Retiring In Thailand - How Much Did You Plan For?

[gk10002000]

If your savings = $4,000 x (90 - your curent age) x 12, you are good to retire.

No adjustments for inflation?

I already spend more than $4,000 a month and can only see it getting more expensive in the next 38 years.

Been to LOS 11 times. I average $50/day or about $1500 a month or about 45,000 baht a month. I am a lightweight drinker, don't smoke. I hit a gogo here and there, get a massage, find a friend etc. now and thn. Granted I could spend more and do more. But when I am in Thailand my biggest expense had been the hotels. Hard to get a decent short time rate that is cheap with good quality. I am confident that when I stay longer, I can get the much better monthly rate. I really think $2000 a month would be doable and I would be comfortable. I am a well paid engineer, and to those that are planning on $7,000 a month, well, that implies a pretty large gross salary if one were working.

[londoedan]

I'd like to have the OP's problems...

fatfather

Quite.

[cheeryble]

You can "get by" on $4000 per month?

Jeez i'm in the wrong place is there a thread for normal people?

[cheeryble]

atpayplan.natca.net/livelongandprosper.htm

Does anyone else think the figures given on this link from this thread for retirement age and mortality seem ridiculous?

It suggests your average life expectancy if you work to 65 is less than 67.

Afraid I don't believe it.....and it would have enormous implications.

[THAIPHUKET]

Well, is sounds not right but the source is probably genuine, it seems to reflect the particular stress factor of Air traffic Controllers =

Statements made on this, linking sites or homepages do not reflect the opinions or policy of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), and may not be construed in any part as endorsements by http://atpayplan.natca.net/, NATCA, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Federal Government.

[nong38]

Like many others well on planning for the rest of your life. I think you would be fine here so long you think about what you do, how you do it and dont get ripped off. Be cautious as you abviously are and you have a lot to look forward to.

If you marry your g/f "officially" and buy a home of your own, she will get a blue book which will give access to free state healthcare, as the husband you will get a yellow book which gives you the same, I mention this because healthcare is important ans costly and many schemes here I have seen will abandon you in the 80's and likely will not cover any emergencies inbetween.

Like you I invested in companies that pay dividends, nice when they arrive and UK premium bonds also nice when you get a winner.

I have just bought a house for the G/F so I dont have rent to find each month and our electric and internet, water comes to under 1000 bts a month.

The jolly UK govt will freeze my state pension when they find out I have left the UK,so, I have put off claiming it thus giving me, until the time I do, 10.4% increase for each year I wait and the inflation rises too,so, my plan is to wait for 2 1/2 years or so when the current £102 will then be up to about £130-£135. until then I will get by on about 28000 bts a month and it can be done without eating noodles at every meal, that figure does not include my dividends by the way and this month have had 5500 bts so far. It will be a bit tight for us for the immediate future but it will be worth it and then there is her income too, so we will be fine and we eat out 4 or 5 times a week and have 3 or 4 holidays a year.

Planning is the key, so dont forget your holidays, border runs if thats what you are going to do and all those little amounts that you spend all the time that mount up.

Wherever you are the interest in the bank is bad at the moment and does not look like its going to improve any time soon. The stock markets are a state of volatility and driven more by sentiment and worries than how companies are really performing so I would look at more of those solid companies that pay a good dividend and have a good track record for a long term future. I am now 65 for the record and started my retirement planning when I was 45.

I also have income to from investment funds which turn up twice a year from both and 2 bonds which I can draw up tp 5% a year tax free but have not done so as yet.

Annuities are waste of time and money, the bonds I have taken out would go into my estate should the worst happen.

I hope this helps you, even if only one thing has it has been worthwhile, now make the move and spend most of the year here its a good option.

The figures for the UK govt pension is a weekly figure in case anyone is wondering and on top that there is serps, wo I will be happy

[ebcal]

Like many others well on planning for the rest of your life. I think you would be fine here so long you think about what you do, how you do it and dont get ripped off. Be cautious as you abviously are and you have a lot to look forward to.

If you marry your g/f "officially" and buy a home of your own, she will get a blue book which will give access to free state healthcare, as the husband you will get a yellow book which gives you the same, I mention this because healthcare is important ans costly and many schemes here I have seen will abandon you in the 80's and likely will not cover any emergencies inbetween.

Like you I invested in companies that pay dividends, nice when they arrive and UK premium bonds also nice when you get a winner.

