People who retire in Thailand - Whats your plan?

[Leveraged]

Tons of people want to retire to Thailand and loads of people always talk about living in Thailand, but the one thing nobody ever talks about is the long term aspect of retiring in Thailand. 

 

For example: Getting very old and dying in Thailand. 

 

Recently my grandmother passed away in my home country and her last 3-4 years were very very hard for everyone. Watching this happen really made me re-think retiring to Thailand. Some points ive been thinking about and would like input on: 

 

1 ~ Medical insurance for people over 65 is almost impossible to get, and most policies ive seen that cover people over 65, only allow you to do so if you've been a long time policy holder prior to reaching 65 and the policy prices skyrocket as you get older. Ive seen some policies cost 300,000 baht per year for someone who's over 80 years old. So you're either gonna fork over a fortune in insurance, or pay out of pocket. 

 

2 ~ So you've reached retirement age and you make the big move to Thailand. Got your house or condo or whatever and youre living the good life. Youre on a marriage visa and yearly extensions. Time goes on and all of a sudden you outlive your wife at 70 years old. What then? Move to a retirement visa with yearly extensions? What about the insurance requirement for OA visas? 

 

3 ~ This is probably the most important one ive been considering: Everything is all good and time goes on. If youre lucky you live a good strong life and then unexpectedly have a massive heart attack or stroke and drop dead instantly at 80 years old. BUT what about if you aren't so lucky and develop Alzheimer's and need constant care, or severe Diabetes, or have a bad stroke and are crippled and cant talk etc? What then? You still gonna do the whole immigration hassle/run-around/drama/waiting in lines/sweating your balls off/goalpost shifting nonsense in that state?  Personally I can not possibly see how this would be in any way reasonable or possible after seeing first hand how my grandmother was in her last few years. 

 

Any input would be helpful on the above concerns. I would like to hear how others are planning for their end-of-life stage in Thailand and what they plan to do so that they are not a burden on anyone. It would be appreciated to hear how people plan to overcome these hurdles. 

[CharlieH]

If you live in the land of "what if" you"ll go crazy and might just aswell hide under your bed in farangland.

 

Thailand IS NOT the place for you based on the above.

 

Just an opinion.

[KannikaP]

For the Alzeheimers, debilitating stroke or a bad case of the Big C, always have a personal get out solution.

[Kwasaki]

1. Have enough money to finance yourself at govt hospitals. 

2. You marry someone 20 years younger they will after you. 

3. Hey a massive heart attack what does it matter and if you get Alzhelimers you won't remember anyway who cares. 

[bkk6060]

In some western countries especially the U.S., your family sticks you in a lousy rest home, never visits you, and let's you rot until you die. You stare at TV all day, the food is terrible and everyone stinks.

Find a caregiver here or like the suggestion, a younger lady to take care is not that difficult.

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by bkk6060

[Jingthing]

Keeping this simple, either bring in a massive amount of money or assume your life expectancy is going to be reduced here and/or you'll end up repatriating. 

[Leveraged]

20 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

If you live in the land of "what if" you"ll go crazy and might just aswell hide under your bed in farangland.

 

Thailand IS NOT the place for you based on the above.

 

Just an opinion.

Everyone is welcome to their opinion. 

 

My opinion of the above comment is that its a dangerously short-sighted and irresponsible "YOLO" thought process that is akin to playing roulette at a casino. 

 

FYI I have a wife and kids in Thailand and been living there on and off for 15 years. I am simply commenting and looking for input on retiring and dying in thailand, and what peoples plans are for the inevitable issues that will arise from it. 

[DrPhibes]

20 year younger wife  has promised me a small 2 bedroom house next to hers with a smok'n hot young live-in nurse to change my nappies in my latter years.  Here opinion is: if you can, go for it, die happy!

[Leveraged]

8 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

In some western countries especially the U.S., your family sticks you in a lousy rest home, never visits you, and let's you rot until you die. 

Find a caregiver here or like the suggestion, a younger lady to take care is not that difficult.

Is the care-giver going to drag your crippled and mentally debilitated self to immigration? I got no issue with a care home or having people look after me if im out of it, but how to you do that while you're a goner? 

 

Ive never seen any type of these people in immigration in any of the hundred times ive been there. 

 

So how does it work in that case? 

