Where would sophisticated people from advanced industrialized countries with fixed means retire except in Thailand?

Well, according to many rankings, Thailand is still “it” when it comes to being the best place for people from rich countries to retire at.

Thai politics for all the head aches and disruption it causes, to many elderly who have seen it all, can still provide much needed entertainment.

So with the Thai government hell bent on pleasing people around Bangkok, zapping the economic life of the entire country so people of Bangkok can travel faster from place to place and help pushing the value of property in Bangkok up, what are the choices left for the rest of the country?

Maybe it is to stop depending on the Bangkok government and go global looking for retirement people to please.

So like who?

Well it depends, take the Middle East for example-sand is everywhere and so they aren’t all that crazy about beaches and would they just love the rain forest?

Or the Japanese, who lives in cramped environment all their lives and would they just not love great big open spaces?

Or the Italians who are on the cutting edge of arts and craft and would they not just love to retire in a place with lots of arts and crafts?

My advice is to do some homework on this and let the innovative and creative juice Thais are renowned going.

 

Retirement in rich countries becomes unaffordable

By the Economist

IN 1935, when America first introduced state pensions to relieve poverty in old age, the average life expectancy was 62. The official pension age was 65. That meant the cost of the pension system was very modest.

These days people live a lot longer. America’s official pension age is now 66, but people on average retire at 64 and can then expect to draw their pension for 16 years.

Over the next few decades things will get a lot worse because rich countries’ populations are ageing fast.

At present, the developed countries on average have about four people of working age for every person over 65. But by 2050 this will have come down to only two workers for every pensioner.

America will come off best, with a ratio of about two-and-a-half, because its population will remain relatively youthful. Britain will also do better than average, and France only slightly worse. But in Japan and Italy there will be only one-and-a-half workers for every pensioner. That will impose an unbearable burden. Pensions will have to become less generous, and most people will have to keep on working well beyond 65.