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Like I said, it's not the primary reason, but if you only have to work an extra year or less to qualify and you'll just have that much more in savings, it seems silly not to do it.
I'm in the same situation. As a grandfathered OPERS employee, I did not contribute to Social Security or Medicare, nor did I earn credits. I had 35 credits from other jobs, however. After retirement, I worked part-time at another OPERS job, and earned the additional Medicare credits I needed. OPERS is paying Medicare A for grandfathered employees, but if that benefit goes away, I'm covered. I could go back to work at a non-OPERS job, and earn the 5 credits I need for Social Security. There are lots of part-time jobs out there, but they are all service jobs. Further, I do not want to miss church or church council meetings due to a part-time job.
The WEP is fair, as Social Security pays a larger percentage to low-income recipients. Those of us with a government pension who did not pay into Social Security should not get the same benefits as those without a government pension.
A reality check for those who do not look forward to assisted living.
When son in law's parent's needed minor looking after, they bought the house next door to DD and SIL. Ten years later it is running 250K a year for the 7 employees needed to keep them at home. That's just for the paid help. DD does the shopping and cooking and seeing that they eat healthy meals.
SIL may as well be running a small business supervising, doing the payroll, etc. Nobody figured they live to be 101. The chart says they will probably live to be 105.
I'll be moving into assisted living. In my town currently that runs 3500-6000K a month. That's for an apartment and 1 meal a day. If you push the button for any kind of need add 50 bucks a trip.
Interesting. I was not aware that at least some assisted living facilities had as nic charges like the one you mentioned for “pushing the button”. I guess that helps keep costs down for residents who need a bit less care. It would probably be my demise…I’d be sitting there dying and thinking do I really want to spend that extra $50. Ha.
If you have 3K to 4K a month in income, then you have other options besides Mexico.
My whole point was places like Mexico aren't as cheap as some people imagine (i.e. living there comfortably on 1k or 2k a month). And you're basically backing that up.
I thought the point I saw being made was that Mexico is only cheap if you live like a local, but I'd contend that for equal money you can live much more comfortably in Mexico even if you did have the occasional gringo indulgences. $2k/month comfortably in Mexico is doable for a single person depending on where they live, although "comfortably" is a pretty subjective word. I'd agree that the clickbait blog posts about $1,000/month in Mexico or $600/month in Chiang Mai are nonsense, every time I see show the math they have zero buffer so anything happens outside of their carefully planned tight little budget they're the ones are passing the hat on gofundme to pay for their teeth or to go home to their sister's funeral.
Obviously nobody planning a permanent move to Mexico should count on the 180, even when they are automatically giving it to tourists with new system it isn't meant for permanent tourists and I'd be surprised if it would work more than a couple times before they get questioned and ride is over. But again, for someone like you who can prove money in the bank and/or income who cares, just get the temp residency.
I'm in the same situation. As a grandfathered OPERS employee, I did not contribute to Social Security or Medicare, nor did I earn credits. I had 35 credits from other jobs, however. After retirement, I worked part-time at another OPERS job, and earned the additional Medicare credits I needed. OPERS is paying Medicare A for grandfathered employees, but if that benefit goes away, I'm covered. I could go back to work at a non-OPERS job, and earn the 5 credits I need for Social Security. There are lots of part-time jobs out there, but they are all service jobs. Further, I do not want to miss church or church council meetings due to a part-time job.
I've got just over 2 years before my pension kicks in. Rents and housing prices have gone up a lot even in many lower cost areas. So, after taking a year off, instead of raiding my retirement accounts, I'm going to go back to work, at least part time. If I work another 2 years, I'll be pretty close to having all my credits for SS. I'll have to check and see. But if I get within, say, 4 credits of qualifying, it seems silly not to go back to work to qualify.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mshultz
The WEP is fair, as Social Security pays a larger percentage to low-income recipients. Those of us with a government pension who did not pay into Social Security should not get the same benefits as those without a government pension.
Yes, I agree. It's completely fair for the reason you mentioned. People at work would always talk about it as if they were getting ripped off. I was always like "Sheesh, you're already getting a government pension that's way more generous than SS. The WEP is there because otherwise you'd be treated as if you were a low income worker, which you were not". These days, I don't bother to argue, as it falls on deaf ears. People are not rational about money.
I thought the point I saw being made was that Mexico is only cheap if you live like a local, but I'd contend that for equal money you can live much more comfortably in Mexico even if you did have the occasional gringo indulgences. $2k/month comfortably in Mexico is doable for a single person depending on where they live, although "comfortably" is a pretty subjective word. I'd agree that the clickbait blog posts about $1,000/month in Mexico or $600/month in Chiang Mai are nonsense, every time I see show the math they have zero buffer so anything happens outside of their carefully planned tight little budget they're the ones are passing the hat on gofundme to pay for their teeth or to go home to their sister's funeral.
I'll concede I had limited experience, but I just wasn't that impressed with the overall quality of life there. (Ugly housing/cities, little greenery in neighborhoods away from the coastal strip, etc.) Granted, Cancun/Playa del Carmen is more expensive than most of Mexico. I like the typical person there better than the typical American. But living there, you're also a target for unscrupulous people in a way that the typical Mexican person isn't. Not being fluent in Spanish also makes things more difficult.
I think maybe after you've been there awhile, your cost of living drops, but there are setup costs. My friend had to pay $1500 to get her 2 year residency from a service provider because it was practically impossible to get an appointment with the consulate. And I don't think you're going to get the best deals on rent moving there as a newcomer, either.