[scubascuba3]

Some people plan to go home at a certain age, so maybe plan for that, or see how it pans out and stay come what May, or plan an end date say 80-85 depending how healthy you are, or earlier or later depending if you get some serious illness you don't want to live with

[Chris.B]

14 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

In some western countries especially the U.S., your family sticks you in a lousy rest home, never visits you, and let's you rot until you die. You stare at TV all day, the food is terrible and everyone stinks.

Find a caregiver here or like the suggestion, a younger lady to take care is not that difficult.

 

The UK is the same !!

[JAS21]

3 minutes ago, Leveraged said:

Is the care-giver going to drag your crippled and mentally debilitated self to immigration? I got no issue with a care home or having people look after me if im out of it, but how to you do that while you're a goner? 

 

Ive never seen any type of these people in immigration in any of the hundred times ive been there. 

 

So how does it work in that case? 

Agent probably

[Tanomazu]

43 minutes ago, Leveraged said:

Ive seen some policies cost 300,000 baht per year for someone who's over 80 years old. So you're either gonna fork over a fortune in insurance, or pay out of pocket. 

Have you tried to get medical insurance for an 80 year old in the West? Not cheap, let me tell ya. Even when you can get it it's usually worthless as it excludes pre-existing conditions.

 

45 minutes ago, Leveraged said:

This is probably the most important one ive been considering: Everything is all good and time goes on. If youre lucky you live a good strong life and then unexpectedly have a massive heart attack or stroke and drop dead instantly at 80 years old. BUT what about if you aren't so lucky and develop Alzheimer's and need constant care, or severe Diabetes, or have a bad stroke and are crippled and cant talk etc? What then? You still gonna do the whole immigration hassle/run-around/drama/waiting in lines/sweating your balls off/goalpost shifting nonsense in that state?  Personally I can not possibly see how this would be in any way reasonable or possible after seeing first hand how my grandmother was in her last few years. 

I can guarantee you, if you do get Alzheimers you won't care what happens to you, you won't be able to recognise you own mother.

 

Actually Thailand would be an ideal place for care, but with the visa rules you'd probably have to return to your country of origin. Not that it matters when you can't distinguish your daughter from a stranger.

[Leveraged]

17 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Keeping this simple, either bring in a massive amount of money or assume your life expectancy is going to be reduced here and/or you'll end up repatriating. 

Every time I seriously think this through, repatriating in my very very old years seems like the best/only responsible option. 

 

Honestly the thought of being old/crippled/mentally handicapped and extremely venerable in  Thailand during my oldest years makes me extremely uncomfortable. IMO it should make anyone uncomfortable. 

 

At least at home and no matter what ill be able to get medicare and dont need to worry about strung about by strangers. 

[ezzra]

Well, this Covid business going to linger on for quite a while, at least for the next two years, some will batten down the hatches and wait for the storm to pass, others will say 'sod this, i'm out of here', and right now, I'm leaning towards the latter rather than the former...

[86Tiger]

12 minutes ago, Leveraged said:

Is the care-giver going to drag your crippled and mentally debilitated self to immigration? I got no issue with a care home or having people look after me if im out of it, but how to you do that while you're a goner? 

 

Ive never seen any type of these people in immigration in any of the hundred times ive been there. 

 

So how does it work in that case? 

 

I had a good friend stoke out few years back in Patts.

 

He was alone, no family in Thailand.  He opened his eyes but he wasn't really there anymore and needed 24/7 care. Hospital sent him to a nursing facility.  The nursing facility took care of all the visa issues for the 2 1/2 years he lived.  His brother back in US arranged his SS and military pension to go to the nursing facility.

[fredscats]

26 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

In some western countries especially the U.S., your family sticks you in a lousy rest home, never visits you, and let's you rot until you die. You stare at TV all day, the food is terrible and everyone stinks.

Find a caregiver here or like the suggestion, a younger lady to take care is not that difficult.

 

This is about right,here you can be looked after cheaply,there are places CM for instant,old folks homes...but you have to recognise,take choices

[Tanomazu]

5 minutes ago, Leveraged said:

Every time I seriously think this through, repatriating in my very very old years seems like the best/only responsible option. 

 

Honestly the thought of being old/crippled/mentally handicapped and extremely venerable in  Thailand during my oldest years makes me extremely uncomfortable. IMO it should make anyone uncomfortable. 

