British expats in Thailand feeling the misery as the UK pound drops to record low levels.

[Bonobojt]

54 minutes ago, jeab1980 said:

Thats 68 now you can forget that it will climb to at least 70 before then

guess it depends on who's in government 

[Craig krup]

6 minutes ago, jeab1980 said:

Really has nothing to do with pay ect although it does affect how much you pay. Its all about being contracted in or out we was told we were contracted in then they decided no we were all contracted out which basicaly mean for me with 42 reconable years ni contributions they will take 9 years off that so i only have 31 years pathetic goverment. Only hope RBL wins case

My pal's pension would have been a lot higher - over £1200 a month on his wages. 

 

I'm a college teacher. We were all contracted out, so I'm now paying big NI supposedly with a view to sorting it before state retirement, but I don't think I'll get the full new higher pension. Voluntary payments for some folk are a good idea if you've been contracted out. Some teachers have been told by the union to buy years beyond the 35 they need because the years they're buying are so lucrative, given that the 35 they've got are all contracted out years. 

[Craig krup]

2 minutes ago, topt said:

If you were contracted out then the gov. was making contributions to another pension pot for you which you are supposed to have the benefit of.............

How it may have performed is another question.........

In the public sector your scheme was judged better than SERPs so they let you off with a bit of NI. No pot, just a promise. 

[jeab1980]

2 minutes ago, Craig krup said:

My pal's pension would have been a lot higher - over £1200 a month on his wages. 

 

I'm a college teacher. We were all contracted out, so I'm now paying big NI supposedly with a view to sorting it before state retirement, but I don't think I'll get the full new higher pension. Voluntary payments for some folk are a good idea if you've been contracted out. Some teachers have been told by the union to buy years beyond the 35 they need because the years they're buying are so lucrative, given that the 35 they've got are all contracted out years. 

Your talking about pforces pension im talking about state pension. No idea when he left but forces pensions from 1975/76 are payable fron 3yrs service its based on rank when leaving. Not pay whilst serving.

[jeab1980]

7 minutes ago, Bonobojt said:

guess it depends on who's in government 

No i think its a done deal already whicher fools are running the country.

[Kieran00001]

41 minutes ago, Craig krup said:

 

I know someone who did 13 years in special forces. SF pay was ruled not to count for pension purposes, and then two years after he leaves (when, presumably, they're facing recruitment problems) they decide SF pay does count. But not retrospectively. He just accepted it. I could barely sleep for sympathetic outrage. I could have never taken that kind of loss with any equanimity at all. 

 

What country?  UK special forces are the highest paid regiments in the armed forces and its always been part of the non contributionary pension scheme, stay in 22 years and you get 32% of wage, stay in 37 years and you get 48.5%, but pay has never counted toward pensions, it's never been contributory in the British army, always been on years served.

[Craig krup]

12 minutes ago, jeab1980 said:

Your talking about pforces pension im talking about state pension. No idea when he left but forces pensions from 1975/76 are payable fron 3yrs service its based on rank when leaving. Not pay whilst serving.

 

Well, the state pension - the new, high, post-coalition - state pension for some people will be lower because they've been in a contracted out scheme. Mine will be. 

 

The forces pension - rank when leaving is (I'd guess) in most cases pay when leaving. True, signalers getting special forces communicator pay are getting a lot more than they'd otherwise get, but in most (or many) cases it would be a read across. He left around 2003 and they changed their mind (it seems) around 2005: A third (or whatever) of £1200 would be (obviously) nearly five grand a year, which is £150,000 with a reasonable run of luck. 

[Craig krup]

3 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

What country?  UK special forces are the highest paid regiments in the armed forces and its always been part of the non contributionary pension scheme, stay in 22 years and you get 32% of wage, stay in 37 years and you get 48.5%, but pay has never counted toward pensions, it's never been contributory in the British army, always been on years served.

You're completely missing the point. Nobody said it was contributory. What I said was that "wage" didn't include special forces pay until about 2005. 