The main savings I saw were that you don't have to have a car and health care costs are much lower, even if you're paying out of pocket. (And if you get away from American food, you probably won't need as much medical care. I lost 9 lbs when I was there, without trying and I'm already skinny!)
You also pointed out another example: Flying back to the U.S. Maybe some people in the U.S. travel around a lot anyway, so it wouldn't be an additional expense for them. But for a lot of people, they end up traveling back to the U.S. for family or other things, which is an extra expense in their budgets.
So, even the more realistic articles/videos I've read and watched still don't include all of the costs. Moving somewhere like Mexico is likely going to have more irregular expense "surprises" than the U.S. that I don't think always get factored into the monthly budgets that are stated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lieqiang
Obviously nobody planning a permanent move to Mexico should count on the 180, even when they are automatically giving it to tourists with new system it isn't meant for permanent tourists and I'd be surprised if it would work more than a couple times before they get questioned and ride is over. But again, for someone like you who can prove money in the bank and/or income who cares, just get the temp residency.
Yes, I agree with that. Although it was probably never advisable, I think it used to be easier to get away with doing perpetual visa runs in the past than it would be now.
(And if you get away from American food, you probably won't need as much medical care. I lost 9 lbs when I was there, without trying and I'm already skinny!)
And the cost of food itself. Eating out for lunch can be under 100 pesos, beers at a bar 40 pesos, supermarket items like chicken and fruits/veggies generally far cheaper than in USA. I used to buy shrimp at about $4/pound, and tuna steaks were very affordable. Salmon was a big exception though, that is a perfect example of something that isn't sourced locally so costs you an arm and a leg.
The thing about retiring to Mexico (or similar) is that it is very inexpensive to live like a Mexican in Mexico but not so much to live like an American in Mexico. US ex-pats typically want their AC, their processed food products, etc.
I disagree. Housing, transportation, and healthcare are usually the highest costs in retirement, all of which can be cheaper in a developing country even if you want to "live like an American."
If you want a villa with ocean view in a top tourist spot in Thailand, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic etc. of course that's going to cost you "American prices" as people from all over the world want that and will pay to move there. But if you want the option of having an affordable place, affordable transportation, and affordable healthcare, your best bang for your buck is still a developing country. Otherwise things like medical tourism would not exist.
In Thailand, I didn't need a car, I had a motorbike, baht bus, or motorbike taxi. I didn't need to get expensive food, I had street cart vendors and local marts. I didn't need expensive housing, I had a nice affordable apartment. I had the beach, island, entertainment, malls, bars, clubs, etc. all for a cheap price. I was certainly living like an American at far cheaper prices.
I disagree. Housing, transportation, and healthcare are usually the highest costs in retirement, all of which can be cheaper in a developing country even if you want to "live like an American."
In Thailand, I didn't need a car, I had a motorbike, baht bus, or motorbike taxi. I didn't need to get expensive food, I had street cart vendors and local marts. I didn't need expensive housing, I had a nice affordable apartment. I had the beach, island, entertainment, malls, bars, clubs, etc. all for a cheap price. I was certainly living like an American at far cheaper prices.
Straw man. Nobody said it wasn't "cheaper" just that it isn't as cheap as claimed to be, if you're not living like a local.
Sorry, your Thailand life doesn't sound like how most Americans live. Car ownership is 80% with 92% of households having access to a car in the US. Few Americans, percentage wise, are getting around solely on a motorbike or public transit, eating from street carts and local markets. Sounds like you adjusted your lifestyle to what worked locally.
And the cost of food itself. Eating out for lunch can be under 100 pesos, beers at a bar 40 pesos, supermarket items like chicken and fruits/veggies generally far cheaper than in USA. I used to buy shrimp at about $4/pound, and tuna steaks were very affordable. Salmon was a big exception though, that is a perfect example of something that isn't sourced locally so costs you an arm and a leg.
Eating out is definitely cheaper. I didn't notice the grocery prices were lower, though. Maybe a little, but not a lot.
Straw man. Nobody said it wasn't "cheaper" just that it isn't as cheap as claimed to be, if you're not living like a local.
Agreed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia
Sorry, your Thailand life doesn't sound like how most Americans live. Car ownership is 80% with 92% of households having access to a car in the US. Few Americans, percentage wise, are getting around solely on a motorbike or public transit, eating from street carts and local markets. Sounds like you adjusted your lifestyle to what worked locally.
Many ex-pats maintain their US health insurance.
Personally, I'd love to live without a car. But if I were going somewhere like Thailand or Mexico, I'd really have to commit to living there and get rid of my car in the U.S. I wasn't ready to make that commitment.
I don't know why anyone would maintain their U.S. health insurance if not in the U.S. I'm sure there must be practical reasons, but health insurance is a complete rip off. I would much rather have a system like Thailand or Mexico, where there's no insurance middleman for most medical care and you just have insurance for the hospital or other expensive treatments.
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I've got just over 2 years before my pension kicks in. Rents and housing prices have gone up a lot even in many lower cost areas. So, after taking a year off, instead of raiding my retirement accounts, I'm going to go back to work, at least part time. If I work another 2 years, I'll be pretty close to having all my credits for SS. I'll have to check and see. But if I get within, say, 4 credits of qualifying, it seems silly not to go back to work to qualify. 
