retirement Thailand Archives - Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy Get settled in Thailand in 24 hours: from visas to banking to accommodation Wed, 09 May 2018 08:07:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com/wp-content/uploads/favicon-1.ico retirement Thailand Archives - Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy 32 32 64208192 We Get Mail – From Retirees in Thailand https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com/we-get-mail-from-retirees-in-thailand/ https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com/we-get-mail-from-retirees-in-thailand/#comments Wed, 09 May 2018 18:10:02 +0000 http://www.trh.superfasttests.com/?p=1350 Mail From Retirees in Thailand Dear Neil and Bruce, I know that you guys would have heard me talk of my love of Thailand many times. But I got a reminder in the last 2 days which I thought I should relate. Monday morning I was catching a sawngthaeo from Mae Jo to Chiang Mai for […]

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]]> Mail From Retirees in Thailand

Dear Neil and Bruce,

I know that you guys would have heard me talk of my love of Thailand many times. But I got a reminder in the last 2 days which I thought I should relate.

Monday morning I was catching a sawngthaeo from Mae Jo to Chiang Mai for the first time. At one point a blind man got on. Immediately he became a joint responsibility for all passengers. That evening I was travelling back on a very crowded sawngthaeo (at least 22 passengers) hanging with several others out the back. One woman insisted on me giving her my bag which she nursed on her lap till the numbers dwindled.

Yesterday an older Thai man struck up a conversation with me – quizzing me in English while I tried to answer in Thai. When he got off, after paying his fare, he put his head back in the window and in a booming voice almost sang the words, “Welcome to my country!”

After my dental appointment yesterday I was walking back through Chinatown when I remembered I needed some powder to deal with a bad case of heat rash. I was cursing myself for not going into the pharmacy next door to the dentists which is in the heart of the tourist area and I felt sure they would speak English.

Anyway I went into a Chinese chemist asking in Thai if the assistant spoke English. I hadn’t noticed he was wearing an Aussie soccer shirt. It turned out he had studied in Melbourne where he had learned to play Aussie rules despite having played soccer all his life. He now plays Aussie rules with a team in Thailand and on ANZAC Day every year his team goes to Kachanaburi to play an international team (maybe from Malaysia or Hong Kong) to entertain returning POWS or their families. Can you believe it?

–Love Steve

If you enjoy reading mail from retirees in Thailand, please be sure to let us know. We’ll publish more!

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]]> https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com/we-get-mail-from-retirees-in-thailand/feed/ 3 1350 Australian Overseas Pension Changes https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com/australian-overseas-pension-changes/ https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com/australian-overseas-pension-changes/#respond Sun, 25 Mar 2018 07:40:30 +0000 http://www.trh.superfasttests.com/?p=4705 There have been some Australian overseas pension changes. From July 1 2014 the rules are changing on how much pension you can be paid while living or traveling outside Australia – for the worse, of course. If you leave Australia on or after July 1, 2014 and received the Age Pension or, in some circumstances, […]

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]]> There have been some Australian overseas pension changes.

From July 1 2014 the rules are changing on how much pension you can be paid while living or traveling outside Australia – for the worse, of course.

If you leave Australia on or after July 1, 2014 and received the Age Pension or, in some circumstances, the Disability Support Pension, Wife Pension, or Widow B Pension, you may be affected.

The changes will apply if you are travelling outside Australia for more than 26 weeks or are paid under the terms of one of Australia’s social security agreements with foreign countries.

To continue receiving your full rate of Australian pension you will generally need to have spent 35 years of your working life between the ages of 16 and pension age in Australia. This is an increase from the current requirement to have 25 years of Australian working life residence. You do not need to have worked or paid tax during this period.

If you have less than 35 years Australian working life residence your rate of payment will be reduced. For example, if you have 27 years Australian working life residence you will get 27/35ths, 77%, of the maximum means-tested rate of payment.

If you are already outside Australia on July 1, 2014 you can continue to receive your payment under the rules which applied when you left, unless you return and stay in Australia for 26 weeks or more.

If you’re planning to travel outside Australia you should check how these changes may affect your payments before you go. For more information, go to www.humanservices.gov.au or call 132-300.

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