8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'd never work if I had a net worth of $1T ............. I actually gave up working when I hit $1M5.

I can never understand the urge to keep working when you already have more than you can ever spend?

Work gets in the way of having a life ......... totally pointless.

Wish I'd never worked at all, could have come to Thailand when I was 24, and just played.

Wasted 20 years working for no net gain.

Well some people are really passionate about their work such as artists. etc.

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Doesn't matter to me, I can put as much money as they want in a Thai bank.

As I have said, they may make the retirement visa criteria from 50 to 75 years old. After 75 years of age, you are not spending much anyway, plus, they don't want foreigners dying here.

It's called a retirement visa, not a dying visa. 🙂

27 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

As I have said, they may make the retirement visa criteria from 50 to 75 years old. After 75 years of age, you are not spending much anyway, plus, they don't want foreigners dying here.

It's called a retirement visa, not a dying visa. 🙂

So what visa would over 75's get?

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Also a non-immigrant visa does help with bank accounts in the current environment.

Personally I think immigration WILL grandfather the 800K. They're not obligated to so that's just my opinion. Why? Well it would be extremely bad PR for Thailand for the international press to see thousands of elderly people being priced out often needing to return to nothing. Some may think I'm being over dramatic, but that trauma would be a death sentence for some in that group. They always want fresh (richer) meat and that kind of publicity would be bad for that. OR some might think they would grandfather because that would be the humane thing to do out of respect for elderly people. I don't know about that. As foreigners the respect we get here is based on the money keeping flowing, right?

It's an interesting topic, and one that I am open to all possibilities.

The one thing I will not be swayed on is the 800k baht will remain 800k baht forever. It simply can not, and will not. A change to this amount is inevitable at some stage.

We are seeing a rise in populist political parties across the world. Trump in the USA, Reform in the UK, One Nation in Australia, Meloni in Italy etc. Anti-immigrant policies have become popular, globally.

It's a belief held my many foreigners in Thailand that "they want our money here, but they don't want us here." So, how popular would a Thai politician be if he said he was going to reduce the amount of foreigners living in Thailand by changing the retirement visa criteria, and also freeing up properties for Thai's? He's sure to be swept into power. Such a policy would have no grandfathering.

As mentioned, it may have nothing to do with financial capacity and simply be based on age. The retirement visa may be available from the age of say 50 to 75 years of age, and after 75 you no longer qualify. Basically, the Thai government would be thinking, we've got the money out of them, they are too old to spend much anymore, and we don't want them dying here. The later particularly true of those living on meager pensions, fortnight to fortnight, and most probably leaving a bill/s behind upon their death.

I don't really subscribe to your idea of "humane thing to do" or "respect for elderly people." The Thai government couldn't care less. It's Money Number One here. It's as simple as that.

As for bad PR, Thailand is not running a charity for elderly retired expats with small money. What country would want the reputation of having old aged pensioners, from all around the world, who can't afford to live in their own western country?

In my opinion, the 800k baht will be raised at some stage. Whether that increase will keep the status quo, or be part of a broader plan remains to be seen, but as you alluded to, why wouldn't they consider clearing out the "older poor meat" for the "fresh richer meat" on a rotating basis, thus ensuring expat retiree "spend" is always at a high level?

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Pattaya will be empty before my number is up!

It seems unlikely they'll ever want rid of that many white folk.

As mentioned, they may not want rid of them all, but may just want to ensure the ones that are here have money to spend, and do so.

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah I get you.

You're talking about a realistic number that they might increase it to

Not an absurd Elon Musk type of number.

It may not be a number based on baht, but a number based on age, or both.

Raise the baht needed, and put a bracket on the retirement age. It's a financial win win for the Thai government, and a popular political policy.

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I'd never work if I had a net worth of $1T ............. I actually gave up working when I hit $1M5.

I can never understand the urge to keep working when you already have more than you can ever spend?

Work gets in the way of having a life ......... totally pointless.

Wish I'd never worked at all, could have come to Thailand when I was 24, and just played.

Wasted 20 years working for no net gain.

