Is $Us2 Million Enough To Retire In Thailand, At Age 40?

[expatdreamer]

"your tax return of your home country"

What tax return?

ok, not sure what you mean, but at least when preparing an Oz tax return, you are required to declare all foreign sourced income. Now I guess if you have severed all financial ties with your home country (in my case Oz) and are living in Thailand and have no income coming from Australia, then I guess one wouldnt have to fill in a tax return to the Australian tax office? I assume this is what you are telling me?

[rgs2001uk]

"your tax return of your home country"

What tax return?

ok, not sure what you mean, but at least when preparing an Oz tax return, you are required to declare all foreign sourced income. Now I guess if you have severed all financial ties with your home country (in my case Oz) and are living in Thailand and have no income coming from Australia, then I guess one wouldnt have to fill in a tax return to the Australian tax office? I assume this is what you are telling me?

Sorry, I wasnt try to tell you anything, I was asking a genuine question, what tax return.

I have never filled in a tax return for my home country.

I live in Thailand and still have income generated in my home country.

I have never filled in a tax return in Thailand or ever been asked for one.

Different countries different rules, I suppose I should be happy I aint a Yank, long arm of the IRS and all that.

[Naam]

"your tax return of your home country"

What tax return?

ok, not sure what you mean, but at least when preparing an Oz tax return, you are required to declare all foreign sourced income. Now I guess if you have severed all financial ties with your home country (in my case Oz) and are living in Thailand and have no income coming from Australia, then I guess one wouldnt have to fill in a tax return to the Australian tax office? I assume this is what you are telling me?

we have a winner! that's exactly what he is telling you.

[Naam]

IMHO, its enough. I know you talk about $US2M, but an Oz resident could get 5% bank interest right now at zero risk on $2M (ie $100k per annum) and only have to pay 10% tax as a non resident for tax purposes if living in Thailand (ie end up with $90k per annum after tax). That's less tax than you would pay if you lived in Australia, and you could still live comfortably on that in Oz (let alone Thailand) even with the higher tax rate (most people in fact do, as the average wage is less than this).

where are you getting this 10% tax rate for non resident? the 100k interest would only end up being $66600 after paying tax as a non resident in Australia, see ATO Website

you don't have to be an OZ resident to get 5% on AUD deposits. every bloody bank in Singapore or Hong Kong will give you that percentage (and more depending on the length of the fixed deposit) without deducting any taxes.

yes, but would you not have to declare this overseas income in your tax return of your home country ? Would your home country then try and take a slice?

my home country is Germany. i live in Thailand. no such thing like "taking a slice". that also applies to those Germans who bank in Singapore or Hong Hong and never told their home country about the cookies they are baking there. but the writing is on the wall. i give it another fistful of years till their home country is able to get some cookies too if they have not prepared themselves.

[Naam]

What tax return?

since years i enjoy seeing the faces when i ask this question or "what income tax?"

[rebbu]

Definitely enough, depending on your spending habits.

2,000,000 = 60,000,000 THB

5% interest per year = 3,000,000 THB a year (Is that your return after tax? remember you do need to pay tax to someone still).

3,000,000 THB a year = 250,000 THB a month

If you put at least 150,000 THB back into your investment to assist with countering inflation & slowly growing your investments etc, then you'll be fine. Which would leave you with 100,000 THB a month.

100,000 THB a month is a huge amount here. Depending on what you want to do of course.

If you want to be a tourist for the next 40 years, you might find it difficult. However if you're going to settle down, you'd do it easy.

If you settle down, have a wife and kids etc, then you might find it more challenging in a tourist area (Although 100,000 THB a month would be very comfortable there still I'm sure, even with a couple of kids). If you wanted to move to a non tourist area, you'd be living comfortably, even with half a dozen kids and a mia noi or two lol.

But as a couple of others have posted, I smell a troll when I see only 2 posts lol

What is this "tax" thing you talk about?

[smacko]

This is all fairly striaght forward and any accountant in Australia worth his/her salt will be able to confirm - please do this as I am not an accountant. If you still dont believe me, the same thing is discussed here http://gomatildaforums.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5726004143/m/8251019542 - google is your friend

With that post being 5 years old, would definitely recommend to seek advice from a CPA

[n00b]

It's enough to retire anywhere... I'd buy 4-5 apartments in Norway for the money, rent them out and move to Thailand. Would keep my investment in a safe place, let an agency deal with renting them out and have a steady monthly flow of cash. You could even be in Norway, the most expensive country in the world, and live okay on that without working.

