Is This A Good Time To Retire To Thailand

[lopburi3]

As this has little to do with visas but is of general interest will move there for continued discussion.

[itishothere]

Interesting topic, and is the type of question I am sure many people are asking as they approach retirement.

I retired 5 years ago, a lot younger than the OP and with a lot less money. I am finding life out here to be great!!! One difference between us might be my view that when I die, I do not intend to leave anything behind for anyone. I am single and the youngest of the family, so who will benefit? A distant relative with more money than me? A Church? The tax man?

On this basis I rent. I am not interested in owning property or a half share of land. Yes it is expensive, but with the money the OP has/will get, I think there is more than enough.

500,000 Euro is about 20,000,000 THB. Lets say you live for 20 years. That's 1,000,000 a year or 83,000 a month. And in a couple of years time you will get another 35,000 a month from your pension.

So, rent a nice place to live ..... 30,000 each month?

Live well, eat out a lot ......... 30,000 each month?

Rent a car if you wanted ........ 12,000 each month?

Misc items ...... 10,000 each month?

So with the basics covered, you could spend 82,000 a month. Leaving another 36,000 each month for holidays, travel to your home country, etc etc etc. The average wage out here is a lot lower than 35,000 and people survive.

In my view, you would have more than enough to enjoy a good life. And this is before earning interest, or investing or anything else.

And remember ..... the sun shines. A lot. That walk on the beach in the morning is worth a fortune. That cold beer in the evening hits just the right spot. Seeing people having fun without getting uptight about what this Chancellor or that President or that Country is doing; this is what you should be enjoying in retirement. I know I am!!!

OP, just do it. I have done it for a lot less than you, and have no regrets at all.

PM me if you want.

[Thongkorn]

Maybe the tax man will get you before you retire then you will have a room . and 3 meals a day for free.

[Thongkorn]

Maybe the tax man will get you before you retire then you will have a room . and 3 meals a day for free.

[somtampet]

I can't speak for others, and veryone's situation is different, but I retired to Thailand 10 years ago at the ripe old age of 52.... After investing about 1.5 millon baht on land and a modest but comfortable 3bedroom, 2 bath house, 650,000 on a new truck and possibly another possibly 150,000 on various items, I live very comfortably on about 40,000 to 50,000 baht per month...

I live in a smaller city in Isaan rather than subjecting myself to "Village Life", enjoy eating out (Farang / Western Food) several times a week, travel to various areas of Thailand as a tourist maybe 6 to 7 times a year, and generally enjoy a very nice, comfortable and relaxed life and lifestyle...

It's not hard to do the math, and with what you say that you have available in cash, and in possible pension income, I think that you will find that you have more than enough to be comfortable living such a life for many years beyond your life expectancy...

Only advice that I would offer is be very conservative about your spending, do not loan / lend money to anyone and do not try to start / setup any business to try and recapture lost incomes... I have seen far too many Farang's build Huge / Fancy houses out in the villages then find that "Village Life" is way too boring and walk away from those houses... I have seen many Farang's buy way more land / farms at wife / GF's insistance then realise that it was a waste of money... Likewise many try various business ventures to try and increase their wealth or replace lost money, only to end up adding to the lost wealth... It is very easy to feel "Rich" when living in Isaan with Western levels of wealth, just don't act like you are "Rich" and you should be fine...

Pianoman

I retired at 50 and very similar to u mate.When i am 65 i have a total of about 1,500,00 baht a year to spend and about 120,000 gbp also,so i am very comfortable in Pattaya

[newbepat]

I must say i am very impressed with most of the answers to my questions, and the advice/comments.

mostly postive, yes some negative i can accept that also.

Yes maybe i worry too much, and i know i am lucky i have what i have.

I would not have this much only i sold my house and business in the good times.

As regards the the comment i made regarding the taxman, I thought i paid my dues, only to find 3 years

after my retirment, revenue wants to look at my books for 2006 to 2008. I will do that. but I thought i was finished with them.

and the reason i mention at all, is that i might make my move to Thailand sooner than later. (i was thinking anyway)

I am not afriad to say i am Irish, i was referring to the mess the banks/goverment made in my country and maybe to the Euro also,

but i didn't want to bore people with my countrys problems God knows the worlds media has said it all.

but thats another story. we are where we are, Sorry for going off topic,

Pat

[oldsailor35]

You are talking about a pension pot of 500,000 Euros then you mention a pension of 200 Euros per week, does that mean you will have a lump sum of 500,000 Euros and a pension of 200 Euros per week or does it mean the pension pot has to be used to give you an income of 200 Euros per week, 866 Euros per month? there is quite a difference there.

