Could You Retire in Thailand on a Teacher's Salary?

[elgordo38]

On 1/18/2017 at 9:15 PM, lemonjelly said:

It's ok on 30-35 grand, until you start thinking about buying a semi decent car, health insurance etc

After reading the Consumers report daily it would scare the H out of me to buy a car. Health insurance and payment of hospital care is the number one land mine. It could blow up in your face at any time. If your lucky you might drop over dead. 

[little mary sunshine]

2 hours ago, 12DrinkMore said:

I personally know a couple of hopefuls who are expecting/hoping that Mum and Dad are going to die soon and leave them a substantial wad.

 

There are also a few who call up grandma/grandad for a "little help".

 

 

  Hope Mum and Dad go on a gambling cruise And spend all their money!

[puchooay]

On 19/01/2017 at 8:22 AM, allane said:

The following comments are relevant to foreigners working in Thailand at an average sort of teaching job; let's say paying about B 35,000/mo.  You can retire in Thailand on that sort of salary only if you came here in mid-life or later, and already had substantial savings. I think that if you want to retire to a western lifestyle, you need to spend at least half your life working in the west.  Better to spend the first half there, then let the power of compound interest work for you, though that too is a bit risky right now, with interest rates so low.  Spending the first  half of your working life in Thailand is riskier; you may find it hard to get a good job if you move to the west at, say, 45, and you will not have as much momentum from compound interest on your earnings there even if you are receiving a good salary.

These comments exclude Thai teachers and teachers at international schools, the latter generally receive the same salary as they would in their home country. 

I am working here with an income in the region of 50000 baht. I am married with a daughter.

 

I save more per month than my married with kid mate in UK. His salary is in excess of 70k pounds a month.

 

Go figure.

[steven100]

You can retire on a teachers salary,

you can retire on any salary,

 

just depends on whether you want to eat rice & noodles forever or steak & seafood every now and then.

[impulse]

My fear would be that there would be no other options at retirement age after living for decades on a teacher's salary without even building up any government retirement or health care benefits back home.  And even that wouldn't really be an option given the financial requirements for an extension of stay based on retirement.

 

The expression "between a rock and a hard place" comes to mind.

[BaiLao]

Specific and current:

 

http://www.ajarn.com/ajarn-street/articles/how-far-does-a-30k-salary-go-in-bangkok

[ozmeldo]

I just came back to state that in the last ten posts is some of the best advice a new 'teacher' could be provided.

 

Teaching here is a lark. Some of us have parlayed it into -almost- something. But teaching like anything else in life without proper training and education usually never amounts to much.

 

The TEFL industry will be trashed by technology. The only thing that keeps NES here are the horrible Filipino accents, educators that know and care -and the Thai parents.

 

IF there was a sea change of opinion that would tolerate the Filipino accent and classroom antics, NES teachers would be gone by May 1, 2017.

 

50k is the bottom of a decent salary. You save a bit. Your friend is a spendthrift. Do what. I've no idea how you save, it ain't much bc I did a really excellent job of costing my expenses out a decade ago and it was 22.5k pm. Not including long term health care, emergencies and savings. It can't be fun and you can't be traveling and your kids going to public school.

 

I'm in decent shape but we might return to US simply over health care. Scott knows and makes very valid points. Visit the insurance forum. Yeah, British oral hygiene not a high priority but as he stated - unhealthy men die here all the time.

 

If you are healthy. If your parents have good health, maybe you could chance it with solid savings.

 

Anyone do the math on the retirement? You'll need 4/800k plus 22.5 million baht simply to spend into the grave.

 

I'm retired insofar as not having need to work, just making the best of things until I hit 60/62.

 

Honestly, I think the 30k teachers just don't care - they can't. They suspend reality. All the Filipino I know make well more than that.

 

So between now and your golden years, what's the plan when the western economies tank or Thailand does a 1997 part deux?

 

Finally, getting advanced degree here is total folly. So you climb to 55k, so what? All those crap online degrees are just fancy Thai work permits. How much is that Nottingham POS, like 150k? Well, at -3k pm take that off your salary. Four+ years for a job that pays less than EU, UK or US minimum wage and largely without benefits and pension.

 

Making 60k definitely puts you in the position of having to report income for US citizens.

 

 

 

 

[4MyEgo]

23 hours ago, LazySlipper said:

The point of the question "Could You Retire in Thailand on a Teacher's Salary?" is not quite clear to me. Are you asking if someone could live off the equivalent of a teachers salary, or whether a person could retire from abroad with a gvt or personal pension and keep working here as a teacher on a teacher's salary. If the latter is the point then you probably would be combining a pension from abroad and a salary earned as a teacher thus why worry when you need to really retire. You probably could retire right now... 