 

You need to care about the precise use of words. You say "...pay has never counted toward pensions" immediately after telling us about the percentages of pay which will be paid as a pension. Most folk would think that this fact was a "count towards". 

[scubascuba3]

Contracting out of serps is a bigger scandal than PPI misselling but it seems to be nicely swept under the carpet. Most people didn't understand what it meant at the time. Personally i think i did ok with what i did with the money so I'm not losing sleep over it.

[jeab1980]

25 minutes ago, Craig krup said:

 

Well, the state pension - the new, high, post-coalition - state pension for some people will be lower because they've been in a contracted out scheme. Mine will be. 

 

The forces pension - rank when leaving is (I'd guess) in most cases pay when leaving. True, signalers getting special forces communicator pay are getting a lot more than they'd otherwise get, but in most (or many) cases it would be a read across. He left around 2003 and they changed their mind (it seems) around 2005: A third (or whatever) of £1200 would be (obviously) nearly five grand a year, which is £150,000 with a reasonable run of luck. 

What happend i belivebin 2005 was a complete shake up of the forces pension on mass. Remember someonevtelling me about it but wasnt to bothered as i was long gone by then. I can assure you pensions in the forces were ranķ based when he left no matter how long you served or what pay you was getting all get the same pension based on there rank and lengh of service and of coursevwhich partbof the sevoces they were in. You have to remember lots of HM forces got special forces pay which was just an add on.

[Denim]

Since Brexit and the fall of the pound I have been obliged to reduce my alcohol intake. It has probably saved my liver from sclerosis and made me healthier than I have been in a long time. Fantastic result.

 

If it falls any more I will probably knock bacon and sausages on the head too. Brilliant......goodbye high blood pressure and gerd.

 

A big thank you to the Brexiters. Those remainers would have killed me with their selfish attachment to money .

[Tofer]

5 hours ago, Bonobojt said:

I'm a young 26 year old guy from the UK, have a job and paying a pension, hopefully I can retire in Thailand when I'm old enough

 

but who knows what will happen in the future, what rules and laws will change, not to mention how different the world will be by the time I'm in my 60s and 70s

You don't need to be old (enough) if you plan properly and focus on your goal. I never paid into a pension plan, except the UK government NI scheme (best return ever on a meagre investment). IMHO occupational, private pensions and financial investments are a pure gamble, some have been lucky / clever and some have lost their shirts, particularly with the recent disappearing schemes, and the current rates of growth are paltry.

 

You don't say what your job is. I've met some retirees on very comfortable and secure occupational pensions, e.g. Policeman, that got out of work at a relatively young age.

 

It's not for everyone, but I found property development / investment to be the best residual income to suit my experience as an architect. If you have the confidence and acumen, are not averse to an element of calculated risk and hard work, it can pay handsom dividends. The downside in my case, now retired in Thailand, is that I am totally reliant on a third party (letting agent) to manage my portfolio. It took me 12 years, hands on, to create a comfortable residual income and substantial capital assets, if you start now and at the relatively slow, risk averse, pace I proceeded at, you could be retired by the time you are 40. Your assets and income are inflationary linked.

 

I almost got started at near your age, but was having too much fun hoofing around the world, earning and spending good money as an expat. Had a lot of good experiences, but could have been retired much sooner had I knuckled down and got serious earlier. You pay your money and take your choice! I've no regrets, as I was 'experiencing' the world as a young man (23 onwards) in an era when 'fun' was relatively risk free. Memories go with you to the grave - not money.

 

[Craig krup]

29 minutes ago, Tofer said:

Memories go with you to the grave - not money.

Nothing goes with you to the grave, but money makes the bit before it less difficult. Or as my granny put it, "Money can't buy you happiness, but it's nice to be miserable in comfort". 

[adammike]

On 28/08/2017 at 3:02 AM, dotpoom said:

You talk about the pound sterling loosing it's value and consequences of same. But does the situation not equally affect all the Europeans (using the Euro) and have been affected for a lot longer.

