Conundrum - When to retire? How much money is enough?

[Pilotman]

I am nearing 66. I left my full time work 4 months ago with a good pension and no need to continue working. However; I was not ready to just hang around doing not much. There is only so much golf and fishing that you can do! As I have a 15 year old daughter to think about, and so not yet ready to move to Asia, I accepted a part time , paid post in the charity sector. I also do some part time lecturing at University. I am finding life is not as intense as my last full time work, which is good, but still stimulating and engaging. How long can I keep this up? Tough question, but I would say that in 3 or so years time, I will not want the early mornings, the social events and late arrivals back home on occasions and that will be the time for me. Very personal decision as I have friends who 'retired' at 55 or 56 and they are perfectly happy with their decision. In all, I'm not sure that 'retirement' has any real meaning to most folk nowadays?.

[FiftyTwo]

I am nearing 66. I left my full time work 4 months ago with a good pension and no need to continue working. However; I was not ready to just hang around doing not much. There is only so much golf and fishing that you can do! As I have a 15 year old daughter to think about, and so not yet ready to move to Asia, I accepted a part time , paid post in the charity sector. I also do some part time lecturing at University. I am finding life is not as intense as my last full time work, which is good, but still stimulating and engaging. How long can I keep this up? Tough question, but I would say that in 3 or so years time, I will not want the early mornings, the social events and late arrivals back home on occasions and that will be the time for me. Very personal decision as I have friends who 'retired' at 55 or 56 and they are perfectly happy with their decision. In all, I'm not sure that 'retirement' has any real meaning to most folk nowadays?.

Correct, the purpose of drones is to work until they die.

Those with imagination find something better to do, as young as possible.

I finished full time work at 45, I finished part time work at 52, I am too busy to ever work again.

[ttthailand]

You only live once so I think you need to make the best of it. There is a balance that has to be found. If you love your work and it is part of your happiness why stop. If you are just buying time until you retire but already have enough cash then I think it is time to stop working and enjoy your life. Money is very important however and you don't want to later look back with regret wishing you were still working, so plan plan plan.

My idea .... Think of a yearly budget based on your lifestyle and multiply it by say 25 ( you would be 81 but think of that number on how old you will live to be based on family history ???) . This is how much money i think you should have with your current investments and pension. Think of inflation and interest as offsetting each other. As long as you have insurance to cover anything major happening with your health and you not give it to some Thai bird you should be fine. If coming to Thailand always keep a plan in mind for going back to you home country in case you need to. That's my thinking ....

It is nice to enjoy your life when you are young and your health is good. When you get old you have limits and it takes away some of the pleasure. I would hate to die knowing I never lived !!!

[Naam]

I am also contemplating retirement and the math looks as follow:

Total savings required = current spending x (Estimated life expectancy – retirement age)

$3,000 per month x 12 x (85 – 55) = $1,080,000

The logic is to have the inflation neutral savings to maintain a $3,000 (2013) purchasing power.

there's no logic in your maths. life expectancy is irrelevant based on spending only your income from investments without touching the capital except in emergencies. of course one day your heirs will be smiling; but you will always have a good night's sleep.

as you are not drilling and/or pumping oil 365 five days a year, use a part of your off time to study how to make your savings work hard and produce yield 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365.25 days a year.

note: it's not rocket science! if dummies like me were able to do it, you can too!

[Naam]

But here's the danger.

This forum (not a criticism of TVF) is, like the expat community, stalked by people terming themselves IFA's or Financial Consultants who look for guys in the position of having pension funds they can't get their hands on right now, and then offer to help them crack their pension funds for immediate access - I have personal friend who went the QROPS route with one of these outfits and who is now watching his life's savings get pissshed down the drain.

So please, anyone even considering accessing their pension fund with the help of a expat IFA or Financial Consultant - get yourself over to the TVF Jobs, Economy, Finance Forum and ask for advise - There's a whole bunch of guys there who will give you very good advice from personal experience and give you ample warning of the traps and scams. Read and take heed.

Yep, I totally agree,

You must never take any financial advice from anyone outside your home country.

