Planning for my retirement
Planning for my retirement
I know this is regularly asked question, but i would like clarification/confirmation to aid my eventual retirement plans. I will finish work at age 60 about the only perk after years of exploitation at work. I am not as rich as some of you lucky residents, but have or at least will have the sum of 80,000 Bhat which if i am correct needs to be deposited in a Thai bank. I intend to get the retirement visa on this basis. If assuming current regulations remain, am i correct in thinking that as long as i maintain at least 80,000 Bhat in the bank and get the retirement visa, i neeed only then to report periodically at a Thai Immigration office to be able to remain in Thailand. Also presumably retiring at 60 and living for 5years in Thailand before reaching UK pension age of 65 will not cause any problems in getting pension paid. My pensions and savings will be my income as i am not a home owner.
I understood that the requirement is actually 800,000 baht for a retirement visa, not sure if there was a typo in your post.
Yes you can draw your pension at 65 but as you can imagine they do not make it straight forward. If you retire at 60 is unlikely that you will have paid sufficient contributions to receive a full pension at 65. You can get free credits from the age of 60 but you have to be resident in the UK. You can make voluntary contributions to allow you receive your full pension at 65, if you are not resident in the UK. You can have your pension paid into your Thai bank, but the pension is frozen at the rate it was when you left the UK.
Yes you can draw your pension at 65 but as you can imagine they do not make it straight forward. If you retire at 60 is unlikely that you will have paid sufficient contributions to receive a full pension at 65. You can get free credits from the age of 60 but you have to be resident in the UK. You can make voluntary contributions to allow you receive your full pension at 65, if you are not resident in the UK. You can have your pension paid into your Thai bank, but the pension is frozen at the rate it was when you left the UK.
Retirement
Thanks for the reply. It was a typo i did think the figure was 800,000.
I thought that 39 years of contributions entitled you to a pension, and this was likely to be reduced further when the pension changes happen. I started work shortly before my 16th birthday so i will have been working for 44years by the time i hit 60. So i think i should qualify. Thanks for your information though sounds reasonably encouraging, although as i know Thailand never makes things too easy for us Farangs.
I thought that 39 years of contributions entitled you to a pension, and this was likely to be reduced further when the pension changes happen. I started work shortly before my 16th birthday so i will have been working for 44years by the time i hit 60. So i think i should qualify. Thanks for your information though sounds reasonably encouraging, although as i know Thailand never makes things too easy for us Farangs.
Basically, you need to apply for a Non Imm Visa, prior to getting here. Within the last 30 days of any entry into the country you can apply for a year's extension. The requirements are currently that you're over 50 years old and have 800,000 in a Thai bank account or an income of 65,000 per month, or combination of the two.
Simple as that.
Simple as that.
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tuktukmike
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This may not be along the original lines of the post but here goes.
Why on earth are people retiring out here.
The reason i ask this is simply if you are over a certain age then you are much more at risk from health problems.
I often wonder what would happen should you suffer a heart attack in hua hin, and of course i am aware that this can also strike a young person.
Just how long would you have to wait for medical treatment to arrive, also what would be the quality of the treatment.
My own feelings on this is that unless it was only a mild attack you are stuffed. this also applies to accident victims and maybe other serious ailments.
So far like many i have only had to use San Paulo Hospital for the constant round of medicals you seem to need whenever you apply for anything out here.
What would others take be on this matter, do you think Hua Hin has a reliable and worthwhile health care system in place.
Why on earth are people retiring out here.
The reason i ask this is simply if you are over a certain age then you are much more at risk from health problems.
I often wonder what would happen should you suffer a heart attack in hua hin, and of course i am aware that this can also strike a young person.
Just how long would you have to wait for medical treatment to arrive, also what would be the quality of the treatment.
My own feelings on this is that unless it was only a mild attack you are stuffed. this also applies to accident victims and maybe other serious ailments.
So far like many i have only had to use San Paulo Hospital for the constant round of medicals you seem to need whenever you apply for anything out here.
What would others take be on this matter, do you think Hua Hin has a reliable and worthwhile health care system in place.
retiring
Mike you have been away from the UK for to long. Chances are that someone will get you to San Paulo quicker than an ambulance will get you to a hosie in th UK. Why not retire in the sun and warm, imagine getting old and frail in the UK. I know a few oap's living here and they have a much better life style. By the way Rob you can get a pension statement from the government dept in Sunderland. Just look online for the application. I also suggest that you keep a UK address because as was stated before if you give them a thai address your pension is frozen at the sum that you iniyially receive and does not increase in line with inflation. Best of luck to you Rob, come and enjoy yourself.
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tuktukmike
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Clivey
You know very well that was not the point.
However bad we may consider our health service most ambulances are now crewed by Paramedics.
The quality of the average ambulance personell out here seems to be on a par with Bob the Builder.
As i said i have never had cause to use their service but wonder do they carry all the modern equipment and are they trained to use it.
We have all heard the horror stories about the local hospitals and its that reason i ask the question.
So come on Clive as an OAP give us your real take on it.
Mike.
You know very well that was not the point.
However bad we may consider our health service most ambulances are now crewed by Paramedics.
The quality of the average ambulance personell out here seems to be on a par with Bob the Builder.
As i said i have never had cause to use their service but wonder do they carry all the modern equipment and are they trained to use it.
We have all heard the horror stories about the local hospitals and its that reason i ask the question.
So come on Clive as an OAP give us your real take on it.
Mike.