 

As for living till you die here on a teacher's salary without any other income is as far as I am concerned quite impossible unless you one day have a pension from abroad. Living and saving for retirement, even on 60 000 a month, is quite impossible IMHO. For a retirement visa you need 800 000 in the bank. For a marriage visa you need 400 000 in the bank. Saving 400 000 and living on 35 000 a month will take you years and you haven't even started to save for your monthly personal expenditures. I have turned fifty one not too long ago and I really worry about my future. I can see myself in 15 years with no pension living and begging on the streets... riding the public system all day to keep warm during winter... Gvts all over are really trying to make it impossible for my generation to eventually have pensions.   For now they have raised the age to 67 what comes next???

 

I really cringe and lose sleep at night sometimes...

 

 

 

I suggest you don't just lay down and wait for the inevitable to happen.

 

I also wouldn't be looking at depending on the pension, as you say they have raised it to 67, yes agree and it will probably go to 70 soon.

 

At 51 sounds like you didn't really plan your retirement well (not having a go at you), but you are young enough to return to your home country and work your butt off for at least 5 years to put some $'s behind you, doesn't matter if its 2 or 3 jobs, cash jobs preferable as well, depending on the jobs and skill sets that you may have.

 

If you can't return for reasons like health or something else like that, I dare say you will be up shit creek, seriously, I retired at 55 last year, have enough to last me till I croak it, (not gloating), fact, but even though I am retired, I still manage to look for opportunities to make a buck, this week has been kind, a quick 100k baht, other weeks, might be 10k baht, I couldn't see myself just sitting back, its not about the money, it does help, but its the mental stimulation, and the fact that I know that I am still in tune with what's going on in the world, I can afford to buy extra treats and my family will have more when they burn me to a crisp.

 

You are too young to retire unless you have at least 8,000,000 baht in the bank, that is, if you need 40,000 baht a month to survive over 16 years to get you to the pension age of 67, you need 8,000,000 baht in the bank, (8 million baht) so how much can you save in 5 years back in your home country, e.g. 1,600,000 baht per year, I doubt it, you might have to work 10 years to save 800,000 baht per year which we give you a life here, your choice, the reality is written on the wall.

 

 

[ozmeldo]

4 hours ago, BaiLao said:

Specific and current:

 

 

 

Those Ajarn posts are hugely subjective and so utterly lacking. I could live on 30k for a year. Three? No. You will have bug expenses crop up most certainly.

 

I think 37.5-40 livable with Thai companion working. Not including money for domestic/Intl trips, savings short and long term. Healthcare emergency fund.

 

Making 30k only gets you cash flow. No one factors in the initial B Lao visa runs, their TEFL certificate, that dental emergency, that laptop, a phone. People making 30-40k buy new laptop 'for work', too lol. A cheap evening out, 5% of monthly gross. Horizontal refreshment 5-10%. But this is more reality suspended.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Scott

[BaiLao]

  "No. You will have bug expenses crop up most certainly ..."

 

Had you read the article in the link, that is exactly the author's point. Big expenses or - bug expenses - it's a losing game.

[ozmeldo]

No, I didn't but I've read a ton of them.

 

Phil's points are always so shallow. He'll tell you that 50k is no life and that's bullshit.

 

You can stretch 35k much further living like a Thai and that is something Phil knows nothing about despite being married to one. And most farang as well for that matter.

 

Give up the farang food and save thousands. Farang pubs, list is long indeed.

[Rhys]

For some...the hassle with visa and something to do....can be enough... of course, they will mess with us, would you expect anything less

[smotherb]

I know three NES teachers who have  been here 25-30 years teaching. The oldest one just went back to UK in ill health and could not afford the hospital bills here. The other two have saved nothing are in their late fifties and have very little to look forward to, except their next Chang.

 

If you are intending to stay here as an NES teacher, I would advise getting the proper qualifications to get the better jobs and stick to a savings plan.

[Scott]

I am somewhat fortunate in that I have a private retirement from my home country.   It is not a lot of money, but it will add to the gov't pension that I am eligible for.   Between the two, I should be able to survive reasonably well -- in my home country.    Not necessarily in Thailand and the reason for that is because of the medical expenses in Thailand.   I also have a house in my home country.  

 

Very few people as they get older don't start running into some sort of medical problems.   There are a lot of men in Thailand who have not taken particularly good care of themselves in their early years.   Thailand is just a little too much fun for that.  

 

I have seen more people end up in trouble in the latter years of their working life than I have seen success stories. 