I have just bought a house for the G/F so I dont have rent to find each month and our electric and internet, water comes to under 1000 bts a month.

The jolly UK govt will freeze my state pension when they find out I have left the UK,so, I have put off claiming it thus giving me, until the time I do, 10.4% increase for each year I wait and the inflation rises too,so, my plan is to wait for 2 1/2 years or so when the current £102 will then be up to about £130-£135. until then I will get by on about 28000 bts a month and it can be done without eating noodles at every meal, that figure does not include my dividends by the way and this month have had 5500 bts so far. It will be a bit tight for us for the immediate future but it will be worth it and then there is her income too, so we will be fine and we eat out 4 or 5 times a week and have 3 or 4 holidays a year.

Planning is the key, so dont forget your holidays, border runs if thats what you are going to do and all those little amounts that you spend all the time that mount up.

Wherever you are the interest in the bank is bad at the moment and does not look like its going to improve any time soon. The stock markets are a state of volatility and driven more by sentiment and worries than how companies are really performing so I would look at more of those solid companies that pay a good dividend and have a good track record for a long term future. I am now 65 for the record and started my retirement planning when I was 45.

I also have income to from investment funds which turn up twice a year from both and 2 bonds which I can draw up tp 5% a year tax free but have not done so as yet.

Annuities are waste of time and money, the bonds I have taken out would go into my estate should the worst happen.

I hope this helps you, even if only one thing has it has been worthwhile, now make the move and spend most of the year here its a good option.

The figures for the UK govt pension is a weekly figure in case anyone is wondering and on top that there is serps, wo I will be happy

Thank you very much for your feedback.

Yes, agree that healthcare costs are a major concern and getting health insurance is something I plan to look into more. Wherever I retire, needs to have good enough healthcare, in terms of affordability and quality. You mention a blue book and yellow book and getting free state health insurance only when buying a house? Is the house in your wife's name or if a condo, is it in your name? Curious why health insurance this is tied to house ownership. And I did not know there was any free national healthcare plan.

While some really do not like annuities and they sure have their drawbacks and maybe many can outdo them via other investment vehicles in most cases, there is something to be said for guaranteed lifetime payments, not subject to market volatility and the peace of mind that brings. For some, that peace of mind also has a benefit that others may not feel or see or need, but should not be discounted totally as part of the benefit. I think annuities can have their place as a diversified portion of a total retirement investment plan for many people, though not all. But, I agree probably sticking it in some high quality dividend stocks or some bonds may be a better approach for many.

And as others have mentioned, need to factor in inflation and the dropping USD, for those that have their retirement savings tied up largely in USD investments. I will go through the numbers in a bit more detail.

[nong38]

Like many others well on planning for the rest of your life. I think you would be fine here so long you think about what you do, how you do it and dont get ripped off. Be cautious as you abviously are and you have a lot to look forward to.

If you marry your g/f "officially" and buy a home of your own, she will get a blue book which will give access to free state healthcare, as the husband you will get a yellow book which gives you the same, I mention this because healthcare is important ans costly and many schemes here I have seen will abandon you in the 80's and likely will not cover any emergencies inbetween.

Like you I invested in companies that pay dividends, nice when they arrive and UK premium bonds also nice when you get a winner.

I have just bought a house for the G/F so I dont have rent to find each month and our electric and internet, water comes to under 1000 bts a month.

The jolly UK govt will freeze my state pension when they find out I have left the UK,so, I have put off claiming it thus giving me, until the time I do, 10.4% increase for each year I wait and the inflation rises too,so, my plan is to wait for 2 1/2 years or so when the current £102 will then be up to about £130-£135. until then I will get by on about 28000 bts a month and it can be done without eating noodles at every meal, that figure does not include my dividends by the way and this month have had 5500 bts so far. It will be a bit tight for us for the immediate future but it will be worth it and then there is her income too, so we will be fine and we eat out 4 or 5 times a week and have 3 or 4 holidays a year.

Planning is the key, so dont forget your holidays, border runs if thats what you are going to do and all those little amounts that you spend all the time that mount up.

Wherever you are the interest in the bank is bad at the moment and does not look like its going to improve any time soon. The stock markets are a state of volatility and driven more by sentiment and worries than how companies are really performing so I would look at more of those solid companies that pay a good dividend and have a good track record for a long term future. I am now 65 for the record and started my retirement planning when I was 45.

I also have income to from investment funds which turn up twice a year from both and 2 bonds which I can draw up tp 5% a year tax free but have not done so as yet.