   Around 15 years ago the Euro was worth, at one point, around 54 Baht. Since then it has been steadly dropping. Now at around 38.5 Bt. after rising a little of late.

   It's something a lot of people have been having to adjust to for a long period now.

When the Euro notes /coins were introduced 1January 2002 it was worth about 35baht, in March that year I payed my hotel bill with my mastercard

and the rate was 32:93. The highest was about 50.

most of the time it's been around 43-45.The super rich website is quoting 39:80 today, this year when I left Thailand it was just over 36.

It's lack of stability that's the problem it's difficult to budget if you don't know what's going to happen if like me you book your flight 6/7 months in advance,

I will stay for eight weeks great if I get 40 for a euro if it's 36 I can stay a week less, I am on a budget, =pension. 

 

[Bonobojt]

2 hours ago, Tofer said:

You don't need to be old (enough) if you plan properly and focus on your goal. I never paid into a pension plan, except the UK government NI scheme (best return ever on a meagre investment). IMHO occupational, private pensions and financial investments are a pure gamble, some have been lucky / clever and some have lost their shirts, particularly with the recent disappearing schemes, and the current rates of growth are paltry.

 

You don't say what your job is. I've met some retirees on very comfortable and secure occupational pensions, e.g. Policeman, that got out of work at a relatively young age.

 

It's not for everyone, but I found property development / investment to be the best residual income to suit my experience as an architect. If you have the confidence and acumen, are not averse to an element of calculated risk and hard work, it can pay handsom dividends. The downside in my case, now retired in Thailand, is that I am totally reliant on a third party (letting agent) to manage my portfolio. It took me 12 years, hands on, to create a comfortable residual income and substantial capital assets, if you start now and at the relatively slow, risk averse, pace I proceeded at, you could be retired by the time you are 40. Your assets and income are inflationary linked.

 

I almost got started at near your age, but was having too much fun hoofing around the world, earning and spending good money as an expat. Had a lot of good experiences, but could have been retired much sooner had I knuckled down and got serious earlier. You pay your money and take your choice! I've no regrets, as I was 'experiencing' the world as a young man (23 onwards) in an era when 'fun' was relatively risk free. Memories go with you to the grave - not money.

 

I am a kitchen Porter a University in the south of England, the university has its own Pension scheme, and I don't work many hours, around 30 hours a week, and get paid around £750 a month after tax and pension etc...  

 

I don't have a degree, I'm debt free, I don't have any credit cards also, I'm single, no kids, and have travelled to 14 countries solo so far and have had my fun, now time to get serious, I will stay at home for 1 more year and save money, then I'll move out and rent a room for around £300 - £400 per month, that why I have money for my Thailand visits every year. 

 

I have to accept what kind of man I am in this world, I'm not intelligent, I am just your average bloke, I can't get a great well paid job and do property investments or developments, but thanks for the advice 

[Craig krup]

3 minutes ago, Bonobojt said:

I have to accept what kind of man I am in this world, I'm not intelligent, I am just your average bloke, I can't get a great well paid job and do property investments or developments, but thanks for the advice 

 

Listen, apart from maths (and similar things - large parts of physics) intelligence doesn't come into it. It's just hard work. Besides, I know loads of complete eejits who're paid huge sums. My pal did an Ordinary (non-Honours) physics degree, and he - like a lot of other people I've spoken to - said that there comes a point with maths that you just can't wrap your head around it. That aside, however, it's just progressive, remorseless work. I taught a bloke who was a breeze block in terms of ability, but he still plugged away, got a degree and became a teacher. 

 

If the university has a staff development fund - which they will have - you could blag your way (for free) onto the CELTA or TESOL course. They might make you do an Adult and Continuing education course first (you're supposed to be graduate level, or native speaker with advanced qualifications, but it's all nonsense). That way you could probably teach English somewhere. I know that Thailand is insisting on a degree, but...well...there are rules, and rules. 