You should also never mix your IFA, trader/dealer and management companies over different countries.

As no one country will take responsibility if anything goes wrong, and you just get passed around.

For example, IFA in Thailand + Trader/dealer in IOM + management in Spain = financial disaster.

If you are from the UK, best to keep everything in the UK.

if you are from Zimbabwe don't keep everything in Zimbabwe!

[FiftyTwo]

But here's the danger.

This forum (not a criticism of TVF) is, like the expat community, stalked by people terming themselves IFA's or Financial Consultants who look for guys in the position of having pension funds they can't get their hands on right now, and then offer to help them crack their pension funds for immediate access - I have personal friend who went the QROPS route with one of these outfits and who is now watching his life's savings get pissshed down the drain.

So please, anyone even considering accessing their pension fund with the help of a expat IFA or Financial Consultant - get yourself over to the TVF Jobs, Economy, Finance Forum and ask for advise - There's a whole bunch of guys there who will give you very good advice from personal experience and give you ample warning of the traps and scams. Read and take heed.

Yep, I totally agree,

You must never take any financial advice from anyone outside your home country.

You should also never mix your IFA, trader/dealer and management companies over different countries.

As no one country will take responsibility if anything goes wrong, and you just get passed around.

For example, IFA in Thailand + Trader/dealer in IOM + management in Spain = financial disaster.

If you are from the UK, best to keep everything in the UK.

if you are from Zimbabwe don't keep everything in Zimbabwe!

Do people from Zimbabwe have savings or pensions?

Some of my rellys had a farm in Zimbabwe ..... they were forced to walk away with just what they could carry as it was being burnt down.

[bangarang]

being a slave to money is a hard habit to break, but once you do, living on $2,000 a month in LOS seems quite luxurious. the hardest part is letting go-once you have made the leap of faith, you wonder why you didn't do it sooner. jump.

Agreed. I usually spend $1,000 on bills/living and $1,000 for leisure per month. Anything after that is savings.

[crazykopite]

I retired at 55 the reason being both my parents had passed in their early 40s and early 50s as did one of my brothers I decided that I was not going to be working up until my dying breath and so I had promised myself that I would stop working when I hit 55 . I knew that to achieve this I could no longer live in the UK so at the age of 50 I and my wife traveled extensively both in Europe and India before deciding that Thailand is where we wanted to live. I had put the " FOR SALE " up on my business 6 months before my birthday and managed to complete the sale 8 months later, on top of this I sold my house and cars. After 4 years of renting in Thailand and having decided that this is where we would live we purchased a property the rest is history have now been here for just over 8 years with no regrets. How much we spend is nowhere like what we used to spend in the UK gone are the expensive clothes, expensive restaurants and visits to the theatre instead we live a chilled out life and spend when we need and not just for the sake of it would we go back to our old life the answer is a big fat NO !!!!!

[jacko45k]

Seems not possible to edit posts once someone as viewed?

Anyway, should have kept the topic more high-level.

I've always wondered why people decide to retire when they do.

I knew coworkers at work who got disgruntled or tired of everything and decided they had enough with the job. Some of them left not so happy and left the company on a sour note after so many years, or decades even, of work.

The decision to retire often seems to come at the crossroads of being tired of it all and feeling they have enough money (or not) to give it up and be done with their careers.

I saw my father die young, well before he was due to retire, it made me want to retire early.

I think your age is enough.... I was younger.

[wileycoyote]

I'm hoping to retire within 3 years

[crazykopite]

But here's the danger.

This forum (not a criticism of TVF) is, like the expat community, stalked by people terming themselves IFA's or Financial Consultants who look for guys in the position of having pension funds they can't get their hands on right now, and then offer to help them crack their pension funds for immediate access - I have personal friend who went the QROPS route with one of these outfits and who is now watching his life's savings get pissshed down the drain.

So please, anyone even considering accessing their pension fund with the help of a expat IFA or Financial Consultant - get yourself over to the TVF Jobs, Economy, Finance Forum and ask for advise - There's a whole bunch of guys there who will give you very good advice from personal experience and give you ample warning of the traps and scams. Read and take heed.

