Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
Jan 28th 2019, 2:47 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 28
Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
Hi All,
I'm in a quandary, been researching retirement possibilities with visits and various forum opinions. I'm about to retire in May this year.
Here in the UK I will receive a net income of about £1200 a month, my rent (housing association) and Council tax amounts to abort £510 a month.
Which country would provide me with the best standard of living? disregard health costs, I have a nest egg for that and an emergency get back to UK plan.
Thanks
I'm in a quandary, been researching retirement possibilities with visits and various forum opinions. I'm about to retire in May this year.
Here in the UK I will receive a net income of about £1200 a month, my rent (housing association) and Council tax amounts to abort £510 a month.
Which country would provide me with the best standard of living? disregard health costs, I have a nest egg for that and an emergency get back to UK plan.
Thanks
Jan 28th 2019, 4:39 pm
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: Suffolk UK
Posts: 1,179
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
I will be in a very similar situation this coming September. To quite horest its a bit of a toss up.
Jan 29th 2019, 12:17 am
#3
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 1,643
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
You may wish to get over to Portugal fast and register yourself there! Not far to go ,easy to get registered, all before Brexit date.Once registered you can take your time to decide if elsewhere is good for you.
Property costs in the Philippines is less than the Uk, so is the standard. Electricity is expensive, gas is used for cooking. Add the costs of renewing your tourist visa at regular intervals. i have assumed tourism as opposed to retirement visa or other permanent resident visas.
How much is 1KG of either Ground beef or pork at tesco. Here it is £3 and 2£ respectively(SM supermarket). local white bread is so full of sugar it is hard to get on with it. I now bake my own, imported bread maker for that!
Portugal https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...city2=Coventry
Philippines https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...city2=Coventry
I randomly selected the town names, you may wish to input your own place and the name of the place you wish to go.
Property costs in the Philippines is less than the Uk, so is the standard. Electricity is expensive, gas is used for cooking. Add the costs of renewing your tourist visa at regular intervals. i have assumed tourism as opposed to retirement visa or other permanent resident visas.
How much is 1KG of either Ground beef or pork at tesco. Here it is £3 and 2£ respectively(SM supermarket). local white bread is so full of sugar it is hard to get on with it. I now bake my own, imported bread maker for that!
Portugal https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...city2=Coventry
Philippines https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...city2=Coventry
I randomly selected the town names, you may wish to input your own place and the name of the place you wish to go.
Jan 29th 2019, 4:00 am
#4
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2017
Location: Kuching, Sarawak
Posts: 674
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
£1200/month is unfortunately just below the Single Applicant qualification for pensioners on the Sarawak MM2H here in Malaysia. RM7000 (£1300) is the minimum income for guaranteed government pensions. Or you could put RM100,000 (£18,600) in a fixed account in a Sarawak bank. But on that income you could live like a king. There are one to two bedroom condos (with on-site pools/gyms) that are about RM1000-2000, if you eat in the food courts and don't drink yourself to oblivion you can eat well (without cooking) for RM 20-30/day. (£1 = RM 4.5). Lots of natural parks, beaches, low crime, decent medical care at low cost. Mixed ethnically and religiously and the peoples get along quite well. It's a much more easy-going lifestyle than the rush-rush of the Peninsular Malaysian cities (or Asian cities in general). The lack of expat events and clatches seems to be the downside. You have to make friends with the locals (who are definitely friendly).
Sarawak My Second Home is different in requirements (lower, faster approval period) than the better known Malaysia My Second Home. Only a 5 Year Multi-Entry Visa in Sarawak (vs. 10 on the Peninsula), but easily renewable. Oddly with the Sarawak MM2H you can still live on the Peninsula if you tire of Sarawak, but the privilege is not interchangeable.
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=761316
https://www.sarawak.gov.my/web/home/..._view/221/279/
https://mtacys.sarawak.gov.my/page-0...awak-MM2H.html
There are also lots of European Retirees in Thailand but the reporting requirements are stiffer and term of visa shorter.
Sarawak My Second Home is different in requirements (lower, faster approval period) than the better known Malaysia My Second Home. Only a 5 Year Multi-Entry Visa in Sarawak (vs. 10 on the Peninsula), but easily renewable. Oddly with the Sarawak MM2H you can still live on the Peninsula if you tire of Sarawak, but the privilege is not interchangeable.