 

[eldragon]

What is all this "live like a Thai" nonsense? Aren't they all spending three times their salary and saving none of 15 to 20K they make per month?


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[eldragon]

The point of the question "Could You Retire in Thailand on a Teacher's Salary?" is not quite clear to me. Are you asking if someone could live off the equivalent of a teachers salary, or whether a person could retire from abroad with a gvt or personal pension and keep working here as a teacher on a teacher's salary. If the latter is the point then you probably would be combining a pension from abroad and a salary earned as a teacher thus why worry when you need to really retire. You probably could retire right now... 
 
As for living till you die here on a teacher's salary without any other income is as far as I am concerned quite impossible unless you one day have a pension from abroad. Living and saving for retirement, even on 60 000 a month, is quite impossible IMHO. For a retirement visa you need 800 000 in the bank. For a marriage visa you need 400 000 in the bank. Saving 400 000 and living on 35 000 a month will take you years and you haven't even started to save for your monthly personal expenditures. I have turned fifty one not too long ago and I really worry about my future. I can see myself in 15 years with no pension living and begging on the streets... riding the public system all day to keep warm during winter... Gvts all over are really trying to make it impossible for my generation to eventually have pensions.   For now they have raised the age to 67 what comes next???
 
I really cringe and lose sleep at night sometimes...
 
 

The former. I'm curious what happens to people that come here to teach English for a few years and decide (try) to stay forever, either bc they knocked up a Thai girl or just fell in love with the place. You really nailed it with that second half.


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[smotherb]

4 hours ago, Scott said:

I am somewhat fortunate in that I have a private retirement from my home country.   It is not a lot of money, but it will add to the gov't pension that I am eligible for.   Between the two, I should be able to survive reasonably well -- in my home country.    Not necessarily in Thailand and the reason for that is because of the medical expenses in Thailand.   I also have a house in my home country.  

 

Very few people as they get older don't start running into some sort of medical problems.   There are a lot of men in Thailand who have not taken particularly good care of themselves in their early years.   Thailand is just a little too much fun for that.  

 

I have seen more people end up in trouble in the latter years of their working life than I have seen success stories. 

 

Scott, you are lucky. No, not really luck is it, better prepared.

 

In my opinion, teaching in Thailand can be a fun temporary experience, but is a debatable career move. Only if you have the proper qualifications to land the better-paid positions, is it possible.

 

Normal teaching salaries are not sufficient to live well here, even if you stay single. If you want a family,  a house and car, an occasional steak, it is even less sufficient. Just don't try to buy health insurance and save for retirement.

 

If you don't have some additional income to fall back on to supplement your meager teaching salary, it makes a hard life--unless your expectations are limited to just existing.

 

Sure, there are some who will say, "The salaries are plenty, I can live on B100/day" or some such frugal claptrap. Well, good luck.

[puchooay]

13 hours ago, ozmeldo said:

I just came back to state that in the last ten posts is some of the best advice a new 'teacher' could be provided.

 

Teaching here is a lark. Some of us have parlayed it into -almost- something. But teaching like anything else in life without proper training and education usually never amounts to much.

 

The TEFL industry will be trashed by technology. The only thing that keeps NES here are the horrible Filipino accents, educators that know and care -and the Thai parents.

 

IF there was a sea change of opinion that would tolerate the Filipino accent and classroom antics, NES teachers would be gone by May 1, 2017.

 

50k is the bottom of a decent salary. You save a bit. Your friend is a spendthrift. Do what. I've no idea how you save, it ain't much bc I did a really excellent job of costing my expenses out a decade ago and it was 22.5k pm. Not including long term health care, emergencies and savings. It can't be fun and you can't be traveling and your kids going to public school.

 

I'm in decent shape but we might return to US simply over health care. Scott knows and makes very valid points. Visit the insurance forum. Yeah, British oral hygiene not a high priority but as he stated - unhealthy men die here all the time.

 

If you are healthy. If your parents have good health, maybe you could chance it with solid savings.

 

Anyone do the math on the retirement? You'll need 4/800k plus 22.5 million baht simply to spend into the grave.

 

I'm retired insofar as not having need to work, just making the best of things until I hit 60/62.

 

Honestly, I think the 30k teachers just don't care - they can't. They suspend reality. All the Filipino I know make well more than that.

 

So between now and your golden years, what's the plan when the western economies tank or Thailand does a 1997 part deux?

 

Finally, getting advanced degree here is total folly. So you climb to 55k, so what? All those crap online degrees are just fancy Thai work permits. How much is that Nottingham POS, like 150k? Well, at -3k pm take that off your salary. Four+ years for a job that pays less than EU, UK or US minimum wage and largely without benefits and pension.

