Retirement

[steve sharp]

Hi All,

          I am currently thinking about retiring and would like your advice on my finances, I am 60 years old and have a retirement fund of £300k and was wondering if this is a satifactory amount for a comfy retirement. At present I am living in the UK without any ties.

 

Regards

Edited February 14, 2022 by steve sharp

[tonray]

Ahhh...the age old question that cannot be answered by anyone but yourself. Some guys can blow thru 300K in a year and some can make that last 30 years, what type are you ? Does this money generate any income ? Is their any pension/annuity in addition as a regular supplement ? Do you plan on meeting and settling in with a Thai GF/Wife ? 

 

Have you ever been to Thailand and if so what was your 'burn rate' on cash ? What type of housing do you expect to reside in ?

 

 

etc etc etc

Edited February 14, 2022 by tonray

[Jingthing]

You can get a visa with that.

What will your pension income be?

[fredscats]

Quality of quantity,so many women available here,meet one...met the lot.  Give it a miss,  Spain

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, tonray said:

Ahhh...the age old question that cannot be answered by anyone but yourself. Some guys can blow thru 300K in a year and some can make that last 30 years, what type are you ? Does this money generate any income ? Is their any pension/annuity in addition as a regular supplement ? Do you plan on meeting and settling in with a Thai GF/Wife ? 

 

Have you ever been to Thailand and is so what was your 'burn rate' on cash ? What type of housing do you expect to reside in ?

 

 

etc etc etc

Roughly 12million baht?

 

You should have at least 3 mill safety

 

Survival level 40k a month + safety

A good life 80k a month+ safety

 

A life without worries 

120k a month + safety 

 

Luxery life 150k a month ++++++

 

It is in the beginning you spend to much before you get to know everything you need to know, and also gathering the things you need and settle down one place. It can take awhile, and fail and learn the basic things.

 

Some brought everything they had, and managed to loose it in less than a year trusting one person. Others manage to make it over years.

 

If you have no other income than your 300k euro, then maybe 15 years? 

 

All dependeds what you do with your 300k

 

[BritManToo]

33 minutes ago, steve sharp said:

am 60 years old and have a retirement fund of £300k and was wondering if this is a satifactory amount for a comfy retirement.

I'm happily living with my woman and 2 kids on 1,000pounds/month in a nice 3 bedroom house in a gated community. Without the woman and kids, I'd probably be living on 666 pounds/month.

 

If you don't (or rarely) want sex choose the lower amount.

Edited February 14, 2022 by BritManToo

[CharlieH]

If you lived 20 yrs, pro rata thats 15k a yr or 300 a week = 14k baht approx. That gives a monthly around 60k .

Add to that the Govt pension and you" ll be ok if yr not a heavy drinker and playing with the ladies.

 

You'll get by and bo ok but forget any extravagance ot foreign holidays. The above makes NO ALLOWANCE for inlation every increasing baht or change in the direction the immigration wind blows.

 

In short, how long is a pirce of string and you coukd be dead in a year ! No one knows ! Make yiur best guess and live YOUR LIFE your way ! ????

 

Edit: Health Insurance ! Think long and hard on this one, one serious issue and you coukd be wiped out financially. Choose wisely.

[steve sharp]

Hi All,

 

         Thanks for all the replies, the £300k is savings and at the age of 67 will be entilted to the uk state pension which is about £800 per month, I also have a small private pension that will pay about £100 per month I don't smoke and get <deleted> on two beers. 

 

Regards

 

 

[Kwasaki]

22 minutes ago, steve sharp said:

Thanks for all the replies, the £300k is savings and at the age of 67 will be entilted to the uk state pension which is about £800 per month, I also have a small private pension that will pay about £100 per month I don't smoke and get <deleted> on two beers. 

OK you'll be fine but where do you want live, what you want to do, what you like doing.

[fredscats]

You will last a lot longer if address kept to UK

[1FinickyOne]

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

OK you'll be fine but where do you want live, what you want to do, what you like doing.