Yep, I totally agree,

You must never take any financial advice from anyone outside your home country.

You should also never mix your IFA, trader/dealer and management companies over different countries.

As no one country will take responsibility if anything goes wrong, and you just get passed around.

For example, IFA in Thailand + Trader/dealer in IOM + management in Spain = financial disaster.

If you are from the UK, best to keep everything in the UK.

That is what I thought until Mr Brown decided to step in and take the B& B building Society back and I was left with nothing having been a shareholder my loss was in the £1000s. The UK is no better when you have crooks in Government as for pension funds they have become a joke I am glad I cashed mine in a few years back because if I was doing it today it would be at least a 3rd down so do not kid yourself that the UK is a safe haven for your investments !!!!!!!!

[thaimentor]

Jack, I'm just past 50 and now live in Chiang Mai - but I haven't retired yet. I help people wanting to retire or live long-term in Thailand (e.g. to just spend the "winter" here and continue working in their home countries the rest of the year).

Once you reach 50, you can stay in Thailand indefinitely on a Retirement Visa, without having to leave regularly to do the "visa run". You only need to show an income of just over $2,000 per month (or swear an affidavit to that effect if you're an American citizen). You may not work, however. But that doesn't prevent you from generating an income from home by writing, developing software or selling to overseas clients. I know several people who manage their business/blog/etc. from their home in Thailand and then travel overseas to give workshops or provide on-site services to their clients. They make a very decent income.

And on $2,000 per month, you can live extremely well as a single person or couple - at least in Chiang Mai. You'd have to live a little more modestly if you choose to live in Bangkok or Pattaya or Hua Hin. For Phuket or Samui, it would be more comfortable to have at least $3,000 per month.

Once you've left the materialistic high-tax-paying working treadmill of your western lifestyle, you'll find that you simply don't need much to live very well and still pursue an interesting and exciting life. Many people on incomes of more than $3,000 pm in Chiang Mai are living an incredibly luxurious life, reserved for the very privileged few in the West. It's a nice life!

I have a psychology and business background, so I can help not only with concrete budgeting and logistical issues but also with designing your new life according to your personality, desires and preferences. (It also means I'm not prudish about what you really, really want out of life LOL!)

PM me if you want more detailed info, or want some specific help or consultancy regarding settling in Thailand.

[somtampet]

^{I retired here in Thailand at 51.My decision was based on a cost of living increase of 5% per Annum,More money coming in at 56,61 and 65,state pension ,plus an inheritance if i outlive my mum.}

^{Its not important how i live or how much money i have,as it will be more than some and less than some.I spend less now than when i first come here,even taking into account ofd buying a car, bike and house.When one is content,one knows how to be happy, without having to spend large amounts of money, and i have no regrets whatsoever.}

[binnsy1]

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

If in Bangkok/Pattaya/Phuket etc then it wont last long BUT on the other hand you have a blow out then move away from these places you should be OK.

[HardenedSoul]

I'm 46 and I don't intend to retire at all - not because I'm a workaholic but because I really can't imagine doing less than I already do.

I work from home for a few hours each day Monday to Friday so if I had more free time than I already do, I'd probably go insane.

[Kudel]

I would like to know how people can acces certain pension funds private or from the goverment.

Taking out private pension funds before the age of 60 or 65 will come with a serious price to pay in most european countrys tax wise .

[Naam]

I'm 46 and I don't intend to retire at all - not because I'm a workaholic but because I really can't imagine doing less than I already do.

I work from home for a few hours each day Monday to Friday so if I had more free time than I already do, I'd probably go insane.

when you are retired you have no free time! a 24 hour day is much too short for all the things you want to do which are impossible when still working.