The purchasing power of the money has decreased a lot over the last 20 years.

If one retires too early, in future years their money may not be enough to sustain a decent lifestyle.

11 minutes ago, Why bother said:

So what visa would over 75's get?

Tourist visa.

Welcome to Thailand for your 2 weeks or 30 days, once, or a few times a year, if you can afford that on an old aged pension.

Pay for your flights, a hotel, eat out three meals a day, drinks, land transport etc. Go home.

More money in that than having them eat some rice every day in their own condo all day.

Basically, once foreigners reach a certain age, there's no financial benefit for Thailand to have them remain here. They are not putting much money into the Thai economy anymore.

So, how could Thailand handle this? Well, as said, two options come to mind. First, make it a 1.5 million baht "donation" to a Thai bank. They will like the capital injection. Second, put an age bracket on the retirement visa. Say, 50 to 75 years of age. After that, "Go home old falang. You not spend money anymore." They could do one, or both, for for sure the 800k baht can not and will not stay 800k baht forever.

13 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It's an interesting topic, and one that I am open to all possibilities.

The one thing I will not be swayed on is the 800k baht will remain 800k baht forever. It simply can not, and will not. A change to this amount is inevitable at some stage.

We are seeing a rise in populist political parties across the world. Trump in the USA, Reform in the UK, One Nation in Australia, Meloni in Italy etc. Anti-immigrant policies have become popular, globally.

It's a belief held my many foreigners in Thailand that "they want our money here, but they don't want us here." So, how popular would a Thai politician be if he said he was going to reduce the amount of foreigners living in Thailand by changing the retirement visa criteria, and also freeing up properties for Thai's? He's sure to be swept into power. Such a policy would have no grandfathering.

As mentioned, it may have nothing to do with financial capacity and simply be based on age. The retirement visa may be available from the age of say 50 to 75 years of age, and after 75 you no longer qualify. Basically, the Thai government would be thinking, we've got the money out of them, they are too old to spend much anymore, and we don't want them dying here. The later particularly true of those living on meager pensions, fortnight to fortnight, and most probably leaving a bill/s behind upon their death.

I don't really subscribe to your idea of "humane thing to do" or "respect for elderly people." The Thai government couldn't care less. It's Money Number One here. It's as simple as that.

As for bad PR, Thailand is not running a charity for elderly retired expats with small money. What country would want the reputation of having old aged pensioners, from all around the world, who can't afford to live in their own western country?

In my opinion, the 800k baht will be raised at some stage. Whether that increase will keep the status quo, or be part of a broader plan remains to be seen, but as you alluded to, why wouldn't they consider clearing out the "older poor meat" for the "fresh richer meat" on a rotating basis, thus ensuring expat retiree "spend" is always at a high level?

13 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It's an interesting topic, and one that I am open to all possibilities.

The one thing I will not be swayed on is the 800k baht will remain 800k baht forever. It simply can not, and will not. A change to this amount is inevitable at some stage.

We are seeing a rise in populist political parties across the world. Trump in the USA, Reform in the UK, One Nation in Australia, Meloni in Italy etc. Anti-immigrant policies have become popular, globally.

It's a belief held my many foreigners in Thailand that "they want our money here, but they don't want us here." So, how popular would a Thai politician be if he said he was going to reduce the amount of foreigners living in Thailand by changing the retirement visa criteria, and also freeing up properties for Thai's? He's sure to be swept into power. Such a policy would have no grandfathering.

As mentioned, it may have nothing to do with financial capacity and simply be based on age. The retirement visa may be available from the age of say 50 to 75 years of age, and after 75 you no longer qualify. Basically, the Thai government would be thinking, we've got the money out of them, they are too old to spend much anymore, and we don't want them dying here. The later particularly true of those living on meager pensions, fortnight to fortnight, and most probably leaving a bill/s behind upon their death.

I don't really subscribe to your idea of "humane thing to do" or "respect for elderly people." The Thai government couldn't care less. It's Money Number One here. It's as simple as that.