Annuities are waste of time and money, the bonds I have taken out would go into my estate should the worst happen.

I hope this helps you, even if only one thing has it has been worthwhile, now make the move and spend most of the year here its a good option.

The figures for the UK govt pension is a weekly figure in case anyone is wondering and on top that there is serps, wo I will be happy

Thank you very much for your feedback.

Yes, agree that healthcare costs are a major concern and getting health insurance is something I plan to look into more. Wherever I retire, needs to have good enough healthcare, in terms of affordability and quality. You mention a blue book and yellow book and getting free state health insurance only when buying a house? Is the house in your wife's name or if a condo, is it in your name? Curious why health insurance this is tied to house ownership. And I did not know there was any free national healthcare plan.

While some really do not like annuities and they sure have their drawbacks and maybe many can outdo them via other investment vehicles in most cases, there is something to be said for guaranteed lifetime payments, not subject to market volatility and the peace of mind that brings. For some, that peace of mind also has a benefit that others may not feel or see or need, but should not be discounted totally as part of the benefit. I think annuities can have their place as a diversified portion of a total retirement investment plan for many people, though not all. But, I agree probably sticking it in some high quality dividend stocks or some bonds may be a better approach for many.

And as others have mentioned, need to factor in inflation and the dropping USD, for those that have their retirement savings tied up largely in USD investments. I will go through the numbers in a bit more detail.

Only thais can own land in thailand, so you would have to buy the house and basically give to your girlfriend and hope for the best. Do you trust her and she you, if yes then ok. She gets a chanoot ( title deeds to the house ) she also gets a blue house book, which proves she lives there, she gets a thai healthcare card, I took her to the healthcare centre with photocopies of her ID, Blue BOOK and chanoot, it was issued on the spot ( 2 mins ). I had to go to another building about 10 kms distant to be told I could have a Yellow BOOK ( which is for non thais ) only if I marry the lady! With that marriage I would get the health card issued to me also. Pretty valuably I would say, now what to do about the wife back in blighty?

Everyones situation is different and I wondered what the true costs of living here would be, but, so far its been fine. I dont drink a lot, go to clubs/bars ( no need with g/f ) dont do drugs or have expensive hobbies. We do have a small truck, motorbike and satellite tv and we eat well without paying through the nose. We plan our budget and spend and live within our means.s

[THAIPHUKET]

@ nong38 = thai healthcare card,

is that the 30b insurance? No age or amount limit?

Can you improve on that basic insurance through a private policy?

[somtampet]

I retired a little over a year ago and split my retirement assets into 3pieces-1. immediate annunities which cover my monthly expense of about $3,ooo-2.Cash reserve 3. Rest in high dividend stocks which are generating about $40,000/yr a return of 8% +. Having immediate anunities that cover the monthly nut let's me sleep at night without worring too much about the ups and downs of the stock market, in my case I am married and the anunities will continue until both I and my wife die.

Lefty

WOW u must be the only guy on the planet to be making money on stocks and shares.Even the Chelsea Russioan owner is down billions of dollars.8% is an unbelievable amount in todays markets,quite outstanding realy.

[Naam]

I retired a little over a year ago and split my retirement assets into 3pieces-1. immediate annunities which cover my monthly expense of about $3,ooo-2.Cash reserve 3. Rest in high dividend stocks which are generating about $40,000/yr a return of 8% +. Having immediate anunities that cover the monthly nut let's me sleep at night without worring too much about the ups and downs of the stock market, in my case I am married and the anunities will continue until both I and my wife die.

Lefty

WOW u must be the only guy on the planet to be making money on stocks and shares.Even the Chelsea Russioan owner is down billions of dollars.8% is an unbelievable amount in todays markets,quite outstanding realy.

it is always advisable to hold high yielding "annunities"

[exeter]

@ nong38 = thai healthcare card,

is that the 30b insurance? No age or amount limit?

Can you improve on that basic insurance through a private policy?

I would imagine that you could improve on that with a basic private policy but it would cost you and would have an end date as previously mentioned. I have seen policies that get ever more expensive but stop at 85 max. Some of the policies I have seen also have a limit to how much the maximum payout was and I could have ended up paying 16,000 bts a year with a maximum payout of 500,000 bts. I was told that a heart py pass operation would cost 1.5 million, so whats the point. You will never how good anything is until you have to se it. If it were me and I could get a free thai healthcare card, I would take it, I would also put more money aside in savings account for use in hospitalisation circumstances, ifnot required it could be left in the will.