 

Making 60k definitely puts you in the position of having to report income for US citizens.

 

 

 

 

Are you referring to my post? OK well here it is. My monthly bills consist of an electricity bill, small payment on car and internet. My buddy in UK has mortgage, car payments, poll tax, electric,gas and water (probably missed some). Not to mention the excessive cost of living with regards to food,petrol, clothing kids, car tax, insurance and also the huge amount of statutory deductions from the monthly salary.

 

If I were to take some peoples' advice and move back to UK to "banks some money" then I would never be able to come back here.

 

Living here and saving what I do; whilst my daughter goes to a good school and we travel when we have free time, England last year and this year too, is far more prosperous.

 

I have a small private pension maturing when I am sixty and get govt pension at 67, if I make it. I have been here since I was 28. I am now 46. Living here where most things are already paid for with no worries of interest rate hikes and the like is far more satisfying than what moving back to UK would be.

[impulse]

26 minutes ago, puchooay said:

I have a small private pension maturing when I am sixty and get govt pension at 67, if I make it. I have been here since I was 28. I am now 46. Living here where most things are already paid for with no worries of interest rate hikes and the like is far more satisfying than what moving back to UK would be.

 

So, you have been a non-resident in your home country, exempt from paying into the system for pretty much your entire working life, and you're counting on still being able to avail yourself to a government pension in 21 more years?  Lots can change in 21 years, and it's rarely for the better.

 

I wish you the best of luck.  I really do.  But given the trajectory of government programs (especially related to expats) in the past decade or so, I'd suggest you prepare for a major disappointment.  

 

That seems to be a recurring theme here with expats feeling the squeeze in Thailand- people counting on the status quo, when all the trends point to diminishing benefits, rising costs and ever tightening loopholes.

 

Edited January 21, 2017 by impulse

[simon43]

I don't think the major issue is living once you are retired.  For those with Thai families, there will hopefully always be a room and free board.  Even if one has no family and are heading towards being destitute; if you have 'assimilated' into the Thai community, then it is quite reasonable to live at the local monastery, with free board and lodging, and helping out the monks on their alms rounds, or helping the local community etc.

 

You can continue teaching from home, either with local, private tuition or by offering on-line teaching via one of the many class providers.  The pay might not be high, but it is the type of job that you can do regardless of your age.  

 

The big issue is about your health.  I tried to Google for the percentage of life-threatening illness or accidents that can befall us in our life.  I couldn't find this statistic, but I believe it to be quite high.

 

Local Thai government hospitals can certainly provide a decent level of care for non-critical ailments or accidents.  But I would not want to place my faith in them (although some are excellent), for a critical event.

 

So you need to invest in medical insurance.  For many of us, your age or pre-existing conditions mean that either you cannot get insurance cover, or the premiums are too high for your budget.  In those circumstances, probably the only option (for some countries, not all), is to return back to your home country and receive free treatment under your country's social health system.

 

This assumes that you're fit enough to travel.  I was just reading on a Cambodia forum about a teacher who was returning back to the USA after retiring from his teaching job in Phnom Penh.  Just 4 days before his flight, he had a stroke.  Now he is too ill to fly on a scheduled flight, has no Medical Evacuation insurance, and is languishing in a 'dubious' hospital in PP.

 

I think the only realistic planning that you can do if you cannot get medical insurance, is to take out a standalone Medivac policy, to get you flown back to your home country in the event of a major illness or accident.  Even that insurance may not be possible for some of us.

[DILLIGAD]

Are you referring to my post? OK well here it is. My monthly bills consist of an electricity bill, small payment on car and internet. My buddy in UK has mortgage, car payments, poll tax, electric,gas and water (probably missed some). Not to mention the excessive cost of living with regards to food,petrol, clothing kids, car tax, insurance and also the huge amount of statutory deductions from the monthly salary.
 
If I were to take some peoples' advice and move back to UK to "banks some money" then I would never be able to come back here.
 
Living here and saving what I do; whilst my daughter goes to a good school and we travel when we have free time, England last year and this year too, is far more prosperous.
 
I have a small private pension maturing when I am sixty and get govt pension at 67, if I make it. I have been here since I was 28. I am now 46. Living here where most things are already paid for with no worries of interest rate hikes and the like is far more satisfying than what moving back to UK would be.

Hope you have paid your required 35 years of N.I.C. If not, worth considering a top-up??
It's great that you are stable here, but are you doing just one job in LOS like the topic suggests?


