44 minutes ago, maprao said:

I'm looking to advise my son on possible careers. I would like to recommended yours. Pray tell what was your profession? (Genuinely curious)

 

Pension 2 times the average gross UK salary.  

 

I have final salary pension scheme and can't dream of those figures.

 

There are far better safer places to retire for you. Clean beaches good infrastructure...Marbella would be my choice. 

United Nations, 23 years only. I ended at the top professional grade (P5), so there are higher D1/D2 grades. My colleagues with full 30, or more, years do a lot better, at a rate of 2% per year. To get in it is better to have a masters degree, an according to the Noblemaire principle the UN wants to attract the "best in their field". 

United Nations, 23 years only. I ended at the top professional grade (P5), so there are higher D1/D2 grades. My colleagues with full 30, or more, years do a lot better, at a rate of 2% per year. To get in it is better to have a masters degree, an according to the Noblemaire principle the UN wants to attract the "best in their field". 

Good on mate. I wish you a happy retirement and thank you for answering[emoji106][emoji106] 

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23 minutes ago, Kolantaman said:

Been traveling and staying in Thailand since 2004. Retire in 2.5 years with full medical coverage in USA only.

Pension will be 3.8 million baht per year, minus USA taxes it drops to 2.9 million baht/year clear. Plus have 32.2 million baht cash. Other cash stays in USA as backup and in case Thailand just doesnt work out. 

 

North and south are so inexpensive to live in. Depends on your lifestyle ......just make sure you have cash, brokerage accounts, in your country as a backup.

 

Use a reputable Thai bank and aet up an account.

 

Can live reasonably well on 1.2 million baht a year.......

 

 

Post this on thai love links and you will be SWAMPED !   I rak you toooo much

I was forcibly retired at 39 due to very bad health problems. I did not get a fair play of the cards (I first fell sick at 14 but worked to 38 running my own business part-time and worked for a Multi-National permanently). I am 49 now, married to a Thai and living an okay life. I get a pension every fortnight (not paying much) and have been living off that for 10 years. The only thing I have got going for me is I come from a wealthy family and later on, I will be well cared for and money will never be an issue. Things like my health insurance and the such are picked up via the family or the wife that works. My wife owned a beautiful Lana house outright before marriage (grandmother left her in death) and I did upgrades to make it farang friendly (about 300K). Her family and mine helped pay equal halves in a new car this year. So for me, life is good I feel as long as I do not get sick.

 

If I had to do it again, I would not want to be sick (a schizo-affective/bipolar disorder). Life for me in Thailand is good because I am a real homebody and like staying in my wife's house and I do not need (or want, due to the disorder) any socializing. I like my own company and for me that is fine.

i believe the best way to have a good retirement, is by creating long-term passive income  from property or sharemarket.. living off savings is risky--after retiring at 62.5yrs, i expect to live another 30+yrs..

inflation alone, can erode savings considerably over this period of time.

fortunately for most expats, our pensions actually go  much further in thailand and we can buy a house or condo 25% or less of home cost--no mortgage expense..

i advise to always keep at least 1 property in home country-this will cover inflation and give cap gains{virtually no cap gains in thailand}..

my pension is only 41,000 thb/mth, -with freehold condo, i can live nicely off that...

i have substantial additional income from commercial property rents, also house rents ...i use some of this for overseas travel etc...may need extra for healthcare at a later stage ??

even if i do ever return to live in my own country--i can afford a good lifestyle there also..

unfortunately, far too many people dont prepare for retirement--too much booze etc...

 

7 minutes ago, murraynz said:

after retiring at 62.5yrs, i expect to live another 30+yrs..

I'm 62 and tired of life already, if I don't die of something by 70, I'll probably do it myself.

Another 30 years? What on earth would be the point?

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

I'm 62 and tired of life already, if I don't die of something by 70, I'll probably do it myself.

Another 30 years? What on earth would be the point?

I guess you have a one way ticket? Up to you to fill your days with what you like. There is a life beyond the bg’s (lb»s) and bars! Good luck

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm 62 and tired of life already, if I don't die of something by 70, I'll probably do it myself.

Another 30 years? What on earth would be the point?

Age in my family is how they amassed great wealth. My great-grandmother/father did not die till there late 90's and my both Grandmothers went till almost 100. My parents have just made 80. Once they got over 80, they all stopped spending and had another 20 years of stocks/property/interest that just tripled in value. In all honesty, it was amazing to watch their old houses and rental properties they bought slowly becoming worth vast sums of money from just sitting on them.

Am now 54 years old and working at least 14 hours per day (anyhow working in Thailand). Unfortunately I was grown-up in socialist state of Sweden, so will never ever seen that I can retire based on the fund's paid in monthly to pensions fund by company or state.

