This is the question that I'm pondering right now, because in 12 months or so I will finally hit the big 66, which is the age when I will start to receive my UK state pension. I will have paid in 29 out of the 35 years, thanks to making voluntary top-ups to the UK national insurance system since leaving the UK about 23 years ago. When I hit 66, I will start to receive the equivalent of $1,000 USD every month.
Now, due to a combination of stupidity, divorces, wanton expenditure and bad business decisions throughout my life, if I stop my online teaching then I will have no other income, (unless I create an additional and new income). But hey! that's not a problem if I remain single, remain debt-free and live a modest and healthy lifestyle in a low-cost country.
I currently live in Luang Prabang, Laos. Out of all the places that I have lived in (Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket, Nong Khai, Kanchanaburi, Pattaya, Bueng Kan, Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyitaw) in south-east Asia, I feel most at home in Luang Prabang
So why am I pondering my retirement destination? This is why....
1 - My lungs are 'delicate'. The annual burning season has seen my lungs badly affected for almost 3 months. At night I have to sleep on my stomach with my head lying off my bed so that gravity helps the white frothy phlegm out of my body and dripping onto the floor (too much information there!). Each week I spend $$$ on cough medicines, throat pastilles etc. Now, as the rains start in Laos, my lungs and throat are recovering well and I'm almost back to my normal health. But the annual burning season will never go away, not here in Laos nor north Thailand nor Cambodia. I can make my rented house 'airtight', but it would not be much fun living in a 'bubble'. Really, for the sake of my own health and life-expectancy I need to get away from air pollution. So perhaps south Thailand, such as Ao Nang, where my ex #3 (the sane one!) has a small, modern house that she doesn't live in and will rent out to me for about $250 a month. The air is salty sea air, hot and humid, and that's good for my lungs.
But now, issue 2 raises its ugly head....
2 - My UK state pension will remain frozen for the rest of my life at the initial monthly amount if I continue to live in Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia etc etc. This is because of a lack of agreement between those countries and the UK social welfare system. So my $1,000 a month will still be $1,000 a month when I reach 90 years old (if I last that long), whereas a typical annual increase in the UK state pension of 5% will see my monthly pension hit $4,000 a month (compounding) if I live in the UK OR.... if I live in a country with a social welfare agreement.
The Philippines has such an agreement
Therefore, if I were to move to a coastal region somewhere in that country, my lungs would thank me, and so would my bank manager. And I would no longer need to fear another police raid on my ham radio station in Laos! (There are many radio hams in The Philippines).
Well, I have never visited The Philippines, but maybe I need to make an important decision about my future. Yes, I've heard that the food is terrible and it's a dangerous place, but Mr Google tells me otherwise if I choose a rural location, away from a big city. Mr Google also tells me that certain islands such as Palawan are generally not affected by typhoons and certainly no earthquakes or Volcanoes.
So what should I do? Any good reason not to take a visit to The Philippines to see what it's like and perhaps find a cheap house to rent?