 

I'd definitely look at the staff development options. Get something out of it before you leave. Make sure, though, that they don't try to recover the cost when you leave. 

[cyberfarang]

6 hours ago, Craig krup said:

 

Well, the state pension - the new, high, post-coalition - state pension for some people will be lower because they've been in a contracted out scheme. Mine will be. 

 

The forces pension - rank when leaving is (I'd guess) in most cases pay when leaving. True, signalers getting special forces communicator pay are getting a lot more than they'd otherwise get, but in most (or many) cases it would be a read across. He left around 2003 and they changed their mind (it seems) around 2005: A third (or whatever) of £1200 would be (obviously) nearly five grand a year, which is £150,000 with a reasonable run of luck. 

I began paying into my company pension at age 21. It was compulsory with the job at the time.

 

When I first began paying into the scheme none of us employees were told about contracting out the State pension, in-fact we did not know there was such a thing as contracting out and back in those days before the Internet there were no easy ways to gain the information unless someone explained it to us and it was never mentioned to us by our employer, nor was it mentioned in our company pension handbook guide. I did not discover about contacting out until I reached 50 and applied for a State pension forecast. Had the shock of my life of how hard my State pension would be hit by being contacted out.

My full State pension would have been just over £155 per week, but after they deducted my contracted out years it was reduced to £126 per week. This means in Thai bahts that’s a reduction of (£124) 5300 baht per calendar month at today’s exchange rates, which is a lot of money in Thailand. I feel I was duped right from the start and between the banks and the UK government I’m always going to be in lose, lose situation. It’s like playing the chips at a casino where the odds are always with the house. And yes, I do feel bitter about it.

[Tofer]

11 hours ago, Craig krup said:

Nothing goes with you to the grave, but money makes the bit before it less difficult. Or as my granny put it, "Money can't buy you happiness, but it's nice to be miserable in comfort". 

I'm no expert, but I hope something goes with you to the grave, or what will we all have to talk about up or down in the thereafter.....

[Tofer]

9 hours ago, Bonobojt said:

I am a kitchen Porter a University in the south of England, the university has its own Pension scheme, and I don't work many hours, around 30 hours a week, and get paid around £750 a month after tax and pension etc...  

 

I don't have a degree, I'm debt free, I don't have any credit cards also, I'm single, no kids, and have travelled to 14 countries solo so far and have had my fun, now time to get serious, I will stay at home for 1 more year and save money, then I'll move out and rent a room for around £300 - £400 per month, that why I have money for my Thailand visits every year. 

 

I have to accept what kind of man I am in this world, I'm not intelligent, I am just your average bloke, I can't get a great well paid job and do property investments or developments, but thanks for the advice 

I hope your fortunes improve and wish you well in your endeavours. Whatever, be happy, I believe, you're only here once!

 

Read a few autobiographical books on the wealthy businessmen, many of them started out with pure work ethic, not a sparkling education, some were complete educational drop outs, even strayed on the criminal path, Douglas Bannatyne for one.

[OJAS]

17 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Lol, I am not talking about how Thai immigration class you, that has exactly zero to do with this, by the way, they do not offer an immigrant status, nor do they offer expat class, obviously I am talking about how you chose to class yourself, and that has everything to do with your long term plans, at least it does if you understand the difference between the two words immigrant and expat and are not swayed to use the term expat for yourself through western centrisism.  Honestly, woukd you call yourself an immigrant if you had permanent residency?

I choose formally to call myself a "Non-Immigrant" since that is my current legal status here in LOS.

 

Were I eventually to achieve permanent residency status here I would then call myself a "Permanent Resident".

 

Glad to hear that you apparently hold Thai immigration law in such low regard given your statement that it "has exactly zero to do with this". But please do feel free to keep on banging on in a futile attempt to save your face, Thai-style - even though your comments bear little relevance to the topic at hand in this thread in any event.

[OJAS]

16 hours ago, Craig krup said:

You're completely missing the point. Nobody said it was contributory. What I said was that "wage" didn't include special forces pay until about 2005. 