 

If I was an big spender... It had been my fault, but am not.

Interesting thread and good answers so far. I'm 61 and have baht 100k a month income from working capital. About usd 30k savings which I don't touch. Own house/car and can afford health insurance. Home country pension for self and wife 6-7 years away. No way feel comfortable though. Loving life though. Would love to find a job to top everything up monthly. I still fancy working but Hua-Hin not great to find legal employment that doesn't break your balls. ????

I am not retired and am gainfully employed. I am truly astounded by how so many maintain the  lifestyle that they do because I am in the top 10% of wealth  in my homeland (income and savings) and yet, I would be unable to retire and live the type of lifestyle so many describe. I just don't get it. Obviously, I live in a different world.

 

2 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

I am not retired and am gainfully employed. I am truly astounded by how so many maintain the  lifestyle that they do because I am in the top 10% of wealth  in my homeland (income and savings) and yet, I would be unable to retire and live the type of lifestyle so many describe. I just don't get it. Obviously, I live in a different world.

 

Boomers!

Those born between 1947 and 1953 will have more many than everyone else (before or after).

I was born a bit after, so less pension, more loss from divorce than those in the boomer years.

My pals born in the 1960s have considerably less of everything, for the same levels of employment.

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm 62 and tired of life already, if I don't die of something by 70, I'll probably do it myself.

Another 30 years? What on earth would be the point?

Sad to hear. At 60/61 Brit wife and I are enjoying life here not working. If you need more than sitting around I hope you find it. Are you bored, or just lonely? Hope you find your path mate, God bless. 

3 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

I am not retired and am gainfully employed. I am truly astounded by how so many maintain the  lifestyle that they do because I am in the top 10% of wealth  in my homeland (income and savings) and yet, I would be unable to retire and live the type of lifestyle so many describe. I just don't get it. Obviously, I live in a different world.

 

For me personally, it is not what I earn but what I spend. I may not earn a lot at all but I spend a lot less then what I earn and that is what makes me able to live an okay life. I had to turn down my spending when I first retired and that for the first few years was hard to do and I made a few mistakes as well. Now it is a lot easier but those first few years were for me, a true learning curve.

1 minute ago, Speedhump said:

Sad to hear. At 60/61 Brit wife and I are enjoying life here not working. If you need more than sitting around I hope you find it. Are you bored, or just lonely? Hope you find your path mate, God bless. 

Reading your post makes me realise things could have been so much worse.

If I hadn't been divorced at 50, I'd now be sleeping with a 60yo English woman ................

I retired at the age of 58 from a high-powered position, the stress of which was giving me reflux.

 

After a visit to Thailand, I considered moving here, however wasn't sure, so sold my house in NZ, and then bought a very small place, mainly to do up by way of something to do, at which time I was approached to do some consultancy work for a property investment company. 

 

This I did for almost 2 years, helping the company whilst it was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, but again felt myself being dragged into the corporate rat race so left and moved to Thailand in 2006/7.

 

Just about all of my funds I left in New Zealand and was lucky enough to get a couple of corporate bonds paying 8.75% and 7.5% respectively, so that along with the smaller lump sum I transferred to Thailand helped me along.

 

Of course those type of bonds are no longer available so when they matured I put the money into bank term deposits, which is where they are now.

 

To cut to the chase, I currently receive a yearly pension of about 520,000 baht and my annual expenditure is around 1 to 1.2 million baht or thereabouts, so that shortfall is made up by the income from my NZ investments (only one of which is in shares but pays a very good dividend) and to this date I still have the same amount of money invested in NZ as I did when I first came here 11 years ago.

 

I can certainly live a lot more cheaply, however I do like my wine and dining out, and I have looked after my ex-girlfriend and her/my daughter financially, so all up I'm very happy with the situation as it stands – – this especially as my calculations suggest that my funds will last until I'm way over 100, and as I'm now 71, I'm looking forward to spending some of them in the future!

Retired at 53...bought a few houses, collected rent to pay off mortgages, sold the homes and held the notes...good until I am about 83...have some unsold properties I will liquidate to provide additional income as needed. 

11 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I retired at the age of 58 from a high-powered position, the stress of which was giving me reflux.

............

To cut to the chase, I currently receive a yearly pension of about 520,000 baht

Doesn't sound like that high powered a job, I get 600kbht from my company 1/2 pension (left after divorce).

And I only worked there 10 years (35-45) before I retired.

    I retired at age 52 in USA after 30 years and worked another 5 years part-time before moving to Thailand with my Thai partner. Initially just had a small state pension but took social security at 62 so now have both--together they amount to around $3500 a month.   We made some fairly good real estate investments in the US and Thailand so we  managed to augment my small pension and we now have fully paid for condos in Pattaya and Bangkok, which helps a lot with living expenses.