Edited July 13, 2012 by n00b

[BigBangkokTheory]

How about something more realistic.

Is $700,000 US enough to retire in Thailand, at age 50?

[BigBangkokTheory]

^ok, I just started reading the How Much Dosh Needed to Retire at Age 50 thread. Consensus in the poll is 40 million baht. Yes, to live a Western lifestyle you would probably need that much.

[IsaanUSA]

How about something more realistic.

Is $700,000 US enough to retire in Thailand, at age 50?

Sure. You would need to be healthy and follow a budget of around 50k baht per month (3% annual withdrawls).

It's up to the individual to determine how much they are going to spend monthly. As you can see, some people get by on 30k baht per month, while others spend 100k plus. How much luxury do you want in retirement?

[expatdreamer]

This is all fairly striaght forward and any accountant in Australia worth his/her salt will be able to confirm - please do this as I am not an accountant. If you still dont believe me, the same thing is discussed here http://gomatildaforu...43/m/8251019542 - google is your friend

With that post being 5 years old, would definitely recommend to seek advice from a CPA

Certainly best to seek advice from a CPA. The ATO site does however have current information. See http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/29089.htm

Effectively a non resident for tax purposes is considered the same as a foreign resident, and hence only pays 10% tax on bank interest, as shown at this page on the ATO site

[thaibeachlovers]

Haven't ( and not going to ) read all the pages, but unless someone else mentioned it already, how does a 40 y o RETIRE in Thailand. Doesn't qualify for non O and as won't be working a B visa?

[IsaanUSA]

how does a 40 y o RETIRE in Thailand. Doesn't qualify for non O and as won't be working a B visa?

1. Marriage

2. Educational visa followed by marriage or visa runs

3. Visa runs

I'm not aware of any other options.

[Jingthing]

He's single. Realistically 10 years on educational visa and visa runs is ... not realistic. He already made it clear he's interesting in living in DIFFERENT countries like the Philippines and Malaysia where long term residency for an under 50 year old are well supported visa-wise.

[dazk]

with 2 mil visas wont be a problem how do you think russian familys live here full time money buys anything here

[jacktrip]

No, I would suggest at least 4-5 million before you consider retiring in Thailand. That means you would be better off working until age 50, then looking at retirement options.

[fletchsmile]

how does a 40 y o RETIRE in Thailand. Doesn't qualify for non O and as won't be working a B visa?

1. Marriage

2. Educational visa followed by marriage or visa runs

3. Visa runs

I'm not aware of any other options.

He's single. Realistically 10 years on educational visa and visa runs is ... not realistic. He already made it clear he's interesting in living in DIFFERENT countries like the Philippines and Malaysia where long term residency for an under 50 year old are well supported visa-wise.

Investment of THB 10mio?

http://www.immigrati...e_invest_en.pdf

Edited July 13, 2012 by fletchsmile

[Jingthing]

He said he isn't committed to Thailand exclusively so why would anyone invest that high a percentage of their net worth in a country to live in a country they don't even want to live in permanently?

[hellodolly]

You really want to budget 100k baht a month if you are starting out here on your own at todays costs.

The subject of monthly spends has been done to death on threads on here. Even in the last week.

You can live in the back waters for 15k a month, but a decent social life and western food in Bangkok or expat/tourist places will cost a lot more as said allow 100k/month. Including a decent rent.

If you meet the wrong woman or have kids then it changes a lot.

At todays costs either the investments or the original 2m will cover you alone.

$2,000,000 at 5% gives him $100,000 US a year that would work ou to $8,500 US a month.

260,000 baht a month.

Tight fit but by eating of food carts and staying in guest houses with out pools or air con he might be able to do it. Be a tight fit.

Sounds like a Troll to me.

[Naam]

No, I would suggest at least 4-5 million before you consider retiring in Thailand. That means you would be better off working until age 50, then looking at retirement options.

that is indeed sound advice! i don't think there are any expats who retired in Thailand with liquid assets below 5 million US-Dollars. i even suggest working till 60 and retire with $10 million or to be on the safe side work till 75 and then think how to spend your $20 million without wasting them.

[fletchsmile]

He said he isn't committed to Thailand exclusively so why would anyone invest that high a percentage of their net worth in a country to live in a country they don't even want to live in permanently?