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=761316
https://www.sarawak.gov.my/web/home/..._view/221/279/
https://mtacys.sarawak.gov.my/page-0...awak-MM2H.html
There are also lots of European Retirees in Thailand but the reporting requirements are stiffer and term of visa shorter.
Jan 29th 2019, 6:20 am
#5
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2014
Location: Philippines
Posts: 1,853
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
Some excellent advice as per usual on this forum...
You sound as though you are a pensioner and have nearly the same income as me. I chose the Philippines. Tropical climate all year round, English is the second language, locals very friendly and with your income.....you will live well. You appear to be well covered as far as the health issues are concerned. The Philippines is one of the easiest countries in the world to retire to as far as visa requirements are concerned. I have been here nearly 4yrs. However, essential requirements are necessary on your part.....a very good sense of humour, and an endless amount of patience. This is a developing country. Many potential ex-pats return home after only a few months because they cannot adapt to the culture. Downside? The main one as far as I am concerned notwithstanding what I mentioned earlier is .....you are an ATM. Accept all this.....and you will enjoy your stay here.
I wish you luck in whatever you decide. Please update us on your decision.
Regards
You sound as though you are a pensioner and have nearly the same income as me. I chose the Philippines. Tropical climate all year round, English is the second language, locals very friendly and with your income.....you will live well. You appear to be well covered as far as the health issues are concerned. The Philippines is one of the easiest countries in the world to retire to as far as visa requirements are concerned. I have been here nearly 4yrs. However, essential requirements are necessary on your part.....a very good sense of humour, and an endless amount of patience. This is a developing country. Many potential ex-pats return home after only a few months because they cannot adapt to the culture. Downside? The main one as far as I am concerned notwithstanding what I mentioned earlier is .....you are an ATM. Accept all this.....and you will enjoy your stay here.
I wish you luck in whatever you decide. Please update us on your decision.
Regards
Jan 29th 2019, 10:32 am
#6
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 28
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
Hi All,
I'm in a quandary, been researching retirement possibilities with visits and various forum opinions. I'm about to retire in May this year.
Here in the UK I will receive a net income of about £1200 a month, my rent (housing association) and Council tax amounts to abort £510 a month.
Which country would provide me with the best standard of living? disregard health costs, I have a nest egg for that and an emergency get back to UK plan.
Thanks
I'm in a quandary, been researching retirement possibilities with visits and various forum opinions. I'm about to retire in May this year.
Here in the UK I will receive a net income of about £1200 a month, my rent (housing association) and Council tax amounts to abort £510 a month.
Which country would provide me with the best standard of living? disregard health costs, I have a nest egg for that and an emergency get back to UK plan.
Thanks
What advice I'm seeking is which of the UK or the Philippines would provide me with the better standard of living. I see from many forum posts that £1200 is enough for a comfortable living, BUT they often state "don't expect the same standard of living as in your home country for that income". I ask myself what do they mean by "standard of living as in your home country", everyone's standard of living in their home country can be quite varied depending on their circumstances. Lets take my example of my expected standard of living upon my retirement in May.
Rent/Council Tax: £550
Heating, Electric, Water £110
Car Insurance: £30 (small compact hatchback 7 years old)
Annual Car Service: £200
Petrol £50
Mobile/Wifi: £40
Total of above fixed costs= £980, Leaving £220 from an £1200 income. £220 for at home and out of home food ,clothing, entertainment, household essentials (i.e. cleaning stuff, bathroom essentials) etc.
I'm not convinced that I could have a good standard of living limiting my variable costs to £220 a month (one must eat, cloath and be hygienic to survive) .
For this standard of living would £1200 income in the Philippines equal or surpass my UK standard of living, I.e. provide me with higher disposable spending/saving after the expected Philippine fixed living costs.
Thanks
Jan 29th 2019, 11:48 am
#7
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Joined: Jun 2014
Location: Philippines
Posts: 1,853
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
It seems that your biggest savings freeing up more income would be rent. I pay about £140 pm for a nice house......other expats pay less. Depends on where you live I guess. I live in a small town by the sea. No need for a car where I live with plenty of public transport (tricycles). I hop onto a bus when I need to visit a supermarket etc for anything I cannot get locally. Cars btw are very expensive to buy out here for a decent second hand vehicle. My electricity/water amounts to about £35 pm.