As for bad PR, Thailand is not running a charity for elderly retired expats with small money. What country would want the reputation of having old aged pensioners, from all around the world, who can't afford to live in their own western country?

In my opinion, the 800k baht will be raised at some stage. Whether that increase will keep the status quo, or be part of a broader plan remains to be seen, but as you alluded to, why wouldn't they consider clearing out the "older poor meat" for the "fresh richer meat" on a rotating basis, thus ensuring expat retiree "spend" is always at a high level?

You misread my post in an extreme way.

So I'll go over this, point by point:

-- I agree 100 percent that the financial requirements for retirement in Thailand will be raised, sooner or late. Obviously.

-- It could be changed on other potentially damaging to expats ways other than finances such as had already happened to OA visas adding health insurance requirement

-- I never said that I personally think they would grandfather the old levels (which means for people already in system) out of the goodness of their hearts. Duh.

-- The last time they raised the levels, it was grandfathered for people already in the system. So there is that precedent.

-- I do think a new raise will be grandfathered. I put publicity as one reason. But they don't really have to have a reason that we would ever know about anyway.

-- There is ZERO chance that they would kick out people just based on age at a certain age. No other retirement visa system in the world does that and such a policy would be so outrageous and such a radical outlier that Thailand would indeed be permanently badly labeled for that internationally. No more best places to retire listins.

I find it hilarious that anyone would even think they would do that. They can still sift and filter people out in other more tricky ways, but they would never do that and neither would any other country.

-- As far as xenophobic, anti-immigrant politics, I think you're grossly exagerrating the political potential for scapegoating old retired foreigners. Yes of course foreigners behaving badly in general, yeah that's a thing they can and will exploit, but focusing on oldsters for political gain, I just don't see that happening much.

So I guess agree to disagree on some things.

Cheers

24 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It may not be a number based on baht, but a number based on age, or both.

Raise the baht needed, and put a bracket on the retirement age. It's a financial win win for the Thai government, and a popular political policy.

24 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It may not be a number based on baht, but a number based on age, or both.

Raise the baht needed, and put a bracket on the retirement age. It's a financial win win for the Thai government, and a popular political policy.

24 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It may not be a number based on baht, but a number based on age, or both.

Raise the baht needed, and put a bracket on the retirement age. It's a financial win win for the Thai government, and a popular political policy.

The most they might do and they won't even do that is to have an upper end age level for NEW applicants.

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

All higher cost of living options than Thailand.

Nonsense. Costa Rica is even cheaper than Thailand. Only maar would be can be pretty dicey in some areas for safety. Women are stunning. No Benidorm Brits, but unfortunately loud 'look at me' Americans.

Greece can be cheap too. There is more emphasis in Europe on eating at home, fresh ingrediants which can make living cheap. Different to going out eating raw pork in dishwashwer water.

14 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

Nonsense. Costa Rica is even cheaper than Thailand. Only maar would be can be pretty dicey in some areas for safety. Women are stunning. No Benidorm Brits, but unfortunately loud 'look at me' Americans.

Greece can be cheap too. There is more emphasis in Europe on eating at home, fresh ingrediants which can make living cheap. Different to going out eating raw pork in dishwashwer water.

14 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

Nonsense. Costa Rica is even cheaper than Thailand. Only maar would be can be pretty dicey in some areas for safety. Women are stunning. No Benidorm Brits, but unfortunately loud 'look at me' Americans.

Greece can be cheap too. There is more emphasis in Europe on eating at home, fresh ingrediants which can make living cheap. Different to going out eating raw pork in dishwashwer water.

14 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

Nonsense. Costa Rica is even cheaper than Thailand. Only maar would be can be pretty dicey in some areas for safety. Women are stunning. No Benidorm Brits, but unfortunately loud 'look at me' Americans.

Greece can be cheap too. There is more emphasis in Europe on eating at home, fresh ingrediants which can make living cheap. Different to going out eating raw pork in dishwashwer water.

Costa Rica is definitely NOT cheaper than Thailand.

Yeah, it used to be much cheaper.

