Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Hi all

I am new to this site, so please bear with me.

My partner and I are retired Brits and have been in Malaysia for 5 months. We recently applied to join the Malaysia My 2nd Home Scheme. ….. I have two questions to ask.


1. Are there any other Brits out there who have applied to join MM2H scheme, and if so, did it all go smoothly?

2. If we are accepted on the MM2H scheme we will start to look around for somewhere to settle. We would like to be in an area where there are other retired ex-pats. Does anyone know where and if there are any such communities in Malaysia?

Any suggestions or info will be much appreciated.
Thanks.

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

It seems to be a good scheme (MM2H) if you like Malaysia. Understand there are a lot of retired expats (and non-retired expats!) on Penang. Langkawi is very nice and has expats but probably does not have adequate infrastructure for retired life. A lot of expats also like Malacca (Melaka). Try doing some googles to check out. Good luck.

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Hi Folks,

Like you we are contemplating joining the MM2H scheme following early retirement (58) and moving out to Penang next year. We have visited Malaysia frequently over the past 10 years and have got to know it fairly well.

Question: You may know the answer to this and save me the bother of checking it out. I understand the UK will not tax my pensions after a certain period of time (6 months or so). I have also read under MM2H the Malaysian Government has exempted expat pensions from tax. If this is true then my pensions will be tax free after the qualifying period of absence from the UK. Does anyone know if this is for sure?

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Well, my husband has just started drawing from his private UK pension (though he is still working till the end of the year - work income not taxed in UK but in Singapore where we currently live). We are now in our 3rd year out of the UK and the Inland Revenue is taking UK tax off his pension income. Does not seem right since we have no income (apart from this) from the UK - but Gordon Brown is/was good at this sort of thing.

Hopefully some others can post some answers and comments.

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Thank you for that K. Yes, I find the UK pension rules somewhat ambiguous. It implies that if you are out of the UK for 183 consecutive days then you stop paying tax but I'm not certain that this applies to pensions. I could perhaps understand them taxing the old age pension but why private pensions should be liable for tax when you have clearly 'gone' I can't work out.

Are you a resident of Singapore? Any regrets?....

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

IIRC even if you are non resident in UK for tax purposes any income generated in the UK is subject to tax if greater than the tax free allowance of 5250 quid or whatever.

It's 'always' been like that.:curse:

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

to ex reg: well it's the only UK income that husband has so maybe he'll get it back in a tax rebate at some later date.

to leelec: no regrets about moving our business to Singapore - it's a great place to run a business (great infrastructure and very low taxes). We are currently "resident" but not "permanent resident" - it seems that we cannot get permanent residency (too old we suspect and not been here long enough) and Singapore does not have a "retirement visa" scheme for foreigners. Ironically, moving to Singapore has put us in a position to retire early. So at the end of year, we are moving to Thailand. We did look at other options (both Malaysia and Philippines seem to have good retirement schemes) but we just seem to fit in better in Thailand. There are of course good and bad points to all countries - you just have to choose the one that suits you I think. Best of luck in your future plans!

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Grady,

Have you had any responses from others on the MM2H scheme? Like you we want to know more and it would be nice to strike up a dialogue with those that are experiencing it now. I have tried canvassing on the 'penangtalk' website but so far to no avail.

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

1. Britain has the most number of people joining the MM2H scheme for the year 2007, they also has the highest approved rate for that. If you have fulfill all the requirement for the scheme, then you should not have to worry for the rejection.

2. If you are looking for a place to retire, then I would say that Penang is the suitable place for you. Though it is just a small island, but the infrastructure is good. It is also a convenient island where you will be able to get everything within a short distance.

p/s: has your visa being approved?? :)

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

If you are staying in Malaysia under the MM2H scheme, all you offshore income such as pension will not be taxed. As this is one of the benefits for the MM2H participants.

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Hi Leelec

Thank you for your message. My apologies for not responding earlier, I have not looked at this site recently.

I haven't had any response from others on the MM2H Scheme, so am pleased to make your acquaintance.

We have had a few administration/interpretation problems with the MM2H programme application. The authorities seem to be continually revising the rules of the programme.

We submitted our application at the beginning of the year as per the instructions on the MM2H website at the time. We chose to go the fixed deposit route of RM150,000 in Malaysia Bank. Although the routes at that time were stated as EITHER deposit OR monthly pension income we were still asked to produce proof of “pension income”, which caused some confusion at our end. Subsequently our application was delayed until we realised that they required both proof of financial adequacy and fixed deposit, we then had to get copies of our bank statements and investments sent from over to Malaysia from UK.

(I notice that the website has been amended and now clearly states that fixed deposit is not enough and asks for certified copy of latest bank statement /other related financial document to indicate the financial capability to support stay in Malaysia).

Hopefully this matter is now resolved, we have recently been issued with a reference number and the first stage of our application is "under process".

Regards
Grady

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Thanks for that Ameinleo

We are still awaiting approval of our visa, as our application was delayed. (see my post to Leelec).

Regards
Grady

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Hi Katongkaren

Thank you for the suggestions. We are heading to Langkawi at the end of the month to check out the facilities. Our lifestyle requirements are simple, we like beaches, nature and a laid-back atmosphere. We lived in India for a while, so the infrastructure of Langkawi will be more adequate than we are accustomed to.

Regards
Grady

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Not by much;)

Re: Retirement in Malaysia and MM2H Scheme
 

Langkawi is a beautiful island and great food - enjoy your holiday and have fun!