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Where do the old age pensioners now retire ?


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Well 20 years ago I remember many Aussies were retiring to the land of smiles on their aged Government pensions and having a good quality life.

 

Fast forward  years and the Thai baht is down so the pension is down to around 45,000 baht a month

 

Very difficult to live on I guess 

 

My questions are 

 

Does anyone still live on a meagre pension ?... particularly a Australian govt pension?

 

Are you able to still have the same life quality as say when you first arrived ?

 

Have you had to move either out if Thailand or different part to survive?

 

Have some of you had to leave although you had previously a good life ?

 

Is there anywhere in Asia a pensioner on receiving the equivalent of 45k a month can still have a good life or " live like a king" as they use to say.

 

I guess parts of Isaan maybe affordable ....doubt Chiang Mai is now affordable for pensioners on 45k a month....maybe Phillipines ?

 

 

 

Edited by georgegeorgia
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Yes ...times have changed .

I always remember back in the late 90's many Aussie farang saying how they lived the high life on their aged Aussie pension which went a long way in those days .

I remember a old guy years ago  ( be dead now I imagine ) who was around 75yo at the time...he "escaped" from his crime ridden govt / council high-rise in Sydney and came to Pattaya to live on his aged pension.

 

He was telling me he lived comfortable on it in a studio in jomtien.. obviously different times 

Now it probably can't be done .

 

How times change . Sadly 

 

Maybe other options in other countries

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Aren't the english even worse off because there pension is frozen.

This was an interesting article and video from 2014 from Australian channel SBS. 

Champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget: Why so many Aussies are moving to Thailand (sbs.com.au)

 

In Australia the cost of accommodation in particular goes up and up so it's all relative. If you don't have government housing and rely on the pension you may still better off in Thailand. Free healthcare in Australia. 

Many retiring today should have a decent amount of superannuation to add to some pension due to compulsory super that started in the early 90's. I plan to retire at 60 so no pension for me as it starts at 67 and they have tightened up the assets test over the years too, particularly as it effects public servant superannuation,  to make it hard to be eligible in any case. 

 

Edited by Fat is a type of crazy
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40 some years ago, I thought I'd retire in Thailand.  Fast forward and I don't think it will ever happen due to age, politics and whatnot.   We own outright a 1 rai compound on the edge of Loei town with two houses, one of which was built for her Mom and newer one built for us by sis-in-law in trade for the old house.  Paperwork is murky but we paid for most and it's a family affair. 

 

When I kick the bucket, I know my wife has a decent 3 bedroom, 2 bath house to go back to if she wishes, and local relatives (heirs?) to care for her. We could live there  very cheaply, probably just on U.S. Social Security alone.  So that's something. 

 

Back home, my 92 1/2 year old Mom is in an assisted care facility is burning about $85,000 USD per year.  ~ 220,000 Baht per month.  Is she the kind of rich foreigner the Thai authorities want to retire there?  555.

 

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[quote]

... Even if you can buy it...eventually at say 70-74 years of age it is going vertical in price.

[/quote]

 

Not necessarily true.  When I took out expat insurance at 57 years old, I obtained details of the age band charges up to 100 years old for the company's clients, (assuming that they joined the scheme without any medical conditions).

 

My current insurance premium at 62 years old is about $200 USD per month, and that will rise to about $450 per month at age 100!  That's still not a vertical increase in price ????

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3 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Well you do much better than I do, however I do have some of life's luxuries (red wine) which I can't seem to do without, but only in moderation!!!

 

I get half a pension from NZ and half from the UK and that works out to about 41K baht per month in total, however my outgoings are as follows: –

– rent 12,000 baht per month
– health insurance 11,500 baht per month
– daughter's university and accommodation and living costs 15,000 baht per month
– car and motorbike insurance, approx 1500 baht per month.

 

So you can see that without any food, clothing or petrol costs my pension has gone.

 

Luckily enough I am able to live off interest payments from investments back in NZ, however as we all know, bonds and term deposits are paying next to zero in interest, so digging into the savings is my current MO, although I have managed to invest in a peer-to-peer lending scheme which is giving me around 6.5% per annum, paid monthly.

 

I envisage having to use up most of my investments by the time I depart this mortal coil, although I do hope there is enough left to pass on to my Thai daughter, to ensure she has a good future.

 

Oh.....I forgot about the wine, which sets me back about 9000 baht a month as I am able to buy some pretty good wine direct from distributors whom I know.

Who do you buy wine from? If I may ask... and can I purchase from them also? 

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The topic is like how long is a piece of string with so many variables. I mean out of the 45Ka month what are you expecting?

 

It's the same as guys coming on here saying I have 5, 10 or 20 million baht to retire plus my monthly pension, is it enough? WE DON'T KNOW! 

 

We don't know your lifestyles or spending habits.The only thing you do is to have a ceiling budget per month including all anticipated spends on internet, accommodation,, transport, food, entertainment etc. and if you find you are over it monthly and dipping further into your nest-egg,, you are spending too much. End of!