 

[Jingthing]

Yeah it's doable but you'll need to be frugal.

[timendres]

3 hours ago, steve sharp said:

Hi All,

 

         Thanks for all the replies, the £300k is savings and at the age of 67 will be entilted to the uk state pension which is about £800 per month, I also have a small private pension that will pay about £100 per month I don't smoke and get <deleted> on two beers. 

 

Regards

My brother faces a similar choice at the moment. Social security will not kick in for 5 more years, so he would have to draw down his savings account significantly if he retires now. He has around $200K USD. If that were placed into securities yielding 5% dividends, it would provide $10K per year, or roughly $833 per month, which is about 27,500 THB per month at current exchange, without ever drawing down the principal. Of course, there is risk with any dividend yielding securities, but reasonable risk. The principal also provides a nice emergency fund in the event that it becomes a necessity. That 27,500 THB, plus his social security, would provide a very comfortable living here. However, if he draws down the $200K for 5 years while waiting for his social secutity, he estimates he would be left with only $110K USD, which, assuming the same 5% dividend, would only provide $5,500 USD per year, or barely 15,000 THB per month - a significant drop. And he is left with a significantly smaller emergency fund. At the moment he is planning to split the difference, and retire in two and a half years. He has some health issues, and his work is very demanding physically, so he has a strong argument for retiring sooner rather than later, and he does not expect to live until he is 90 (or even 80), reducing his need for long term funds, as well as his exposure to inflation.

 

If you are set on living in Bangkok, renting a nice condo, eating out at expensive restaurants frequently, partying with the ladies, or just having an expensive girlfriend, and otherwise spending freely, your savings and pensions will not make the cut. However, if you are willing to live in a reasonably priced apartment/condo, only eat expensive once or twice a week, and be more reasonable with regards to the girl, then I would think the numbers you are stating are quite reasonable. In my opinion, the most important thing is to try to never touch that principal (your £300k). I believe if it were properly invested for a yield, and you are willing to live frugally until the pensions kick in, you could keep that principal "in the bank", which is the best approach. And once you have adjusted to the limited income produced by the £300k, once your pensions kick in you will be living nice.

 

For me, I came to Thailand when I was 49. But I was still working, and I am still working now 12 years later. I could not imagine having to have waited any longer to come here, and I would certainly be miserable if I were still in the US. I would rather be poor and scraping by in Thailand (or a number of other places to be honest), than to be well off in the US. I was miserable there. So you should consider the value of being retired, as well as being more happy each day (assuming being here provides that for you), as part of your calculations.

[ChrisP24]

Hi All, I am currently thinking about retiring and would like your advice on my finances, I am 60 years old and have a retirement fund of £300k and was wondering if this is a satifactory amount for a comfy retirement. At present I am living in the UK without any ties.

 

......and at the age of 67 will be entilted to the uk state pension which is about £800 per month, I also have a small private pension that will pay about £100 per month I don't smoke and get <deleted> on two beers. 

 

I assume that you mean retiring overseas.  Yes it is possible to do with a good and possibly great level of comfort, but you will need a well-developed and closely-managed plan that includes having the £300k working for you to generate ongoing income instead of drawing it down.  Ideally you won't draw any of it down but rather just live off of the income it generates, and even better let the principal balance grow a bit to keep pace with inflation.  And then at age 67 you get a pay raise when your state pension kicks in.  I am not from the U.K. but my understanding from what others have posted is that the U.K. state pension amount "freezes" when you reside outside of the country so you don't get annual increases.

 

Some things to include in your plan:

 

- an initial amount to burn through the first few months after retiring as you get settled in, things like short term rent, local travel, navigating the learning curve on how to live long term rather than in vacation mode.  And then once you choose where to live, you'll have expenses such as appliances, furnishing, dishes, linen etc. to equip your abode.  Call it a "relocation budget"

- health insurance

- travel expense when you have to go back home for family events etc.