[Mousehound]

I lost a heap after following financial advice and not my gut instinct. As a result we shall need government pensions, as well as our savings, in the last few years in order to survive in retirement. As my wife is younger than I am and will not be able to claim a pension until 66 years of age I will have to wait until I am nearly 73 before I retire. As my father retired at 82 I hope to get a few years in - travel through Thailand and studying mostly. I have to say that I envy those that are able to retire to Thailand whilst still young enough to do things. I wish you all the best and hope you don't waste your lives but enjoy life to the max. In my case at least I have spent years working as a teacher in very "challenging: schools. Teaching is not that well paid but does have compensations. I refuse to get bitter about how things worked out but rather try to think that in Thailand we can live modestly, but OK, rather than in a dreary caravan park in Australia.

My point is that money is important but you will never have enough of the stuff. Time becomes more important as you start to run out of it. At the end the questions you should ask yourself is "how rich in experience was your life and did you do everything in your power to make life for others a little better?" These goals need to influence how much time you need to amass money.

[HardenedSoul]

I'm 46 and I don't intend to retire at all - not because I'm a workaholic but because I really can't imagine doing less than I already do.

I work from home for a few hours each day Monday to Friday so if I had more free time than I already do, I'd probably go insane.

when you are retired you have no free time! a 24 hour day is much too short for all the things you want to do which are impossible when still working.

Yeah, right . . . if you say so

Everyone's different but god for you if you find 24 hours isn't enough to do what it is you need to do.

Plenty of people here just spend their time on a barstool drinking beer or in front of the TV so if you've licked that problem, good luck to you

[bocceball1]

“I’ve got a sizeable retirement nest egg. It’s an ostrich egg, and it’s going to make an omelet so big that it’ll produce enough leftovers for decades.
”

[zaZa9]

I retired to Phuket at 50 , Im 56 now.

I am of the same 'worth' as when I left ( I brought $60k Aus in cash to establish myself) except some of that 'worth' was at the start tied up in property.

I found that agents back home dont behave well with the knowledge that the home owner is overseas , so I sold my house and live off the interest rather than rent.

I think most people who 'make it' to retirement in another country , have at least the good sense to live to their means ... if you dont have it , you tend not to spend it.

[bangarang]

There is always more work or projects you can give yourself to pass time, but if you can make money doing it then its a win win.

[thaimentor]

I'm 46 and I don't intend to retire at all - not because I'm a workaholic but because I really can't imagine doing less than I already do.

I work from home for a few hours each day Monday to Friday so if I had more free time than I already do, I'd probably go insane.

A bit off-topic, I know, but I think this is an important warning: many retirees die a few years after retirement. Psychologists believe it's out of sheer boredom and/or a lack of purpose in life. If you do intend to retire, make sure you have a busy, productive second life in mind otherwise you will go crazy or suffer from depression and lose your will to live!!!

[GuestHouse]

I am nearing 66. I left my full time work 4 months ago with a good pension and no need to continue working. However; I was not ready to just hang around doing not much. There is only so much golf and fishing that you can do! As I have a 15 year old daughter to think about, and so not yet ready to move to Asia, I accepted a part time , paid post in the charity sector. I also do some part time lecturing at University. I am finding life is not as intense as my last full time work, which is good, but still stimulating and engaging. How long can I keep this up? Tough question, but I would say that in 3 or so years time, I will not want the early mornings, the social events and late arrivals back home on occasions and that will be the time for me. Very personal decision as I have friends who 'retired' at 55 or 56 and they are perfectly happy with their decision. In all, I'm not sure that 'retirement' has any real meaning to most folk nowadays?.

Correct, the purpose of drones is to work until they die.

Those with imagination find something better to do, as young as possible.

I finished full time work at 45, I finished part time work at 52, I am too busy to ever work again.

If you are happy with your decision to retire early why do you need to validate it by denigrating the decision of others not to retire.

A dear friend of mine 'retired' two years ago, he's spent the time since 'retirement' working with VSO in Africa setting up clean water supplies and training local people to take the program forward.

Is he a drone, does he lack imagination?

He's helping provide people with two of the fundamentals of life clean water and skills/knowledge to help them improve their own lives

Age brings with it valuable skills and experience - putting them to good use to help others is far from a lack of imagination and a long way from being a drone.