HTH
HTH
Jan 29th 2019, 11:53 am
#8
Concierge
Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 21,137
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
Have you lived in the Philippines before? The reality is often very different to the dream.
Jan 29th 2019, 12:35 pm
#9
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 28
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
It seems that your biggest savings freeing up more income would be rent. I pay about £140 pm for a nice house......other expats pay less. Depends on where you live I guess. I live in a small town by the sea. No need for a car where I live with plenty of public transport (tricycles). I hop onto a bus when I need to visit a supermarket etc for anything I cannot get locally. Cars btw are very expensive to buy out here for a decent second hand vehicle. My electricity/water amounts to about £35 pm.
HTH
HTH
However you have not quite answered my question in comparing like for like in the Philippines and the UK, Re: Taking into account running a car in both countries, yes I may not need a vehicle in the Philippines but for comparison of determining disposable income in both countries for a similar standard of living we should take this into account. Are vehicle running costs more or less expensive than UK? I'm only thinking of a 2nd hand runaround, longer distance I would take public transport.
Your right, I also believe that the Rent should bring about the most savings, maybe the other fixed and variable costs would be equal (i.e. that is if I keep my western food habits etc). I have been looking at web sites (dot property, property 24, etc) but find that the sqm sizes rather compact, especially condo's and nearly all are inland (that is to be expected since people like to live near work). So again in relation to my question about standard of living comparison, would a 40 sqm house/condo be of similar/lower/higher cost than my UK home.
I will IM you directly concerning locations etc, I also have other factors I would like to discuss with you that I prefer not to be on the forum.
Again Thanks for your advice.
Jan 29th 2019, 12:48 pm
#10
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 28
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
I'm an experienced expat living and working in other countries, so know what its like and the difficulties settling in and accepting different customs, this was for the first 20 years of my working life, mainly Europe, Australia, US. The latter 20 years have been based in the UK, with the "Tourist" experience of the far east. India , Thailand, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
My 1st wife was from Sri Lanka of Malaysian ethnicity.and spent many months there between jobs, so have a feel of living amongst Asians and their 'Way of life'
So will not be a complete stranger to new environment, but feel confident that my life experiences will help me through the Rumsfields (Known Knowns, Unknown Knowns, Known Unknows and hopefully not the Unknown Unknowns).
Thanks
Jan 29th 2019, 2:58 pm
#11
Lowering the tone
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Here and there
Posts: 7,340
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
Apologies all, My mistake in the last sentence of my post. By 'Which country' I Meant which of the countries mentioned in the post title 'UK v Philippines'. I have done my global research of alternative retirement destinations suitable to my budget and have decided upon the Philippines.
What advice I'm seeking is which of the UK or the Philippines would provide me with the better standard of living. I see from many forum posts that £1200 is enough for a comfortable living, BUT they often state "don't expect the same standard of living as in your home country for that income". I ask myself what do they mean by "standard of living as in your home country", everyone's standard of living in their home country can be quite varied depending on their circumstances. Lets take my example of my expected standard of living upon my retirement in May.
Rent/Council Tax: £550
Heating, Electric, Water £110
Car Insurance: £30 (small compact hatchback 7 years old)
Annual Car Service: £200
Petrol £50
Mobile/Wifi: £40
Total of above fixed costs= £980, Leaving £220 from an £1200 income. £220 for at home and out of home food ,clothing, entertainment, household essentials (i.e. cleaning stuff, bathroom essentials) etc.
I'm not convinced that I could have a good standard of living limiting my variable costs to £220 a month (one must eat, cloath and be hygienic to survive) .
For this standard of living would £1200 income in the Philippines equal or surpass my UK standard of living, I.e. provide me with higher disposable spending/saving after the expected Philippine fixed living costs.