He also said that he was looking to retire in Thailand, which assumes he will spend a reasonable amount of time here. Hence some investments and assets in THB make sense to reduce currency risk. The other places mentioned were also in Asia.

I suggested above:

THB 45mio in investments

THB 5mio cash

THB 10mio capital expenditure

(amounts in approx THB equivalent)

Government bonds are a reasonable alternative to some of the cash. It doesn't take much to play around with the other numbers either, and buy say a smaller place if he will be here less often. To put some of the THB 45mio investments in say govt or other qualifying bonds, would generate some income in THB, and allow higher risk (say Thai equities) on some of the rest of the portfolio

15% is not a high percentage in my view, particularly if a reasonable yield, comparable to cash. In addition one could argue that government bonds are safer than cash deposits in terms of credit risk.

Besides, people were looking for alternatives. This may fit some people's risk profiles as everyone is different.

Edited July 16, 2012 by fletchsmile

[ajarnpot]

Time for my 10 cents worth. Simply no. Once you have spent your 2 million on lottery, prostitutes, beer, and rides on jetski you won't have any left. I recommed you just hand me the money and I will save you from a lot of sadness and unhappiness - at least if the stories on this forum are true, which thye must be since it is Thai visa.

pm me I will give you my bank account number and we will sort this out easy, ps. will also send you a bunch of flowers

[Suiken]

And if you do get married have kids and want the international schools and western life then your 2 million us$ will be ok but dont expect that ot last with BMW's or mercs it wont.

Just IMO of course others will say im talking crap

is this from personal experience ? how much are international schools there?

[Suiken]

what was the inflation like in Thailand for the last 20,30 years or so? 3% on average ?

China was growing at 8 to 12% or more in the last decade or so? so if you moved to China 10,20 years ago, the 2M will get eaten up by the inflation greatly and it won't worth much today. What's the economy outlook like for Thailand? Is it pretty much saturated, maybe still some room for improvement. Anyways you still need to factor those in.

for expats and older guys with experiences......how much do you spend when you get older like 50s,60s. Is it more or less vs when you were 30s,40s. assuming you have medical insurance and no real surprises like divorce etc.

Edited July 23, 2012 by Suiken

[MrRealDeal]

Inflation rises much faster when a place expands so I would worry about the next 20 or 30 not the last 20 or 30 as the next 20 likely will be higher.

People generally spend more at 50 because they have more to spend but as they reach 60 have fewer bills , it's the medical bill part that most people over 65 worry about and can be very expensive if uninsured or poorly insured even in Thailand.

But it's all personal choice and just depends on the person.

[David48]

I note that the other two recently started threads about retirement in Thailand we closed overnight.

At least this gentleman was honest and only requested advice for his (relatively) lowly US 2 Million.

Well worth a read as there is some good advice from some quality posters here.

[ExCommando]

I note that the other two recently started threads about retirement in Thailand we closed overnight.

At least this gentleman was honest and only requested advice for his (relatively) lowly US 2 Million.

Well worth a read as there is some good advice from some quality posters here.

I am frustrated that my post was closed - at no point did I ask for financial advice, yet everyone who jumped on at the END of the conversation immediately assumed that I was asking for financial advice.

I think the main point to make note of is the amount of obviously disgruntled, disenchanted old men on here who have nothing better to do with their time than to slate those who HAVE achieved a degree of success with their life.

[Naam]

what was the inflation like in Thailand for the last 20,30 years or so? 3% on average ?

China was growing at 8 to 12% or more in the last decade or so? so if you moved to China 10,20 years ago, the 2M will get eaten up by the inflation greatly and it won't worth much today. What's the economy outlook like for Thailand? Is it pretty much saturated, maybe still some room for improvement. Anyways you still need to factor those in.

for expats and older guys with experiences......how much do you spend when you get older like 50s,60s. Is it more or less vs when you were 30s,40s. assuming you have medical insurance and no real surprises like divorce etc.

so if you moved to China 10,20 years ago, the 2M will get eaten up by the inflation greatly and it won't worth much today.

that is based on the assumption that the owner of the 2 million dollars is an absolute moron who keeps his money under his mattress instead of letting it generate income by investing it, spending a part of this income and reinvesting the other part to compensate for inflation.

[Naam]

I note that the other two recently started threads about retirement in Thailand we closed overnight.

At least this gentleman was honest and only requested advice for his (relatively) lowly US 2 Million.

Well worth a read as there is some good advice from some quality posters here.

his (relatively) lowly US 2 Million