conditions that make it impossible and how important it is to you to protect your assets In addition to ensuring access to health care, health insurance is a way to protect your assets. I have considerably more than you do in liquid assets but still insure because I need to preserve those funds for use as I age and for grandkids education and cannot afford to lose it all, or even half if it, in one fell swoop as could itherwise easily happen.

 

If you do not have major pre-existing conditions that prevent you from being insured, you might consider getting a policy with a large deductible (say USD 10,000) as this would greatly reduce the premiums while protevting you from bills in excess of what your savings on hand can cover.

 

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

Be wary of what you are or are not covered for. Also be wary of rises of premiums and maybe even  getting cut of in future years. I got health insurance from a local Thai company and paid for two years, I asked Sheryl for advice about it and told her it was in Thai, she advised me to ask them for it in English, they kept humming and hawing about it so I cancelled it.

All I am saying is be careful.

 

I hope when you did, you got another, decent, policy. Which for people intending to live out the rest of their lives here means an expat policy issued by a company based in the West, not a policy from a Thai company. 

Of which thete are plenty to choose from, almost all guranteeing lifetime cover and some providing new cover to people as old as 100.

 

Most of the "insurance is a scam/doesn't work" crowd are just saying that as an excuse but in some cases it goes back to someone's bad experience with a dodgy Thai company, of which there are some. The health insurance market in Thailand is not well regulated but having health insurance cover IN Thailand does not mean having to insure with a Thai company.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

[Naam]

54 minutes ago, The manic said:

On 8/18/2018 at 10:46 AM, BritManToo said:

I agree with you apart from your expensive accommodation. Plenty of decent places near me from 1,500-4,000bht/month.

New furnished apartments at the end of my road for 2k/month with free wifi and a swimming pool within 100m.

2 k a month? Where?

 

[The manic]

34 minutes ago, Naam said:

 

No but really, where? There are no decent apartments for 2000 baht. The person who wrote this is not teling the truth just trolling.

[BritManToo]

9 hours ago, The manic said:

2 k a month? Where?

All around San Sai.

Pal of mine is looking for a condo for 1,500bht/month near Chiang Mai.

Seen a 2 room apartment for 1850bht/month, just off the 118 (to Doi Saket) near the outer ring.

Seen a new 2 room apartment with kitchen near San Sai for 4k/month.

Plenty of signs up advertising condos for 1500bht/month to 2000bht/month.

I'll post a couple of photos later today if you want.

[My Thai Life]

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I hope when you did, you got another, decent, policy. Which for people intending to live out the rest of their lives here means an expat policy issued by a company based in the West, not a policy from a Thai company.

Actually Sheryl, there are excellent Thai policies available to expats on the same terms that they are available to Thais.

 

They are bundled with deposit accounts, often very high interest deposit accounts, health insurance and life assurance. On my scheme interest is paid every year, or it can be compounded. The full term of mine is 9 years. At the end of the term of the deposit I continue get full health cover until the age of 90. And it is a very full cover which includes international flights back to Thailand in the event of sickness outside of Thailand. Also at the end of the scheme I have the option of rolling over into a similar scheme. These schemes tend to have a subscription period, they are not on permanent offer.

 

Effectively, they are a combination of life assurance, health insurance, pension, and very high interest deposit accounts. But you do need quite a large deposit

 

In the UK I spent some time as a manager in the Life and Pensions industry, and I can say quite confidently that there is nothing in the UK like this. I can't speak for the US or other countries.

 

[mommysboy]

15 hours ago, Thaimike370 said:

Once the Tories get rid of Sharia May, then the UK will finally get out of the corrupt EU.  The UK can then start trading with the other 85% of the worlds markets instead of being tied to the EUs 15%.  Then the Pound should hopefully quickly get back to the 70 Baht to the Pound or maybe even better.

I doubt this very much. Most likely it would need to trade 10-15% lower than today's rate.

[Will27]

10 hours ago, Naam said:

 

Airconditioned or fan Naam?

[transam]

4 minutes ago, Will27 said:

Airconditioned or fan Naam?

I think it doesn't have glass in the windows for that fresh air feel......?

[Sheryl]

Actually Sheryl, there are excellent Thai policies available to expats on the same terms that they are available to Thais.

 

They are bundled with deposit accounts, often very high interest deposit accounts, health insurance and life assurance. On my scheme interest is paid every year, or it can be compounded. The full term of mine is 9 years. At the end of the term of the deposit I continue get full health cover until the age of 90. And it is a very full cover which includes international flights back to Thailand in the event of sickness outside of Thailand. Also at the end of the scheme I have the option of rolling over into a similar scheme. These schemes tend to have a subscription period, they are not on permanent offer.

 

Effectively, they are a combination of life assurance, health insurance, pension, and very high interest deposit accounts. But you do need quite a large deposit

 

In the UK I spent some time as a manager in the Life and Pensions industry, and I can say quite confidently that there is nothing in the UK like this. I can't speak for the US or other countries.

 

Naturally the terms are the same as for Thais, that's not the issue.

 

The problem with Thai policies is that they can, and will, raise premiums on an individual basis due to claims or change in health status i.e. if you develop a chronic condition likely to lead to high health costs in the future. In effect, they can price you out just when you most need the insurance, and this has happened to many people.

 

Thai insurance regulations allow this, and since it is obviously beneficial to the insurer, almost all of them do it.

 

Check your policy wording on renewals and premiums carefully in this regard.

 

It's OK for someone with a fallback repatriation plan -- such rate hikes take effect at the next renewal period, not instantly -- but a real problem for people wanting to live out their days in Thailand.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

[My Thai Life]

11 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The problem with Thai policies is that they can, and will, raise premiums on an individual basis due to claims or change in health status i.e. if you develop a chronic condition likely to lead to high health costs in the future.

Sheryl that may be true for Thai health insurance products.  

 

But it is not true for the products I have referred to, which as I have said are a combinaton of life assurance, health inurance, pensions, and very high interest deposit account. Although these products are open to non-Thais, all the literature is in Thai, and I have never met a salesperson for these organisations who can speak English. I assume this is the reason most foreigners are unaware of these products. Also, as I mentioned, a large deposit is required, which would probably deter many expats.

 

By the way, there are no "premiums" as such for these products. The deposit takes care of that, and the returns and terms are fixed, not variable.

 

I have worked in the UK as a manager in the Life and Pensions industry, and I have worked in Thailand in Financial Services, so I may not be a typical case. I have been covered by BUPA for many years via my employers, but I am very happy with my Thai provider, I would not be able to find anyhing like this in the UK, and would not trade it for anyting like BUPA.