TTM,
You really have hijacked this thread. The OP was only looking for clarification of financial requirements for retiring here, not a tirade on the health service. I would assume that private medical care/insurance is something that he's considered.
BTW, at what age will you be retiring back to Blighty?
You really have hijacked this thread. The OP was only looking for clarification of financial requirements for retiring here, not a tirade on the health service. I would assume that private medical care/insurance is something that he's considered.
BTW, at what age will you be retiring back to Blighty?
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tuktukmike
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Mike, I imagine you will be swimming against the tide in posting it (what's new?tuktukmike wrote:Why on earth are people retiring out here.
The reason I ask this is simply if you are over a certain age then you are much more at risk from health problems.
) but I think this is worthy of its own thread - maybe you could start one in 'Thai Life?'I have many reservations about the possibility of retiring to Thailand (Not imminent - Mrs Jaime's long term plan), not only in respect of healthcare in Hua Hin, which if you read this forum you can only conclude is terrible but in other matters related to the rights and welfare of foreigners.
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tuktukmike
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Re: Planning for my retirement
[quote="THAI ROB"] Also presumably retiring at 60 and living for 5years in Thailand before reaching UK pension age of 65 will not cause any problems in getting pension paid. My pensions and savings will be my income as i am not a home owner.[/quote]
Rob,looks like your post has been hijacked slightly but Governor has hit the nail on the head so reread his answer.
Sorry that you feel you have been exploited for the last 40 years but you actually have been fortunate enough to have had the privelege to live and work in a democratic/liberal/understanding North European democracy so why knock it so lamely.
Worryingly having been so exploited in that place you know very little about the pension that you have paid so exorbitantly for through National insurance and other forms of deduction.For full UK pension you need 44 years of contribution not 39.After 60 years old you can get credits free of charge from the government,but only if you reside in UK.You need to find out if Thailand has a reciprocal pension agreement with UK or your pension sum will remain the same as day of departure.This has all been highlighted by recent appeals to house of Lords by an English woman wo emigrated to South Africa years ago and found that her pension payment stays the same till she dies.Smartest move is to leave UK holding address with Pension people and stay stum as to what you are doing and have money paid direct into bank account.
You will get best advice from National Insurance helpline,its free for gods sake.Digger
Rob,looks like your post has been hijacked slightly but Governor has hit the nail on the head so reread his answer.
Sorry that you feel you have been exploited for the last 40 years but you actually have been fortunate enough to have had the privelege to live and work in a democratic/liberal/understanding North European democracy so why knock it so lamely.
Worryingly having been so exploited in that place you know very little about the pension that you have paid so exorbitantly for through National insurance and other forms of deduction.For full UK pension you need 44 years of contribution not 39.After 60 years old you can get credits free of charge from the government,but only if you reside in UK.You need to find out if Thailand has a reciprocal pension agreement with UK or your pension sum will remain the same as day of departure.This has all been highlighted by recent appeals to house of Lords by an English woman wo emigrated to South Africa years ago and found that her pension payment stays the same till she dies.Smartest move is to leave UK holding address with Pension people and stay stum as to what you are doing and have money paid direct into bank account.
You will get best advice from National Insurance helpline,its free for gods sake.Digger
Don't want to get into the morals of this apart from my view that the Govt. freezing pensions for those leaving the UK is a con - after all they are not claiming or relying on other services that remain available to those who stay in the UK, so it could be argued they are less of a "burden" on the state - even if they return for medical help when needed.
But is it wise to encourage others to commit fraud and to face the consequences if caught? As if abroad, I could imagine the only penalty the state could, or would want to impose, would be claiming back the pension overpaid from ongoing payments, leaving the recipient a shortfall they hadn't budgeted for. Oh, they'll also claim against any estate left as well.
OK, the DWP and new pension service are completely incompetent in most things, especially tackling fraud. But whichever way you look at it, by claiming you continue to reside in the the UK, when you are not, to claim your annual state pension increase, is a criminal offence.
Not sure how its affected if you say you spend x months abroad? Just another angle to consider if anyone goes down this route.
On the other hand, remain in the UK, spend whatever you have managed to save until you have so little left, you can then claim from the state a means tested benefit to provide little more for anything other than basic survival before expiring.
Its a conundrum the Govt. hasn't yet worked out how to deal with, apart from trying via the back door to legislate fraud by OAP's out of the system - too many are living too long with long memories when voting day comes around.
But is it wise to encourage others to commit fraud and to face the consequences if caught? As if abroad, I could imagine the only penalty the state could, or would want to impose, would be claiming back the pension overpaid from ongoing payments, leaving the recipient a shortfall they hadn't budgeted for. Oh, they'll also claim against any estate left as well.
OK, the DWP and new pension service are completely incompetent in most things, especially tackling fraud. But whichever way you look at it, by claiming you continue to reside in the the UK, when you are not, to claim your annual state pension increase, is a criminal offence.
Not sure how its affected if you say you spend x months abroad? Just another angle to consider if anyone goes down this route.
On the other hand, remain in the UK, spend whatever you have managed to save until you have so little left, you can then claim from the state a means tested benefit to provide little more for anything other than basic survival before expiring.
Its a conundrum the Govt. hasn't yet worked out how to deal with, apart from trying via the back door to legislate fraud by OAP's out of the system - too many are living too long with long memories when voting day comes around.
Talk is cheap
As regards a uk pension , I have lived in asia over 20 years and I pay voluntary contibution every month of 35 pounds...i will pay that till I'm 65..I may not get the full state pension but it it is still a good investment. I would advise any one to pay it till they are 65 no matter where they live.