Is you pension liable for any sort of tax in your home country? You say the tax man wants to speak to you, surely you must have some idea what that's about, taxmen can be very unforgiving.

If you intend staying in Thailand for the foreseeable future you need to either have 800,000 or 400,000 Baht on deposit, depending if you opt for an extension based on retirement or marriage, if you intend to extend your stay stay based on retirement you could demonstrate an income of 65,000 Baht, 200 Euros a week will not give you this.

I note you have insurance in your home country as well as travel insurance, I don't know what insurance you are talking about but with travel insurance you are often limited to 90 days for any one trip, are you maintaining a residence in you home country? in which case we are back to the taxman.

I realise you are only in the planning stage at the moment, but you need to proceed with caution.

Good luck

Insurance limited to 90 days one trip ? that cannot be right. My travel insurance with Commonwealth Bank , Zurich covered, gives me 1 year and i am a fit 75 yrs old.

[oldsailor35]

Create a budget, stick to it

Forget thinking in terms of Euro. Think Baht

Stop worrying about Stickman, he's been leaving for years.

Imagine what your willing to give up, think about how you would spend a typical day in Thailand.

Remember, the only difference between an "expat" and a tourist, is a tourist knows when he is going home.

Despite the problems with the global economy, this is still a great place to live.

Well said that man !

[mstribling]

Come on down. No better than time than the present.

[Ulysses G.]

Also if you are not happy with government and banks where you are you will no doubt be more unhappy with the same in Thailand.

One fellow that I know does nothing but b*tch about Thailand. He finally decided to go back home and stay, but two months later he has returned and is now b*tching about home instead.

[newbepat]

Also if you are not happy with government and banks where you are you will no doubt be more unhappy with the same in Thailand.

One fellow that I know does nothing but b*tch about Thailand. He finally decided to go back home and stay, but two months later he has returned and is now b*tching about home instead.

I didn't think i was bitching about my home country, but if you read the rest of the posts on :- I thisa good time to retire to Thailand , you would have seen

i was trying to answer some guy who said why i was afriad to say i was Irish

Ok maybe i did not say it very well, but thanks for your imput.

Pat

[Ulysses G.]

My comments were not directed at you in any way.

[meom]

Ok,

I want to chime in. I retired at the age of 31.

As far as finance goes, internet banking is a must. My pension goes directly into my bank accounts in the US.

Unless you have a disability pension or something which job allows you to retire at 31?

[theoldgit]

Insurance limited to 90 days one trip ? that cannot be right. My travel insurance with Commonwealth Bank , Zurich covered, gives me 1 year and i am a fit 75 yrs old.

As I said you are often limited to 90 day trips with bog standard annual travel insurance policies, though obviously not all.

[lovelomsak]

I say go for it. I retired 5 years ago here about same amount as you invested ,but pensions around 100,000 baht a month. Every year my investments grow and my cash in hand grows. I havenot bought a house mind you and never will. Owned 8 back home had enough of ownership. I simply bought a good truck good motorcycle and rent. If you can live like that it is easy to live here. I donot bother with health insurance i feel I save close to a million baht a year because living is so cheap that I should be able to afford medical costs if they arise. I have a maid, laundry service and eat all my meals out. You could probably do the same. The big thing is donot let people talk you into investing here just live and spend. If you live a long time you have enough to hire a caregiver to live with you.

[newbepat]

I say go for it. I retired 5 years ago here about same amount as you invested ,but pensions around 100,000 baht a month. Every year my investments grow and my cash in hand grows. I havenot bought a house mind you and never will. Owned 8 back home had enough of ownership. I simply bought a good truck good motorcycle and rent. If you can live like that it is easy to live here. I donot bother with health insurance i feel I save close to a million baht a year because living is so cheap that I should be able to afford medical costs if they arise. I have a maid, laundry service and eat all my meals out. You could probably do the same. The big thing is donot let people talk you into investing here just live and spend. If you live a long time you have enough to hire a caregiver to live with you.

Sounds good to me :jap:

[greytown]

You can build a 2 bedroom Concrete block house for 300,000 Baht.

Any examples available of houses costing 300,000 baht to build?...

[newbepat]

You can build a 2 bedroom Concrete block house for 300,000 Baht.

Any examples available of houses costing 300,000 baht to build?...

A VERY GOOD POINT

[garyh]

You can build a 2 bedroom Concrete block house for 300,000 Baht.

Any examples available of houses costing 300,000 baht to build?...

