Retiring in Thailand getting to be more difficult for many nationalities

A lot of the population here in Thailand that are expats are retirees. They normally had normal jobs in their lives where they were definitely not wealthy, but because they paid into a pension system they can live a lot better in a place like Thailand. If they were to remain in their own home countries they would likely just be scraping by and living in relative squalor whereas over here in Thailand they can live a much more fulfilling life.

You aren't going to get a palace or anything like that but for most of the people that I know it is very easy to live off a mere $1000 to $1500 a month. In many western countries this wouldn't get you very far.

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Retirees with a minimum pension that is actually quite low, the acquisition of a long-term visa is actually very easy and cheap as well. The idea here being that Thailand wants to boost their economy with foreigners who are constantly adding to the economy with their purchases. It just makes sense.

However, I am starting to meet more and more people whose nations are turning on them, so to speak, and now this dream of living in Thailand, or other places like it, is not something they can do anymore. They get really angry about this because they paid into the retirement pension system their entire lives but now the government is making it difficult for them to actually get it back.

I'll give you some examples.

• A couple I know from Norway opted for an early retirement because they wanted to be able to enjoy their lives before their mobility became limited. I thought this was great that they had this as an option. They are in their mid 50's and have plenty of time left to explore the world. They are quite active but also enjoy a beer or 10. Well recently they have been forced to go back to Norway for a certain amount of time per year because there is a newish policy in that country where if you spend too much time consecutively out of the country, your pension will be reduced. Once it is reduced it is a huge pain in the ass to get it back to where it was, even if you are in the country.

• Another couple from Australia had basically the same thing happen to them. For 40 years of employment they paid into a system that allowed them to get it back later in life. These entitlement programs or whatever you want to call them got filled with red-tape and freeloaders over time and now the system is basically bankrupt. Therefore the government is doing a crackdown of sorts and in order to get their pension at all they have to remain in Australia for 6 months of every year. This has made retiring in Thailand, which was their original plan, impossible now. It is heartbreaking because they only way a person could possibly live in Australia for 6 months of the year would be if they own a house. Houses are absurdly expensive in Aus, so this is not something they can do. They have already resigned themselves to the fact that they are going to have to live the rest of their lives in Australia, and only make occasional vacations to Thailand. This one irritates me the most because this couple had been planning on this being their retirement plan for over a decade and now their government has squashed that idea.

• People from the UK are now experiencing a pension freeze if they live outside of the UK for "too long." I don't know the duration but once you go over that time period they cut your pension off entirely. What a load of bollox as they Brits would say.

Strangely enough the only major country that I am aware of that doesn't have restrictions like this is my own, the United States. I would imagine that it is only a matter of time before they start doing this as well so if you are an American and are planning on having your Social Security fund your ability to live cheaply overseas in your golden years I wouldn't bank on that being something that you are going to be able to do. I would recommend that you seek out a private investment plan away from the government if you ever want to be free of the shackles of the expensive western world.

These stories are extremely frustrating and tragic and I feel the anger of the people I know along with them. People spend their entire lives working towards something only to have the government pull the rug out from under them. I don't plan on relying on the government for anything in the future because I believe that given the opportunity to screw you over, that they will take it.

Retiring in a developing country like Vietnam can be a wonderful thing since you can live quite nicely off of under $2000 a month but that all means nothing if your home government is going to screw you out of what is rightfully yours.