But both Costa Rica and neighboring Panama have become higher cost destination in Latin America in the cost level ranks of Uruguay and Chile.

You want cheap in Cental America? Nicaragua.

Numbeo

Costa Rica is approximately 59% more expensive than Thailand in terms of overall cost of living. This includes significant differences in housing, groceries, and restaurant prices, with Costa Rica being notably higher in all these categories.

Let's raise the bank deposit to 30,000,000 THB for retirees, that should filter out the pond scum. If you're 55+ and couldn't save that on a western salary you are a total loser anyway.

10 minutes ago, doctor_jakkarat said:

Let's raise the bank deposit to 30,000,000 THB for retirees, that should filter out the pond scum. If you're 55+ and couldn't save that on a western salary you are a total loser anyway.

10 minutes ago, doctor_jakkarat said:

Let's raise the bank deposit to 30,000,000 THB for retirees, that should filter out the pond scum. If you're 55+ and couldn't save that on a western salary you are a total loser anyway.

10 minutes ago, doctor_jakkarat said:

Let's raise the bank deposit to 30,000,000 THB for retirees, that should filter out the pond scum. If you're 55+ and couldn't save that on a western salary you are a total loser anyway.

You'd have to be a total loser to put that amount in a tiny interest Thai bank account.

21 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You'd have to be a total loser to put that amount in a tiny interest Thai bank account.

... or else just find a reputable agent to cover it.

11 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

The purchasing power of the money has decreased a lot over the last 20 years.

If one retires too early, in future years their money may not be enough to sustain a decent lifestyle.

Can't say my money has decreased in value in Thailand to any extent that matters.

And as I've got older I've been spending less.

2 hours ago, doctor_jakkarat said:

Let's raise the bank deposit to 30,000,000 THB for retirees

We already have plenty of stupid people in Thailand like those who pay 20-30,000 thb per night to stay on a brown beach on the south shore of Samui that's basically rocks and pebbles

Nothing at all like the powder white beach of Boracay or the Maldives.

Why are all these rich people paying way too much money going to inferior beaches?

I'd suspect money laundering going on, what do I know? My favorite beach was camping out on the beach in a hammock in Mexico for $1 a night they would have an air-conditioned VW van come around once a week bringing fresh vegetables and fruit, as well as 5g jugs of filtered RO water. There was a restaurant nearby that would cook a whole fish with sides for about $5usd per plate.

Your wealth means NOTHING to me.

Now tell me again why would "rich" people want to come to Thailand? 😭

16 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The most they might do and they won't even do that is to have an upper end age level for NEW applicants.

Who know what they will do here in the future.

You are the one that said Cambodia will change their visa laws in the future. I simply pointed out Thailand can / will do the same.

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Can't say my money has decreased in value in Thailand to any extent that matters.

Everyone's currency has decreased in purchasing power over the last 20 years. Just how much it "matters" is a different question.

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

And as I've got older I've been spending less.

Which proves my point.

28 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

They can make it whatever they want.

They could make it just enough to knock out the top paying, but still meager, western old aged pension country, thus all the pensions / pensioners below it, from other countries all around the world.

Or, they could raise it really high, thus raising the financial capacity / standard of foreigners living here, and also returning Thai properties to Thai's, which I am sure would be an election winner.

My point is, just as a member commented on how Cambodia can change their visa laws at any time, so can Thailand.

As I have said before, a retirement visa is nothing more than a 1 year tourist visa. it was debated in a thread a long time ago and the conclusion was the only thing an individual on a retirement visa can do that someone on a 30 visa exemption can't do was have a 5 year driving / riding license as opposed to a 2 year license.

It's not scaremongering. The 800k baht requirement simply can not stay at 800k baht forever. At some stage, the Thai government will raise it. They could raise it a little, to keep up with the cost of living, thus changing very little, or raise it a lot, as part of a broader plan, which may see many forced out of Thailand.

28 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

They can make it whatever they want.

They could make it just enough to knock out the top paying, but still meager, western old aged pension country, thus all the pensions / pensioners below it, from other countries all around the world.