- visa expenses

- liquid and easily accessible money set aside for an emergency repatriation if something goes wrong, such as an accident or health event.

- a detailed local budget developed during your first few months on the ground as you learn what you like or dislike and what the real costs will be to make living arrangements that suit you.  Actually it is probably better to make a few long-ish visits if you can before retiring, with the goal of exploring, learning to live like a non-vacationer, and figuring out some of what your local budget will look like, before you burn any bridges or pull the trigger on retirement.

- and finally, do lots of reading and talking to expats to learn all the myriad ways that others in this exact same situation have had their plans implode and end badly, so that you can avoid those pitfalls.  The most obvious example being the £300k house/family compound in Isaan.  ☹️

 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by ChrisP24

[Chris.B]

15 minutes ago, ChrisP24 said:

- and finally, do lots of reading and talking to expats to learn all the myriad ways that others in this exact same situation have had their plans implode and end badly, so that you can avoid those pitfalls.  The most obvious example being the £300k house/family compound in Isaan.  ☹️

Yes, and die a lonely old man in a rented room with fan in the back of Pattaya. ????

 

[pomchop]

Bangkok or Chiang Rai?  Phuket or Issan?  

 

BIG difference in cost of living and lifestyles.  Thailand has many many choices that will impact your budget significantly.

[Jerno]

Too many variables and unknowns about your expectations,  lifestyle...etc. Coupled with a wide range of living and spending options in Thailand makes this venue poor choice for sound advice.  Contact a financial planner who knows Thailand and pay for appropriate professional advice.  

[VocalNeal]

Has the OP been visited here before?  Does he have any friends in Thailand?  What are his expectations for life here?

 

Ok we drive on the same side of the road other than that....

 

 

[scubascuba3]

Work out your likely future costs based on your experience of living here, there is your answer

[realfunster]

There are some reasonable online retirement calculators you can play around with but I find a lot of these very conservative and a bit limited in variables so I set up my own Excel spreadsheet to assess when I have enough to retire. Not for a few years yet...

 

If I plug in your GBP 300k savings pot and add in the pensions at 67 years old with retirement at 60 I get the following for when the money pot runs dry :

 

THB 100k per month : 81 years old

THB 83k per month : 92 years old 

 

Retiring in 5 years at 65 makes a big difference :

 

 

THB 110k per month (100k+ inflation) : 88 years old

THB 90k per month (83k+ inflation) : 100 years old 

 

My calculation includes cost inflation at 2% and capital investment returning 5% per annum. Frozen UK pension as you will be overseas claimant.

Health insurance would be a major consideration and at mid-60s I have been budgeting around 120k+ per annum.

You might find some suppliers get reluctant to insure once you get to a "certain age" and as others mentioned a major health incident & expense can eat up a fair chunk of your savings. 

 

On around 80-100k cash in hand per month, that should be enough to have a very decent standard of living and get in 1 trip a year home in economy class + spending money. Depends how expensive your tastes are !

 

[Orinoco]

oops 

Good luck just get ready for house, car, kids schooling and so on.

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Orinoco

[Kwasaki]

12 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

 

What's that to do with retirees.

[meatboy]

you need a few weeks on this forum to read all the positive's and negative's,

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

What's that to do with retirees.

"I like to sleep late in the morning, don't like to wear no shoes, make love to the women, while I'm living, get drunk on a bottle of booze" 

 

From what I have seen on this forum, it seems to sum up most of the retirees though accomplished with less complaining... 

[Kwasaki]

5 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

"I like to sleep late in the morning, don't like to wear no shoes, make love to the women, while I'm living, get drunk on a bottle of booze" 

 

From what I have seen on this forum, it seems to sum up most of the retirees though accomplished with less complaining... 

I would regard that alone as a boring exsistance and have a drink to enjoy not get drunk. 

At my age I like to take a lot more care of myself more so than 15 years ago. 