Thanks
What advice I'm seeking is which of the UK or the Philippines would provide me with the better standard of living. I see from many forum posts that £1200 is enough for a comfortable living, BUT they often state "don't expect the same standard of living as in your home country for that income". I ask myself what do they mean by "standard of living as in your home country", everyone's standard of living in their home country can be quite varied depending on their circumstances. Lets take my example of my expected standard of living upon my retirement in May.
Rent/Council Tax: £550
Heating, Electric, Water £110
Car Insurance: £30 (small compact hatchback 7 years old)
Annual Car Service: £200
Petrol £50
Mobile/Wifi: £40
Total of above fixed costs= £980, Leaving £220 from an £1200 income. £220 for at home and out of home food ,clothing, entertainment, household essentials (i.e. cleaning stuff, bathroom essentials) etc.
I'm not convinced that I could have a good standard of living limiting my variable costs to £220 a month (one must eat, cloath and be hygienic to survive) .
For this standard of living would £1200 income in the Philippines equal or surpass my UK standard of living, I.e. provide me with higher disposable spending/saving after the expected Philippine fixed living costs.
Thanks
Jan 29th 2019, 3:47 pm
#12
Concierge
Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 21,137
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
Only a few trips 4/5 weeks at a time mainly Cavite, Luzon, Batangas visiting partners family and touring.
I'm an experienced expat living and working in other countries, so know what its like and the difficulties settling in and accepting different customs, this was for the first 20 years of my working life, mainly Europe, Australia, US. The latter 20 years have been based in the UK, with the "Tourist" experience of the far east. India , Thailand, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
My 1st wife was from Sri Lanka of Malaysian ethnicity.and spent many months there between jobs, so have a feel of living amongst Asians and their 'Way of life'
So will not be a complete stranger to new environment, but feel confident that my life experiences will help me through the Rumsfields (Known Knowns, Unknown Knowns, Known Unknows and hopefully not the Unknown Unknowns).
Thanks
I'm an experienced expat living and working in other countries, so know what its like and the difficulties settling in and accepting different customs, this was for the first 20 years of my working life, mainly Europe, Australia, US. The latter 20 years have been based in the UK, with the "Tourist" experience of the far east. India , Thailand, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
My 1st wife was from Sri Lanka of Malaysian ethnicity.and spent many months there between jobs, so have a feel of living amongst Asians and their 'Way of life'
So will not be a complete stranger to new environment, but feel confident that my life experiences will help me through the Rumsfields (Known Knowns, Unknown Knowns, Known Unknows and hopefully not the Unknown Unknowns).
Thanks
Lots of useful advice here from expats already living in the Philippines, as you've seen. You've said you have the health thing sorted, so I'm assuming you've taken into account that you'll need to pay for absolutely everything in the Philippines, including GP visits and prescriptions. Also, do keep in the back of your mind the unknown unknowns! Things that we hope will never happen, but do (as seen throughout this forum). One of the biggest problems we can face when we get older is an unexpected medical event that leaves us dependent on others for our day to day care. I know you've said that you've covered getting back to the UK, but if you're not fit to fly you'd need to either pay for a medical evac flight (think in the 10s of thousands of pounds), or pay for that care in the Philippines - others will be able to advise you on the likely quality and cost of that care.
On the up side, Jingsamichy has found you another couple of hundred quid per month in your UK budget! Best of luck in whatever you decide.
Jan 29th 2019, 4:26 pm
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: Suffolk UK
Posts: 1,179
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
If you wanted to live exactly the same in the UK and the Philippines the Philippines would be more expensive. The benifit of the Philippines is that it's easier to live cheaper.
Jan 29th 2019, 5:53 pm
#14
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: bute
Posts: 9,740
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
UK is better for Health Care. Phillippines wins on other points - if you can deal with the difficulties of living in The Third World.
Last edited by scot47; Jan 29th 2019 at 6:28 pm.
Jan 29th 2019, 11:30 pm
#15
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 466
Re: Pensioner Retirement UK v Philippines
I have lived permanently in the Philippines for the last 26 months ,although have been visiting here for over 23 years. Financially you will be far better off in the Philippines.I am married to a Filipino for 26 years and this obviously has helped me in many aspects of settling here. Living here is inexpensive compared to the UK. I have kept a brief record of our monthly expenditure:
Rent - We own the property
Council tax -£88 per year
Sub Division fees £205 per year ( it is unlikely you will have to pay these if living in non sub division)
Electric - £70 - £102 per month, although this has been reduced to £36 month having solar panels installed
Water - £5.50 month includes watering garden daily.