Or, they could raise it really high, thus raising the financial capacity / standard of foreigners living here, and also returning Thai properties to Thai's, which I am sure would be an election winner.

My point is, just as a member commented on how Cambodia can change their visa laws at any time, so can Thailand.

As I have said before, a retirement visa is nothing more than a 1 year tourist visa. it was debated in a thread a long time ago and the conclusion was the only thing an individual on a retirement visa can do that someone on a 30 visa exemption can't do was have a 5 year driving / riding license as opposed to a 2 year license.

It's not scaremongering. The 800k baht requirement simply can not stay at 800k baht forever. At some stage, the Thai government will raise it. They could raise it a little, to keep up with the cost of living, thus changing very little, or raise it a lot, as part of a broader plan, which may see many forced out of Thailand.

31 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Who know what they will do here in the future.

You are the one that said Cambodia will change their visa laws in the future. I simply pointed out Thailand can / will do the same.

Of course both will.change

But you can bet the house that no country in the world that has a retirement visa will have a new rule kicking out everyone who reaches a certain age. The very idea of that is ridiclulous.

31 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Everyone's currency has decreased in purchasing power over the last 20 years. Just how much it "matters" is a different question.

Which proves my point.

My pension has dramatically increased (around 50%), exchange rate is 20% less, prices have gone up a little on some items, and gone down a lot on western imported food. I 'guesstimate' I'm around 25% up on 16 years back. (can't give an opinion on 20 years back because I wasn't here).

Utilities and housing, same price.

Cheese 1/2 price, technology 1/2 price.

Fresh milk up 30%, powdered milk down 30%.

Western Chocolate 1/2 price.

TV services (TRUE sat) from 1,000bht/month to ZERO (streaming and downloads)

Fuel 34bht/litre to ZERO (EV).

VISA extension, no change.

The only prices that have dramatically risen in 16 years is ST/LT which has risen around 400%.

Services I no longer need.

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Of course both will.change

So what make Thailand more stable than Cambodia, when it comes to visas????

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

But you can bet the house that no country in the world that has a retirement visa will have a new rule kicking out everyone who reaches a certain age. The very idea of that is ridiclulous.

Most countries have a reasonable pathway to PR or citizenship for immigrants, but not Thailand. The retirement visa is nothing more than a 1 year tourist visa.

You are the one that mentioned "fresh (richer) meat." So, why wouldn't they consider forcing out the "old (poorer) meat?"

Do you really think the Thai government cares about old farang who spend no money?

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My pension has dramatically increased (around 50%), exchange rate is 20% less, prices have gone up a little on some items, and gone down a lot on western imported food. I 'guesstimate' I'm around 25% up on 16 years back. (can't give an opinion on 20 years back because I wasn't here).

20 years back is around the GFC. You do remember the GFC, don't you? Everyone's money took a hit.

4 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

20 years back is around the GFC. You do remember the GFC, don't you? Everyone's money took a hit.

I wasn't here then, but several of my pals came to live here when the Baht was tied to the dollar.

Exchange rate is better now for USD and GBP.

Your alleged loss occured to expats only arriving here in a fairly narrow window of time (1997-2006ish).

And my 20% loss in exchange only occurred as the value of the Thai Baht normalised.

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Can't say my money has decreased in value in Thailand to any extent that matters.

And as I've got older I've been spending less.

Like your goodself in Thailand, my money in Cambodia has not decreased in value. I am fortunate in having 2 of my 3 pensions ndex linked on final salary! At 82 years, I also spend less, in particular on food and drink.

On 7/2/2026 at 9:22 PM, emptypockets said:

I'll stick to being retired in Australia. Go and visit other countries on my own timetable. I can't see how Thailand retirement can be sustainable in the longer term How many countries actually need a bunch of older foreigners clogging up their medical facilities regardless of their ability to pay?

The retirement choice is sound.

But I expect Thailand makes a lot of money supplying medical services to a lot of foreigners. A few fail to pay at the cheap public hospital sure, while many take their insurance or cash to private hospitals, and pay exorbitant bills.