[1FinickyOne]

6 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

At my age I like to take a lot more care of myself more so than 15 years ago. 

And we all appreciate that... I mean, who needs a flabby Kwasaki wandering around lost... 

 

it's just a song and nicely performed... he has a rare talent of playing the bass notes [with his thumb] and melody at the same time... 

[YorkshireTyke]

12 hours ago, ChrisP24 said:

Hi All, I am currently thinking about retiring and would like your advice on my finances, I am 60 years old and have a retirement fund of £300k and was wondering if this is a satifactory amount for a comfy retirement. At present I am living in the UK without any ties.

 

......and at the age of 67 will be entilted to the uk state pension which is about £800 per month, I also have a small private pension that will pay about £100 per month I don't smoke and get <deleted> on two beers. 

 

I assume that you mean retiring overseas.  Yes it is possible to do with a good and possibly great level of comfort, but you will need a well-developed and closely-managed plan that includes having the £300k working for you to generate ongoing income instead of drawing it down.  Ideally you won't draw any of it down but rather just live off of the income it generates, and even better let the principal balance grow a bit to keep pace with inflation. 

 

 

How is he going to generate any adequate income let alone enough to live off and consolidate/grow his 300k lump sum?

He would need to earn 5% to generate 55,000 Baht a month. 

In the UK a fixed guaranteed deposit would be lucky to earn 2% at the moment.

Or are you suggesting stocks & shares which could go up or down or do you have better fixed rates in your country? Just curious.

Chrisp24 What do you envisage doing with your 300k? Is it invested now?

[YorkshireTyke]

6 hours ago, realfunster said:

 

My calculation includes cost inflation at 2% and capital investment returning 5% per annum. Frozen UK pension as you will be overseas claimant.

 

I like your idea of a spreadsheet, I did the same over 10 years ago before I retired here.

However, your the second poster to quote investment at 5% per annum. Where do you get 5% income on savings? I also presume its guaranteed as once retired the OP can't really afford to gamble with his pot as he won't be getting any other income.

[realfunster]

1 hour ago, YorkshireTyke said:

I like your idea of a spreadsheet, I did the same over 10 years ago before I retired here.

However, your the second poster to quote investment at 5% per annum. Where do you get 5% income on savings? I also presume its guaranteed as once retired the OP can't really afford to gamble with his pot as he won't be getting any other income.

Great question - I feel the market is starting to shift as returns become more difficult to come by. Investment portfolios are shifting away from the more conservative equity/bonds ratio allocations, as that just doesn't generate enough return in the modern era. Credible sources are now even suggesting a 10% crypto holding. 

 

Nearer to retirement, it would make sense to switch to a more conservative (20/80 or 30/70) allocation, which I think would give you a decent chance of a 5% return being 3% net after inflation.

 

 

 

[ChrisP24]

10 hours ago, YorkshireTyke said:

How is he going to generate any adequate income let alone enough to live off and consolidate/grow his 300k lump sum?

He would need to earn 5% to generate 55,000 Baht a month. 

In the UK a fixed guaranteed deposit would be lucky to earn 2% at the moment.

Or are you suggesting stocks & shares which could go up or down or do you have better fixed rates in your country? Just curious.

Chrisp24 What do you envisage doing with your 300k? Is it invested now?

To clarify, Steve Sharp is the OP with the 300k.  There's no "quote" button on the first post in a thread in the forum interface (or maybe I'm just not smart enough find it), so I quoted him in italics.

 

Not sure about the U.K. but in the U.S. there are ways to generate 5%++ ongoing income returns if you are willing to accept some fluctuation in principal.  Examples include dividend-paying REITs and preferred stocks, or getting to 5%++ more slowly by buying and holding dividend growth stocks for the long term.  If he's not planning to spend principal anyway, then some degree of short-term fluctuation won't impact him, other than perhaps psychologically.  And entering retirement necessitates psychological changes anyway, both financially and otherwise, all of which can be good! ????