christmasoompa

The UK side of it is easy though, OP can check that online in a couple of minutes, and work out how much extra he'd get if he paid for extra years.

So I think it must be the US side of things that is variable and he needs help with. Hopefully somebody will have a contact or suggestion for him.

MMcD

I understand. That shouldn't preclude his brother (whom he trusts, at least) from familiarity with a suitable recommendation.
As a retired Chartered Accountant he'd at least know where to turn - even if he's personally unfamiliar with a suitable individual.

No?

Rete

How can you do financial planning in regards to funds you are entitled to and will receive from any old age benefits or pensions from either the UK or the US? They are variables and the amounts can and will change over the years until your retirement age.

In the US, social security benefits are not payable until you reach age 62 and then it is only a percentage of what it would be if you had reached full retirement age. On top of that you need to know what your UK retirement benefits will be to calculate what WEP will be in order to determine the final amount of what you are eligible to receive.

You might be able to reach a ball park figure but that figure will change, either upwards or downwards, based on other criteria.

I know that WEP just about wiped out my husband's US social security leaving him unable to support himself on US SS benefits. Thankfully, I still worked and we didn't drown in debt. With the poor rate of exchange, his Canadian retirement is just about worthless these days and bringing it into the US isn't worth much.

UKadventurer7

Yes, I think my brother can be a great resource on the UK side of things. He’s got no vested interests or agenda other than helping me. He’s already been retired for about 5+ years and is financially independent yet he’s only 1 year older than me. When the proceeds of my parents’ will is distributed, estimated at about £200k for my share, I hope he’ll give me suggestions on what do with the money. I could potentially take early retirement at that point. Or keep working and saving until I can’t stand it anymore. Or something in the middle. My fiancée is a lot younger than me and can keep working long into my retirement. If we stay in Mongolia, she won’t earn much even though she’s a professional. Currently, she can earn about $500 per month there.

Right now, we make about $2.5k net per month working part time. We save about $1.5k per month, on average, and live frugally on about $1k per month. If I work another 3 years, my nest egg could be about $300k.

I generally enjoy my work. I teach English online to Chinese kids. So, I may take a middle approach where I reduce my hours so I just work a 3 day week for 3 more years which would reduce our income to $2k between us and mean less savings but I still wouldn’t need to dip into my nest egg and I’d have more time for recreational activities.

I suppose I should be looking at what to do with all that cash. At the very least, to keep, pace with inflation but without substantial risk. Any thoughts on something in the UK because the money would otherwise just stay in my UK bank account and get almost no interest?

spouse of scouse

Are you planning to stay in Mongolia after retirement? I'm not asking to be a sticky beak, I just want to make sure that if you plan to live in the UK you're aware of the requirements for your wife to obtain a spouse visa.

UKadventurer7

We hope to be based in Mongolia for the nicer part of the year and spend winters somewhere warmer. The problem with Mongolia is similar to the problem with the UK: spouse visas. Recently, Mongolian immigration started denying spouse visas to Mongolian marrying foreigners. They don’t have to say why and there’s no right of appeal. It seems political. Anyway, when we get married, we’ll try to get me a spouse visa which is 5 years and extendable. If I’m refused, we’ll look at our other options. Living in the UK is a possibility if I can meet the requirements. I knew the requirements in 2010 but haven’t looked recently. I just know they got stricter since then. A few of my friends have taken their foreign wives back to the UK after living in Asia and successfully got spouse visas. I’ll take another look to have the option. However, I prefer to live in Asia.

spouse of scouse

Yes, there have been lots of changes to the spouse visa rules. The one that has caused the most difficulty for many is the financial requirements. They're quite long winded, but a very basic gist is that you as your wife's sponsor must either have an annual income of at least £18,600, or have cash savings of at least £62,500. If you'd like some more info then our UK immigration and visas sub-forum is the best place to post, there are some very knowledgeable long term members there who'd be pleased to help you out.

UKadventurer7

we could probably meet those requirements if the UK looks like a possible place to retire. I’m not terribly keen because of the weather but there are advantages and we can always escape the weather, assuming covid19 doesn’t kill the travel industry. My fiancée is open to living there.

I had some success getting my US Social security summary. I called them and got a summary on the phone. My guesses weren’t that far off.

$1377 at 62
$1956 at 67
$2425 at 70

This doesn’t require me to do any more contributions. Seems decent. I’d probably work part time and live off salary until age 67 then get both the UK and US pensions. In today’s money, that’s more than enough to live off. Also, I assume my fiancée will keep working for many years as she’s considerably younger than me.

notxn85

On extra problem to add, sorry. The UK pension will not get annual increases unless you live in a country that has a reciprocal agreement with the UK, there are not many but you can find out from the gov.uk site.
Hey I like the job, you retire and I'll go for it even though I am already retired the extra cash would be welcome!

petitefrancaise

list of countries with reciprocal agreement with the UK can be found here
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...-state-pension