 

At least at home and no matter what ill be able to get medicare and dont need to worry about strung about by strangers. 

Thailand would be a far better place to get care as an elderly person than literally any country in the West. Much cheaper as well.

 

Only the visa paperwork would be an issue, but you can probably find someone to help you with it.

[mahtin]

I'll go with becoming venerable.

[Leveraged]

3 minutes ago, Tanomazu said:

Thailand would be a far better place to get care as an elderly person than literally any country in the West. Much cheaper as well.

I do not doubt this in the slightest, but issues to consider are the cost out of pocket or the cost of insurance over the years to cover this potential eventuality. 

 

4 minutes ago, Tanomazu said:

Only the visa paperwork would be an issue, but you can probably find someone to help you with it.

Speculation at the moment, but something to look in to. If there are "homes" that expats are eligible for that take care of visa issues until death, that would be an option and worth considering. 

[Leveraged]

13 minutes ago, 86Tiger said:

I had a good friend stoke out few years back in Patts.

 

He was alone, no family in Thailand.  He opened his eyes but he wasn't really there anymore and needed 24/7 care. Hospital sent him to a nursing facility.  The nursing facility took care of all the visa issues for the 2 1/2 years he lived.  His brother back in US arranged his SS and military pension to go to the nursing facility.

Thanks. Sorry to hear about your friend, but sounds like he was well taken care of and wasn't a burden on anyone, which is about all we can hope for I think. 

 

Do you have any idea of what the cost of this was? And what was the location? Pattaya? 

[Tanomazu]

1 minute ago, Leveraged said:

I do not doubt this in the slightest, but issues to consider are the cost out of pocket or the cost of insurance over the years to cover this potential eventuality. 

 

Speculation at the moment, but something to look in to. If there are "homes" that expats are eligible for that take care of visa issues until death, that would be an option and worth considering. 

You're absolutely right to consider these issues. The thing is who knows what kind of medical care you will need in 20  years time. I have met 80 year olds who had no issues apart from a broken hip, but there are younger people who had open heart surgery. So you can only look at a reasonable worst case scenario. Where insurance would always be extremely expensive.

 

I come from a highly developed country and I was getting killed on private medical insurance. It cost more than my monthly mortgage. And I'm perfectly healthy and middle aged. To insure an 80 year old would cost a fortune in the west, and many, many exclusions relating to existing conditions would apply.

 

Highly complex medical issues would be better dealth with in the West most likely, but general old age care is undoubtedly better in Thailand, pound for pound. In fact many westerners go to Thailand for that reason.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

The idea about Thailand is to enjoy life and not to worry about what might go wrong or what might happen if you get older.

Just tell your story to the girls and what will they say? You tink too mut!

[Caldera]

I think having lived in the smog of Bangkok for more than a decade will greatly reduce the time I'll eventually spend demented in a retirement home.

 

I'm looking forward to my retirement here, and my plan is simply to enjoy it for as long as possible.

[EVENKEEL]

Get <deleted> everyday and don't worry about it

[tonray]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

You stare at TV all day, the food is terrible and everyone stinks.

Sounds like my old condo building

[Leveraged]

20 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I think having lived in the smog of Bangkok for more than a decade will greatly reduce the time I'll eventually spend demented in a retirement home.

 

I'm looking forward to my retirement here, and my plan is simply to enjoy it for as long as possible.

 

So your plan is basically no plan. Go, live as good of a life as you can, and let the chips fall where they may? 

 

Not knocking it, just curious. 

[Whale]

I am 74, I am on the process of selling up and leaving. 

 

You forget things like "dialling 999" it does not exist either. 

 

 

 

[Chris.B]

26 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

The idea about Thailand is to enjoy life and not to worry about what might go wrong or what might happen if you get older.

Just tell your story to the girls and what will they say? You tink too mut!

I would die a happy man if she gave me bed baths!  ????????

[RichardColeman]

My plan.

 

1. Rent my house out and retire at 55 to Thailand with the wife and family - done.

2. Stay in Thailand until 70 latest.

3. Return to the UK with the wife - old age health care and all that, and I do not want die in Thailand.

4. Death !

 

For me retirement to Thailand is a filler until old age and just pottering about in the garden with the wife until we fall apart !