 

If its a few beers, decent food a motorbike or small car and small compact house in Isaarn, it's doable, of course. If you want to go to Pattaya and off the Totty in the bar, ring the bell in the bar, and eat in western restaurants daily, then you are in for a rude awakening. One thing for sure, bar girls and boys are experts spending other peoples money.

 

We have three houses in a compound which are paid for and built many years ago, my car was bought new 2 years ago and a bit more and paid for, we cook a lot at home, both Isaarn food and Western food, I usually get to Europe at least twice a year.

 

Hobbies are exercise, bit of local travel and visiting the islands, as well as regional travel of course,quite a bit of IPTV, not super exciting, but stress free as a rule.

 

I can honestly say, my other half spends more of our money than I do on too many lucky numbers, and recently some online gambling. I monitor it very closely. No more than 1,000 baht a week in total on the gambling, that I am aware of. I control the money. We have tried handing her a monthly budget and she just isn't cut out for that kind of stuff.

 

But, I stopped drinking and started exercise and losing weight and I don't miss it. I do the Tesco stuff as it gets me out of the house, I don't smoke and other stuff is for our mutual benefit which I don't class as spending ( it is) but part of the budget, such as health insurance, diesel, etc

 

However, she drinks little, rarely goes out of the house ( now and again at Songkran and Mor Lam season ), loves cooking, likes keeping the house nice, and isn't really interested in the latest mobile phones or fancy clothes, only local beauty products. So, it isn't so bad.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Scouse123
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9 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

The topic is like how long is a piece of string with so many variables. I mean out of the 45Ka month what are you expecting?

 

It's the same as guys coming on here saying I have 5, 10 or 20 million baht to retire plus my monthly pension, is it enough? WE DON'T KNOW! 

 

We don't know your lifestyles or spending habits.The only thing you do is to have a ceiling budget per month including all anticipated spends on internet, accommodation,, transport, food, entertainment etc. and if you find you are over it monthly and dipping further into your nest-egg,, you are spending too much. End of!

 

If its a few beers, decent food a motorbike or small car and small compact house in Isaarn, it's doable, of course. If you want to go to Pattaya and off the Totty in the bar, ring the bell in the bar, and eat in western restaurants daily, then you are in for a rude awakening. One thing for sure, bar girls and boys are experts spending other peoples money.

 

We have three houses in a compound which are paid for and built many years ago, my car was bought new 2 years ago and a bit more and paid for, we cook a lot at home, both Isaarn food and Western food, I usually get to Europe at least twice a year.

 

Hobbies are exercise, bit of local travel and visiting the islands, as well as regional travel of course,quite a bit of IPTV, not super exciting, but stress free as a rule.

 

I can honestly say, my other half spends more of our money than I do on too many lucky numbers, and recently some online gambling. I monitor it very closely. No more than 1,000 baht a week in total on the gambling, that I am aware of. I control the money. We have tried handing her a monthly budget and she just isn't cut out for that kind of stuff..

 

However, she drinks little, rarely goes out of the house ( now and again at Songkran and Mor Lam season ), loves cooking, likes keeping the house nice, and isn't really interested in the latest mobile phones or fancy clothes, only local beauty products. So, it isn't so bad.

Ok. With all that said... how much do you spend monthly on average?

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14 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Good day, I actually live in Phuket, however couple of my suppliers are based in Bangkok, and I will attach some details for you. They will/may/can deliver!

 

Vinum Lector - Your wine distributor in Bangkok 

 

Also contact for a wine list: [email protected]

 

 

I don't see any prices on the website... what would you say is an average cost per bottle of one of the red cabernet's? Better question is, average low and average high on the reds.. thanks.

Edited by Freeduhdum
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1 minute ago, Freeduhdum said:

I don't see any prices on the website... what would you say is an average cost per bottle of one of the red cabernet's? Better question is, average low and average high on the reds.. thanks.

OOPS.......will send the price list now!!

 

Vinum Lector Wholesale Price List April 2021.pdf

 

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Just now, xylophone said:

I have a distended aorta and although it's not currently life-threatening, if and when I do need surgery it will be extremely expensive, and I'm not prepared to accept death at this particular point in time when I have got so many good years ahead of me.

I though you were 70+, at 65 I already doubt I have any good years ahead of me.

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58 minutes ago, Freeduhdum said:

Do you mind providing your insurance company and policy type? Would love to look into this one. 
 

 

I'm signed up with the expat policy from April Insurance (mentioned often in the Insurance forum).  Make sure you get the expat policy, not the policy provided by April Insurance in Thailand.

 

Of course, when starting a new insurance policy, your premiums will be higher if you already have medical conditions, such as high BP etc, and those conditions may not be covered or even the policy refused.  I was fortunate that I took out my insurance cover about 5 years ago, at which time I had no existing medical conditions (same as now...)  But if I develop some new medical condition, my premiums will not be increased just for me - only a general age-band annual increase applies.

Edited by simon43
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40 minutes ago, Freeduhdum said:

Ok. With all that said... how much do you spend monthly on average?

 

I don't really know because I don't really have that much of a concern with capital.

 

I know it isn't that much but I don't have money concerns.

 

I would say in the region of 30K-35K, but no rent or car to pay for. I don't smoke and stopped drinking through choice 7 months ago.

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