RetireJapan

Thanks, that's very helpful.

Good morning. I have a question about ideco bands that I was hoping someone might be able to help with. I'm moving from a company which had a DC scheme to a company which doesn't. Therefore planning to transfer everything to an ideco plan. What I'm failing to understand is the banding. Based on what...

This is a useful thread. Perhaps should be sticky?

FWIW, my approach with all my properties has been to fix for five years and then do my best over the five years to sock away cash/liquid investments so that should I need (i.e. should rates rise quickly) then I can pay down a significant amount of the principal after five years.

I would definitely get the loan in yen, because that’s what we are earning. Those FX fluctuations are too risky. That's the wrong way to think about it. If you take the loan in yen you will be taking on a huge amount of fx risk. Consider the following scenario where you have a loan in yen on an AUD...

Annuities also payout upon early death. That is the aspect that is comparable to term life. Some do, some do for a fixed period at the start, some don't. Hard to generalise. It's also hard to generalise whether a product is right for someone or not without completely understanding their circumstanc...

If you wanted a specific example of an expensive annuity, this was posted in another thread I think others have already made all the points I would have, so not much to add, except that a 1% fee may seem high but you need to review the whole product (product structures such as guarantees, bonuses, ...

Set and forget investing, and set and forget income in retirement? Annuities are used to guarantee you a minimum income whilst you are alive either on a term basis or whole life basis. It's a way of removing sequence risk (drawdown timing risk) on your investments. The insurance market in Japan is ...

Would you get the loan in JPY or AUD? Lots of foreigners have been burned in Japan on FX risk taken on housing loans.

Been running the above recommended Mitsubishi unit and it certainly is working. Think the house is too large for one unit though.

The analogue hygrometer I have seems to be about 10% out. Once I got the dehumidifier running it was saying 68% humidity vs the hygrometer's 60%. Explains the mold growth.