[chiang mai]

I retired ten years ago at age 53 and I regret doing that, finanicially I am well off but when I look back over the past ten years I feel I have wasted a lot of time and could have accomplished a lot more in that time that was satisfying and rewarding. How much is needed? How long is a piece of string, it all depends on lifestyle, your ability to manage money and luck.

[Baloo22]

I retired here in Thailand at 55. I'm divorced, my "kids" are all grown up with their own careers and family. In my case, I have a pension from military service. It's not really enough to live well in the US with the high cost of living there, but here in Thailand it's fine for me. I found myself with the decision of stay in the US and have to work, or retire in Thailand. I decided to retire in Thailand. So far, I'm liking it! Later, when I have access to my IRAs, and Social Security, I may move back to the US. Closer to the "kids" and grandchildren and such. We shall see!

As others here have mentioned; Money isn't the only thing for you to consider. For some people the adjustment from full work to full retirement can be hard to handle.

Myself, I enjoy having a nice quiet and slow life. I like to read a lot, watch some movies (now on my Nook!), long walks around town for my exercise and to learn what's where, learn some Thai language, and do some traveling around Thailand. You have got to adjust and get some activities that will suit you. Others have trouble adapting. Some end up with their "retirement" centered around bars and drinking and then drinking and bars, etc. IMO, not good for them or their livers!

[pomchop]

You can always make more money. You can never make more time.

How many people kept on chasing a "few more bucks" so they could "enjoy" their retirement and then their health goes to hell or they drop dead and never ever got to do all those things they dreamed of doing when they retired.

It seems to me that a lot of people seem to think that retirement is all about how big a pile of money you have. While obviously anyone with a brain wants to try and make sure they have adequate money to live and enjoy their retirement there are many who seem to think that he who dies with the most money somehow "wins".

In spite of a lot of the so called retirement experts I have found that I need a lot less money to make me comfortable in retirement than I did working my butt off...in fact when working so much I would often just piss away a lot of money to "reward" myself for being stressed out and under pressure so much of the time.

Part of being financially ok in retirement to me has been the joy of rediscovering so many things that I enjoy that are FREE. Like long walks, riding a bike, working in a garden, reading books etc. Life is about more than making and spending money in the pursuit of "happiness".

I retired at age 52. Many of my friends are still working away at age 65+. A lot of them by working an extra 13 years have more money than I do. But frankly I wouldn't trade my last 13 years of experiences and adventures in retirement with any of them for their bank account.

Everyone is different but my best advice is don't make your life all about money and don't keep putting off your dreams of what you will do, what hobbies you will pursue when you retire.

The graveyards are full of people whose tombstones might read: Coulda Shoulda Woulda.

[bocceball1]

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

--Mahatma Gandhi

[truckerjoe]

Money in the bank, house nearly paid off, a pension, 56 and fit, now is the time to do it, retire and enjoy life.

I have a friend aged 50 who has done well for himself, assets of over $100 million in property, and an income of over $25,000 a month, and a big luxury house,

But still drives a 7 year old Merc, and hasn't been on holiday for 8 years, he starts work in the office at 6am and sometimes is still there at 10pm, he is now a slave

to the money, when is enough money enough?

I have told him many times take a break, go on holiday spend some money, better still sell some of your assets and retire, travel the world and enjoy your life,

but I know he never will.

I would say this is a very good time for him to retire, before the long hours take their toll, and all that amassing of a fortune end up having been for nothing!

I

[Naam]

Money in the bank, house nearly paid off, a pension, 56 and fit, now is the time to do it, retire and enjoy life.

I have a friend aged 50 who has done well for himself, assets of over $100 million in property, and an income of over $25,000 a month, and a big luxury house,

But still drives a 7 year old Merc, and hasn't been on holiday for 8 years, he starts work in the office at 6am and sometimes is still there at 10pm, he is now a slave

to the money, when is enough money enough?

I have told him many times take a break, go on holiday spend some money, better still sell some of your assets and retire, travel the world and enjoy your life,

but I know he never will.

I would say this is a very good time for him to retire, before the long hours take their toll, and all that amassing of a fortune end up having been for nothing!

I

somebody who has assets worth $100 million which yield only 0.3% per annum needs to work hard