It is not that hard to do, we just built a kitchen, Laundry, Bathroom and 1 bedroom that was all added onto an existing house, total cost was under 150,000. It is not basic Thai but western bathroom including separate bath and shower, western style Toilet and the septic tank for it. We did not go overboard as we only intend to live here for 2 years maximum, but it is comfortable. I could easily build a modest house for 300,000.

[tripplejjj]

Ok,

I want to chime in. I retired at the age of 31.

As far as finance goes, internet banking is a must. My pension goes directly into my bank accounts in the US.

Unless you have a disability pension or something which job allows you to retire at 31?

Military

[meom]

^

Sorry forgot about that one.

Enjoy your retirement.

[Berkshire]

Ok,

I want to chime in. I retired at the age of 31.

As far as finance goes, internet banking is a must. My pension goes directly into my bank accounts in the US.

Unless you have a disability pension or something which job allows you to retire at 31?

Military

Full military disability pension at 31? Interesting. Unless you're talking the normal retirement pension...but then you'd have to have entered when you were 11.

[Naam]

500,000 Euro is about 20,000,000 THB. Lets say you live for 20 years. That's 1,000,000 a year or 83,000 a month.

'

these kind of milkmaid calculations drive me nucking futs! is anybody who has 500k €UR stupid² enough not to invest that money in order to have an income of at least 100,000 Baht a month without touching a single penny of the capital?

[GreenSnapper]

500,000 Euro is about 20,000,000 THB. Lets say you live for 20 years. That's 1,000,000 a year or 83,000 a month.

And if he is still fit and healthy after 20 years, what is he supposed to do?

Jump from a balcony?

[itishothere]

500,000 Euro is about 20,000,000 THB. Lets say you live for 20 years. That's 1,000,000 a year or 83,000 a month.

'

these kind of milkmaid calculations drive me nucking futs! is anybody who has 500k €UR stupid² enough not to invest that money in order to have an income of at least 100,000 Baht a month without touching a single penny of the capital?

Fair point, but my post did say this was all BEFORE even considering investing/interest etc.

And I am interested in where he could get a 6% return after tax for the next 20 years, with no capital risk and/or currency risk? I want some of that!!

[meom]

Ok,

I want to chime in. I retired at the age of 31.

As far as finance goes, internet banking is a must. My pension goes directly into my bank accounts in the US.

Unless you have a disability pension or something which job allows you to retire at 31?

Military

Full military disability pension at 31? Interesting. Unless you're talking the normal retirement pension...but then you'd have to have entered when you were 11.

I believe it's called VA disability compensation for which you can qualify in case you get injured while on active duty.

Technically it's not a pension but in a way it works the same in that it gives you a monthly amount which can be substantial.

[pjclark1]

500,000 Euro is about 20,000,000 THB. Lets say you live for 20 years. That's 1,000,000 a year or 83,000 a month.

'

these kind of milkmaid calculations drive me nucking futs! is anybody who has 500k €UR stupid² enough not to invest that money in order to have an income of at least 100,000 Baht a month without touching a single penny of the capital?

Fair point, but my post did say this was all BEFORE even considering investing/interest etc.

And I am interested in where he could get a 6% return after tax for the next 20 years, with no capital risk and/or currency risk? I want some of that!!

Any Australian bank will give 6.5% on a 1 year term deposit.

[IanForbes]

The only study that I believe is the one where people live longest who retire the earliest. Pick a country that suits YOUR needs. There is no one size fits all.

[newbepat]

500,000 Euro is about 20,000,000 THB. Lets say you live for 20 years. That's 1,000,000 a year or 83,000 a month.

'

these kind of milkmaid calculations drive me nucking futs! is anybody who has 500k €UR stupid² enough not to invest that money in order to have an income of at least 100,000 Baht a month without touching a single penny of the capital?

The best i can get is 3.5% and my goverment takes 27% of the interest, if you invest anymore than 100k into any one bank you could lose as they will only guaranteed. €100k

so now i have 5 bank accounts, i am not really interested in stocks and shares look what can happen with them. remember I am 63

For the guy who said i could get 6.5% in any Australian Bank. sure i can't open a bank account in Australian if i don't live there. tell me if i'm right/wrong? Milkmaid calculations?

I must be a cow or what?

Pat

Edited February 7, 2011 by newbepat

[KeyserSoze01]

Full military disability pension at 31? Interesting. Unless you're talking the normal retirement pension...but then you'd have to have entered when you were 11.

Not uncommon. I met an ex-US military serviceman while waiting for a flight in Manila not long ago. He was 23 and had received a medical discharge from the service after he sustained an injury in Iraq. He was on full disability from the service and was receiving enough to live comfortably in SEA, but not in the US. He was on his way to Cebu to study medicine!!!