larrabee

I realize this doesn't affect hotscot but for the benefit of others..... the category of Retired Person of Independent Means has been closed, unfortunately.

scot47

For the genuinely avaricious and true worshipper of Mammon - NO !

Hotscot

I'm thinking a wee cottage in the Trossachs with a life of gardening, hiking, concerts and the occasional trip across the channel.

dunroving

I'm thinking you could easily do that with just £750k capital. If you need help figuring out what to do with the £250k left over, let me know.

not2old

For you, I can see it now

with a cool million (or a bit less, say 80% of that money today) I'd be moving now & not waiting the 4-5 years as you mentioned up post, because things can & do change rather quickly. If the numbers work out & you're in a position to do it today - if its doable, then do it.

Short time living - long time dead

Good luck with your plan

not2old

A bargain if ever there was one - just goes to show if you wait long enough & likely a great B&b with a fast payback

Once described as the 'grandest house in Scotland', Britain's most expensive repo home is being sold for a knockdown price of £1.6 million.

Melville House with its 11 main bedrooms, seven reception rooms and stunning architectural features has become one of the greatest bargains on the housing market.

The pile, set in 16 acres at Monimail, near Cupar, Fife, Scotland, is the former home of the politician who helped Prince William of Orange take the throne.

It was on the market for £4.5 million, but now just £1.6 million is being asked for it.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2f0RnIeYx

windsong

Beautiful area but extremely expensive, I think. Escape to the Country on the BBC iPlayer just did a program in Perthshire. Well worth watching to get an idea of the property.

Hotscot

We like the area around Callandar and also Comrie.
I wish there were better developed cities or large towns on the West Coast, like on the East. Obviously there's Oban and Fort William but I have my misgivings there. Although this summer we drove down the coastal road between FW and Oban. Very scenic.

scot47

What are your misgivings about Oban and Fort William ? Too many white settlers ?

Hotscot

Although I find Fort William to be a beautiful part of the country i found the town itself to be a bit tired/rundown.

Oban....bit far out from Glasgow/Edinburgh I guess. For concerts, restaurants, medical facilities etc..

That leaves me with Perth, Stirling, Callendar/Comrie area etc..for the countryside.

Hotscot

Although I find Fort William to be a beautiful part of the country i found the town itself to be a bit tired/rundown.

Oban....bit far out from Glasgow/Edinburgh I guess. For concerts, restaurants, medical facilities etc..

That leaves me with Perth, Stirling, Callendar/Comrie area etc..for the countryside.

nun

Well that's not much information, but who cares let's speculate.

Sat you spend 250k on a house some furnishings and a car....all the stuff yo get you set up.

That leaves 750k to live on. The rule of thumb is that 4% is a safe inflation adjusted withdrawal rate in retirement......that assumes you'll have 30 or so years left and a 60/40 equity to fixed income asset allocation. If you buy an annuity you'll get lower income and higher costs, but the guarantee of income.

So at 4% annual withdrawals you'll have 30k a year plus any pensions or social security you have coming. Remember that 30k will rise by inflation every year (maybe 3%), you usually don't get that with an annuity. Only you know if that is enough for you to live on.

nun

Careful here. Annuities might pay 5%, but they yield far less. That 5% contains a lot of return of principal and and there's usually no COLA. I would not annuitize the whole 750k as you'd have no access to your capital in an emergency. Right now annuities are pretty bad deals.

nun

A cash ISA invested in savings bonds is ok for a US citizen to own, but the interest rates suck right now. Stay away from any UK pooled investment funds as they are the kiss of death with respect to US taxation. Any of the million that you have outside of US retirement accounts should be invested in a tax efficient manner for both US and UK taxes so that restricts you to interest bearing accounts like a cash ISA or US CDs or I-Bonds or certain US mutual funds that are on the HMRC distributing funds list.

If you have access to a Stable Value fund in your US retirement accounts they are a good foundation for low risk fixed income. Many are paying between 2 and 3% right now which is pretty good given you have flexible access to the money. You might look at a US single premium immediate annuity, but frankly the best ones available are from TIAA-Traditional and those are not widely available. Stay away from the UK pension market, it's a rip off, and anything with "variable annuity" in the name. If you have US SS and or UK state pension coming I wouldn't even think of buying an annuity as those 2 income streams are the best annuities you can get. You should also look at deferring both state pensions until you are 70 and spending you million before you get too old to enjoy it.

Hotscot

Great input as always Nun.
Thanks!