     Awhile back Suze Ormond made the ridiculous statement that you need 5 million dollars socked away if you want to retire early. I say ridiculous because we don't even have 1 million and my partner and I live quite nicely in Thailand and really want for nothing.  Of course, if you don't have a steady pension you do need money put aside to support yourself but I don't think 5 million would be needed.

Retired at 65. Moved here age 67. For the last 8 years, I have been capital stable on investments. Income from an Australian part pension and investments is more than enough for me to live well here.

Retired @ 36 and moved here at 40 with around 25mil baht in stocks, term deposits and cash. My budget is around 750K per year including all utilities, rent, registrations, insurances, food etc Making around 1mil baht a year in dividends and capital growth. I live relatively cheap but in a nice condo with a decent girlfriend that works a good job.

I brought in a year or so cash for living costs before the exchange rate went south so it hasn’t effected me just yet. 

Retired at 29 with about 3 million Serbian Dinars 

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I'm 62 and tired of life already, if I don't die of something by 70, I'll probably do it myself.

Another 30 years? What on earth would be the point?

To use an Australian expression ( I think ) pull your finger out. I'm 75, and enjoying golf, swimming, reading, eating out, and my Thai GF. Saddle up, princess. There must be a hobby or passion to interest you.

Made redundant at age 55 in 2007. Took a small pension and worked part-time for pin money for 2 years, visiting Thailand. Then had to stop work after injury so took main pension at age 58, told wife in UK to divorce me (it had been inevitable for some years, she got the house but not the pension) and went to Thailand. And Married the Thai girlfriend. BEFORE getting married i had about 80,000 GBP and a pension of about 950 GBP a month (about 50,000 baht then). Five years later, now with daughter and wife, 75% of the capital had gone and the pension, although increasing, was about 52,000 baht and was having to economise.

 

Mum then died but the nursing home had got most of it but did give me about 40,000 GBP total in savings again. Survived some illness to get UK pension and put me back into the black, only for Brexit to wipe out those gains ..... Now trying to balance the budget on about 56,000 baht a month after tax. My savings just about match my liabilities........

 

Always been careful with money and most decisions made here were with ensuring daughter would be provided for after i am gone. But, was 50,000 baht a month pension and 80,000 GBP enough to retire and live on (assuming needing to last 30 years), the answer was - NO. 

 

When you retire abroad some things are beyond your control - and you do not have a welfare state to fall back on here.  Since planning my Thai retirement i have seen exchange rates fall by 40%, have a daughter to bring up and family financial issues to resolve (some bad debts, some misfortune, both in UK and here). I now have many chanotes but no money ......  Will i end up penniless? No, but i have had to compromise on what i expected. Still, better than that flat in a retirement community in the costa geriatrica (sussex coast, for those who do not know) waiting for the annual visit from the kids......

10 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

To use an Australian expression ( I think ) pull your finger out. I'm 75, and enjoying golf, swimming, reading, eating out, and my Thai GF. Saddle up, princess. There must be a hobby or passion to interest you.

I could manage a bit more cannabis, but that's about it, already had too many women, drunk too much beer, been to too many places, it's all old (like me) now.

3 minutes ago, rickudon said:

Now trying to balance the budget on about 56,000 baht a month after tax. My savings just about match my liabilities........

About the same as me, it's not that hard, I can still manage 4 foreign holidays a year, and support my son (7) and daughter (20).

Once she's finished uni, I'll have more free cash.

Retired at 23. Get regular income from my two rental properties. Enough to live comfortably on.

A bit of inheritance has proved useful too.

 

Retired at 54 ( 3 years ago ) , living off a company pension which is doable, would have been better if 2 years ago circumstances had not changed and brought the uk-Thai exchange rate fiasco, but hey ho !

Have a few quid tucked away for a rainy day and only 10 years away from my state pension [emoji51]

Bought a house and a car and don’t drink or socialise much so living expenses are cheap, can still travel back to uk 2 or 3 times a year to visit family and travel within Thailand whenever I care to.

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

About the same as me, it's not that hard, I can still manage 4 foreign holidays a year, and support my son (7) and daughter (20).

Once she's finished uni, I'll have more free cash.

Only manage one or two 'holiday' back to the UK a year. My daughter 7 as well. My UK son finished Undergraduate course in UK with minimal support but then did a masters at Cambridge (which saw me taking out a loan) followed by 2 years of bugger all ....

 

Unfortunately have 2 UK loans, plus a mortgage and car loan here. That's nearly 40% of net income gone already.

51 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I could manage a bit more cannabis, but that's about it, already had too many women, drunk too much beer, been to too many places, it's all old (like me) now.

You're old at 62? Let's swap ages, OK? How is it possible to have too many women? There must be some nationality you have not experienced.