Internet and TV £23 month ( unlimited internet and 100 plus tv channels)
Netflix - £8 month
Food - £220 month ( for 2 persons, does not include cigarettes or alcohol) If I ate mostly Filipino food the cost would reduce dramatically)
Car insurance- £83 yearly ( this is car tax and third party insurance, which is compulsory). My other car is fully comprehensive and costs £748 yearly which is much higher than the UK. New and used cars are more expensive than in the UK.
Car Servicing- Main dealer £117, non dealer much cheaper.
Petrol 65 pence/Ltd very cheap.
Renewal of tourist visa - ask members, I have permanent visa. Would recommend you apply for SRRV visa.
Our other expenses are eating out, and entertaining, which is very dependent on your lifestyle.
Pros:
Cheap to live here.
Friendly People
Good Climate
Very cheap Labour ( For work around the house etc.)
Domestic help cheap and available.
Good banking facilities
Cons :
Medical costs ( hospital costs and medication)
Driving - Roads are awful, and getting anywhere is painfully slow.
Shoping - lack of stock and quality
Paperwork - Ridiculously long winded and tedious.
appointments - Filipinos generally never turn up on time, do not communicate, or even turn up.Getting anything done is hard work. You need bucketloads of patience.
Queues at checkout.
Sub standard workmanship. ( any work carried out needs many attempts to get it correct)
Patience is the key word, but eventually you learn to accept these shortcomings.
My most important advice would be to be careful where you locate to, it’s imperative that you move to an area where there are other ex-pats so you can make friends with likeminded individuals. It is also important that you keep yourself occupied otherwise you will find life boring and a slog. Many ex-pats end up alcoholics due to have nothing better to do then drink. A final remark, do get a permanent visa, without one you cannot get a driving licence or a bank account ( some will say you can, but trust me this is not the case anymore). Make good connections with the right people, they can help you immeasurably.
Rent - We own the property
Council tax -£88 per year
Sub Division fees £205 per year ( it is unlikely you will have to pay these if living in non sub division)
Electric - £70 - £102 per month, although this has been reduced to £36 month having solar panels installed
Water - £5.50 month includes watering garden daily.
Internet and TV £23 month ( unlimited internet and 100 plus tv channels)
Netflix - £8 month
Food - £220 month ( for 2 persons, does not include cigarettes or alcohol) If I ate mostly Filipino food the cost would reduce dramatically)
Car insurance- £83 yearly ( this is car tax and third party insurance, which is compulsory). My other car is fully comprehensive and costs £748 yearly which is much higher than the UK. New and used cars are more expensive than in the UK.
Car Servicing- Main dealer £117, non dealer much cheaper.
Petrol 65 pence/Ltd very cheap.
Renewal of tourist visa - ask members, I have permanent visa. Would recommend you apply for SRRV visa.
Our other expenses are eating out, and entertaining, which is very dependent on your lifestyle.
Pros:
Cheap to live here.
Friendly People
Good Climate
Very cheap Labour ( For work around the house etc.)
Domestic help cheap and available.
Good banking facilities
Cons :
Medical costs ( hospital costs and medication)
Driving - Roads are awful, and getting anywhere is painfully slow.
Shoping - lack of stock and quality
Paperwork - Ridiculously long winded and tedious.
appointments - Filipinos generally never turn up on time, do not communicate, or even turn up.Getting anything done is hard work. You need bucketloads of patience.
Queues at checkout.
Sub standard workmanship. ( any work carried out needs many attempts to get it correct)
Patience is the key word, but eventually you learn to accept these shortcomings.
My most important advice would be to be careful where you locate to, it’s imperative that you move to an area where there are other ex-pats so you can make friends with likeminded individuals. It is also important that you keep yourself occupied otherwise you will find life boring and a slog. Many ex-pats end up alcoholics due to have nothing better to do then drink. A final remark, do get a permanent visa, without one you cannot get a driving licence or a bank account ( some will say you can, but trust me this is not the case anymore). Make good connections with the right people, they can help you immeasurably.