[khunPer]

To the OP:

2 mio. US sounds like a good solid base, however always take care when it comes to Thailand.

I am 62yo and have been early retired here for some six years now, living together with my Thai GF and our daughter. Our average monthly budget is around 80,000 baht (including a maid and school-fee) plus some extras for traveling etc., in total some 1 - 1.2 mio. a year (around 40k US/y or 3.5k US/m). That does not include rent, as we own a house, but including expenses like electric, water, TV, Internet etc.

You can live well for less and you can spend a lot more - depending of your lifestyle and your Thai relationship (wife/GF).

For initial investments I bought a car and build a house. Legally a foreigner can own a condo (in some projects) and a house, but not the land. That is important to think about before investing a lot. Some says: "Never invest more in Thailand, than you can afford to loose". Price for condo/land/house vary a lot, depending of the area you may choose to settle in. Mainly up north at Isaan land and construction are cheap, whilst in major towns and tourist areas, the price may go up (sky) high. It is worth calculating the interest of your money in your homeland and compare to investment in property and rent - especially if you wish to settle in an up-priced area. You can easily spent 1 mio. US (or more) to buy a house in some areas, which equals some 40k US a year in interest loss or money you can spend for rent. The other thing to think about is the capital gain on the investment and inflation. Furthermore comes the question for a solid set-up for the land (lease, usufruct, company ownership, wife's name etc.).

When I decided to obtain retirement status, I made a deposit of 800k bath in a fixed Thai-account, so I do not need to worry about three month deposit or approval letter every year for income/pension. Furthermore I will recommend to always having some extra cash easy available in a Thai bank, in case of emergency I will say never less than 100k bath and preferably some 300k no matter how much insurance you may have, cash always matters in Thailand. So from my experience, expect an initial deposit of 1 mio. bath (35k US) for your retirement.

If you get things sorted out the right way, life is wonderful in "paradise" I wish you all the best luck.

[hhfarang]

Ok, being another American who retired here 7+ years ago I can tell you that your target(s) are more than enough to live comfortably in Thailand and still have plenty of monthly income left over for international travel (which is important).

I retired with about one fourth of the savings you are talking about (net worth) and about half the monthly (fixed pension) income. A lot of Brits and mainland Europeans I've met here can live on much less than I can so I think Americans expect a bit better quality of life in general. I bought a large piece of land in one of the resort areas and built a very large Florida style home back when the exchange rate was 44 baht to the dollar. We bought two brand new Honda autos (around 1 million baht each) in the first year here and I had some problems with the developer and the home cost more than budgeted hitting my savings hard. Then the drop in the exchange over time from 44 to 29 along with the discovery of the small resort town where I live by Europeans (along about the time of the Tsunami) has driven the cost of living up here (my town) by 15 to 20% over that same time period. Now, my savings are nearly exhausted (just an amount left for a medical emergency as I have no insurance) and I barely get by on my monthly income with no international travel and I had to give up luxuries like golf.

So, good on you for planning ahead. As I said you should be fine with your targets as your income is twice what mine is and your savings (net worth) four times as much. This place can grate on your nerves after a while (I haven't left Thailand in 6 years) so if you can afford it the option of keeping a place in the U.S. and living part time here and part time there is a good one imo. If not, budget for a nice trip home about once a year to keep your sanity.

BTW, my budget is based on supporting three people; myself, a Thai missus, and her mother who lives on next to nothing. We only travel inside Thailand a couple of times a year and we don't go out at night except on special occasions. I go out to lunch with friends once or twice a week so mostly we eat and drink at home. I do have a big property that requires a couple of hired people to care for it.

As your plan to retire draws closer, you can PM me if you want with specific questions and I will do my best to answer them.

[nong38]

@ nong38 = thai healthcare card,

is that the 30b insurance? No age or amount limit?

Can you improve on that basic insurance through a private policy?

I cannot answer all your questions, what I can say is that I have used a private hospital in Thailand and I have used the Govt hospital for BP checks, they both seem to be ok. I have visited friends in Govt hospitals and they give good reports. I have a friend who is a nurse in a govt hospital and she says its fine. As far as I know there is not age limit, if you are eligable for a thai health card it seems a good idea to get one, you have nothing to lose. You can say and pay what you like for healthcare in the end you have to hope you get the right doctor who can sort you out.