 

You need to care about the precise use of words. You say "...pay has never counted toward pensions" immediately after telling us about the percentages of pay which will be paid as a pension. Most folk would think that this fact was a "count towards". 

He appears to be missing quite a few points on this particular thread!

[Craig krup]

12 hours ago, Bonobojt said:

I am a kitchen Porter a University in the south of England, the university has its own Pension scheme, and I don't work many hours, around 30 hours a week, and get paid around £750 a month after tax and pension etc...  

 

 

Incidentally., if you 1) can hack kitchens, 2) like travel, 3) want to get paid to travel, 4) like getting blocks of time off at once to go abroad and 5) want a pension, why aren't you working in the kitchens in the Royal Navy or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary? 

 

If you've got the right temperament - can take discipline - it can be a phenomenal deal. With the right mentality a submarine can be the absolute kit: well-paid, nothing to spend money on, little in the way of cost for food and accommodation....

 

If and when you leave you could - if the oil price improves - work on a rig, for better dough and similar conditions. 

 

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/rfa/how-to-join/chef-apprentice-rfa

 

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/roles-and-specialisations/services/surface-fleet/chef

 

 

[jeab1980]

20 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

What country?  UK special forces are the highest paid regiments in the armed forces and its always been part of the non contributionary pension scheme, stay in 22 years and you get 32% of wage, stay in 37 years and you get 48.5%, but pay has never counted toward pensions, it's never been contributory in the British army, always been on years served.

Special forces pay is an add on to basic pay however you dont see the mention of it on your pay slip. It just is. There are 4500 at the last count could be back to 5000 now who are payed special forces pay who do not belong to any Regiment in the Army by the way. Forces pensions are non (or was not sure if after 2005 shake up they still are) contributory. They are based on Rank and time served nothing else.

 

[Kieran00001]

4 hours ago, OJAS said:

I choose formally to call myself a "Non-Immigrant" since that is my current legal status here in LOS.

 

Were I eventually to achieve permanent residency status here I would then call myself a "Permanent Resident".

 

Glad to hear that you apparently hold Thai immigration law in such low regard given your statement that it "has exactly zero to do with this". But please do feel free to keep on banging on in a futile attempt to save your face, Thai-style - even though your comments bear little relevance to the topic at hand in this thread in any event.

 

No, it is just you changing the subject, the visa status of non immigrant and resident status that has nothing to do with what I was talking about, which was immigrants calling themselves expats and Western people calling non Western expats immigrants.

[observer90210]

Sorry to barge in, but what would be the average pension for say a ex special forces serviceman  - any figures available by regiment and rank?

 

What other exemples can anybody provide on the monthly UK pension amounts and on the specific job occupied?

 

 

[whiteman]

do u not know every body here is ex special forces or so they tell every one when they are out and about in Thailand :0

[jeab1980]

20 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Sorry to barge in, but what would be the average pension for say a ex special forces serviceman  - any figures available by regiment and rank?

 

What other exemples can anybody provide on the monthly UK pension amounts and on the specific job occupied?

 

 

It depends on rank when leaving and how long served and in what arm of the armed forces you served in. For instance a sgt in the SAS will get paid more than a sgt in a normal infantry regiment so,  if both leave after 22yrs the sgt in sas would recive more pension. 

Edited August 30, 2017 by jeab1980

[scubascuba3]

do u not know every body here is ex special forces or so they tell every one when they are out and about in Thailand :0

I've met a few bodyguard types but i always meet people who like to blow their own trumpet about money. It gets very boring, try and hold back guys we don't want to know

[observer90210]

1 hour ago, jeab1980 said:

It depends on rank when leaving and how long served and in what arm of the armed forces you served in. For instance a sgt in the SAS will get paid more than a sgt in a normal infantry regiment so,  if both leave after 22yrs the sgt in sas would recive more pension. 

ok thanks. aware of any figures?

[jeab1980]

4 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

ok thanks. aware of any figures?

Yes but thats personal. Sorry