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[zeichen]

Yes, you can live off the salary a teacher makes here and support a family or co-support. I am still shocked when I meet couples where the man supports the family, this isn't 1954 still. The issue is of retirement not of living.  What happens when you retire after working in Thailand as a teacher for 30 years living paycheck to paycheck.  In short you cannot save from that salary to really have a good retirement that will last. As you most likely hadn't been working in your home country, you wont get a pension or social welfare unless you paid into it.  You won't get a thai pension or retirement, so you will have nothing. Building your teaching career is a doable thing. Always work on professional development and get your qualifications up.  Work abroad every 2-3 years and save that money for retirement isn't a bad option.

 

In short, if you worked in Thailand for 20 or 30 years teaching and living paycheck to paycheck, it will be impossible for you to retire here without any savings.

[puchooay]

4 hours ago, impulse said:

 

So, you have been a non-resident in your home country, exempt from paying into the system for pretty much your entire working life, and you're counting on still being able to avail yourself to a government pension in 21 more years?  Lots can change in 21 years, and it's rarely for the better.

 

I wish you the best of luck.  I really do.  But given the trajectory of government programs (especially related to expats) in the past decade or so, I'd suggest you prepare for a major disappointment.  

 

That seems to be a recurring theme here with expats feeling the squeeze in Thailand- people counting on the status quo, when all the trends point to diminishing benefits, rising costs and ever tightening loopholes.

 

I have taken care of the necessary details,thanks.

[puchooay]

1 hour ago, DILLIGAD said:

Hope you have paid your required 35 years of N.I.C. If not, worth considering a top-up??
It's great that you are stable here, but are you doing just one job in LOS like the topic suggests?


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Actually I also have a job as a wooden spoon sales man. I will keep one for you.

 

There is no requirement to pay 35 years national insurance to receive a pension.

 

If you read all of posts here you will see that this topic has gradually become more of a "how much does it cost to live in Thailand". That is the part that I was responding to. I have checked my posts and cannot see where I have ever mentioned job or jobs.

[impulse]

Just now, puchooay said:

I have taken care of the necessary details,thanks.

 

Again, best of luck, but how does anyone know what the details will be in 21 years?   At which time it's too late for a do-over.

 

This thread is about retiring to Thailand on a teacher's salary.  In 21 years, we don't even know if they'll offer a retirement visa, much less what the financial requirements will be.  The past several years of tightening visa requirements, price inflation and erosion of expat benefits from back home have put a crimp on a lot of guys who never saw it coming.  

 

Hopefully, you've factored all that in.  But the responses here are just as directed to others reading in, who may still have some thinking and arranging to do.

[little mary sunshine]

Why would someone spend their entire workimg

career working for "chump charge" in Thailand?

B25-35,000 per month.  My friends teach with

Masters Degrees in Ed. Make $85-125,000 per

year.(US Dollars)

 

You retire to inexpensive places like Thailand after

you have made your money, have a good pension

that you earned, THAN move to a place where you

can live comfortably on B40-50,000 and never concern

yourself about money!!

[impulse]

5 minutes ago, little mary sunshine said:

Why would someone spend their entire workimg

career working for "chump charge" in Thailand?

B25-35,000 per month.  My friends teach with

Masters Degrees in Ed. Make $85-125,000 per

year.(US Dollars)

 

But how often do they get laid- and by exotic cuties?  When I was that age, I figured I'd be too old to do it when it was time to retire...  Now I know I'm just too old to do it every day.

[puchooay]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

Again, best of luck, but how does anyone know what the details will be in 21 years?   At which time it's too late for a do-over.

 

This thread is about retiring to Thailand on a teacher's salary.  In 21 years, we don't even know if they'll offer a retirement visa, much less what the financial requirements will be.  The past several years of tightening visa requirements, price inflation and erosion of expat benefits from back home have put a crimp on a lot of guys who never saw it coming.  

 

Hopefully, you've factored all that in.  But the responses here are just as directed to others reading in, who may still have some thinking and arranging to do.

All the doom and gloom in your life. I do hope you haven't wasted too much time saving and planning for old age. Sounds like you'll keel over before then.

 

You asked me about pensions and I answered. Besides I'm more concernef about how my family will live when I am gone. Something else that I have already taken care of.

[impulse]

1 minute ago, puchooay said:

All the doom and gloom in your life. I do hope you haven't wasted too much time saving and planning for old age. Sounds like you'll keel over before then.

 

You asked me about pensions and I answered. Besides I'm more concernef about how my family will live when I am gone. Something else that I have already taken care of.

 

That's the beauty of being young.  You have no idea what's going to hit you later on in your life.  Post back when you've made it to my age. 

[DILLIGAD]

 
That's the beauty of being young.  You have no idea what's going to hit you later on in your life.  Post back when you've made it to my age. 

And you do?


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