RetireJapan

captainspoke wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 4:20 am But assume/add in pension of ¥2M/yr, and 62.5 becomes 12.5.

That's true CaptainSpoke, I was calculating total numbers so the idea was to spend these 62.5 million over 25 years from pension, investments, etc. I jst wasn't clear enough Thanks for pointing it out.

sugus wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:43 am
For example, let's say a married couple, kids living on their own (already grown up), spend 3 million yen a year. That couple might be able to reduce their expenses as they get closer to retirement, let's say, to 2.5 million yen.

Is this realistic, though? Most of us here are non-Japanese. My thinking is that because of this, there is a good chance that we will need to do more travel overseas than the average Mr and Mrs Watanabe. It could be to see relatives 'back home', or even one's own children, if they choose to live somewhere other than Japan...

@captainspoke , what are your thoughts? Pre-COVID-19, anyway, did you travel much after retirement?

beanhead wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:20 am My thinking is that because of this, there is a good chance that we will need to do more travel overseas than the average Mr and Mrs Watanabe. It could be to see relatives 'back home', or even one's own children, if they choose to live somewhere other than Japan...

I'm wondering whether mass international travel will exist in 20-30 years' time, when I am retired. There is a chance it might not. Something I think about, as I always assumed (heh) that I would be doing more of it once I wasn't working any more.

beanhead wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:20 am

sugus wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:43 am
For example, let's say a married couple, kids living on their own (already grown up), spend 3 million yen a year. That couple might be able to reduce their expenses as they get closer to retirement, let's say, to 2.5 million yen.

Is this realistic, though? Most of us here are non-Japanese. My thinking is that because of this, there is a good chance that we will need to do more travel overseas than the average Mr and Mrs Watanabe. It could be to see relatives 'back home', or even one's own children, if they choose to live somewhere other than Japan...

@captainspoke , what are your thoughts? Pre-COVID-19, anyway, did you travel much after retirement?

One trip to SE asia--vietnam--for about a month. A year or two later I spent a couple months on the big island (hawaii), but that was kind of a paid trip.An old friend with a B&B was traveling, and another person and I took over and co-managed it while he and his wife were gone. So some work in exchange for tickets and food/lodging.

My mother passed long ago ('74), and my dad in 2015. (a day shy of 97, I hope I have his genes!) I didn't go immediately, but went several months later for an interment ceremony. (His second wife had also passed, and his third wife (a year my junior) wasn't really accepted by my sibs) But that ceremony went okay.

I'm number three. Brother is 75 (who abhors flying), sis 73, me, and one younger sis at 68. To cut to the chase, we've all agreed that it's perfectly okay to skip each other's funerals. Also no need to travel for a last visit if death is imminent. We all Skype or FaceTime monthly, more or less. Both my parents came from big families, lots of cousins, but the aunts and uncles are all gone (except one, dad's youngest sis, just turned 101). Some cousins are a different generation, they have multiple great-grandkids, while our grandkids are just two and four (my sibs don't have any yet). Everyone is long scattered (my sibs, too--three different states). Maybe it sounds cold, but if I'm not going for my sibs, there are certainly no other "relatives" to go for.

Actually, one of our kids (now 28) is in grad school in chicago, where my older sis lives, and they meet up now and then, which gives us all a reason to talk and keep up on things.

Next trip, if anything becomes possible, will be something my wife chooses--someplace on her bucket list.

As a retiree, I have been more influenced by the habits of my fellow countrymen than by the locals I am surrounded by, both native and foreign. Local retirees do not travel much. I know as I have been surrounded by retirees who are busy exercising, gardening or going on short domestic trips, but little else.

It’s not a matter of choice. The locals around me represent solidly middle class Japanese couples with husbands all retired after working in famous Japanese corporations, with dependent housewives who worked part time only after the kids started school. Ditto for a few retired ex-professor foreigners I know. So they have retirement incomes limited to maybe ¥2~3million which is not going to get much foreign travel. The couple of exceptions who travel/traveled regularly are neighbors who were slightly different. One is an unusually adventurous ex-journalist who actively invested his money and we often talk about investments. Another neighbor was a very senior engineer who traveled overseas regularly for work and obviously enjoyed it. He was so valuable to the company that they kept him on until 75 so he should have a lot saved with a 50 year career plus all those lucrative stipends he got on work trips and one long posting.

On the other hand, the retirees I knew back at home were mostly extremely active traveling with one or multiple overseas trips every year. As a result of this, plus the desire to see my still very healthy and alert mother (mid-80s), I retired with a travel budget of ¥1mill a year. My wife has her own income and smaller budget since I pay for most food and accommodation since I have more retirement income. Our budgets get us 1 or 2 international trips of 2~4 weeks each plus several domestic trips of 1~3 nights. I enjoyed trips to Europe and Australia in my first year of retirement but then Covid struck and since then it’s been only local travel. Traveling locally though has been incredibly enjoyable though since we went to places normally packed with tourists and have been able to enjoy places like Kyoto shrines or mountainside onsen, often finding ourselves alone. That’s special.

Tokyo wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:12 pm As a retiree, I have been more influenced by the habits of my fellow countrymen than by the locals I am surrounded by, both native and foreign. Local retirees do not travel much. I know as I have been surrounded by retirees who are busy exercising, gardening or going on short domestic trips, but little else.

Many of my neighbours are retirees. In 15 years I can't think of a single time any of the ones on either side of me have been away for even a weekend (unless, of course, it has coincided with my trips away!) They go nowhere. They seem happy enough, mind you. Think I would go stir crazy, but each to their own.

beanhead wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:20 am

sugus wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:43 am
For example, let's say a married couple, kids living on their own (already grown up), spend 3 million yen a year. That couple might be able to reduce their expenses as they get closer to retirement, let's say, to 2.5 million yen.

Is this realistic, though? Most of us here are non-Japanese. My thinking is that because of this, there is a good chance that we will need to do more travel overseas than the average Mr and Mrs Watanabe. It could be to see relatives 'back home', or even one's own children, if they choose to live somewhere other than Japan...

I'd say the example numbers I used are on the bare minimum for a couple of two in my opinion, and certainly wouldn't be enough to do international travelling. The concept multiplying your projected annual expenses by 25 years I think it is a good number to start with.

You could also add as part of the annual expenses any buffer for travelling, unexpected payments (for appliances for example that need to get replaced, etc.) and that will certainly increase the total numbers:

> 2.5 million yen x 25 years = 62.5 million yen
> 3 milion yen x 25 years = 75 million yen
> 3.5 million yen x 25 years = 87.5 million yen
> 4 million yen x 25 years = 100 million yen
> and so on...

* 25 years is counting from 65 to 90, assuming the couple both reach that age.

Then, from these total numbers it should be considered how is that going to be achievable via pension + investments, etc.

I am scared of getting old and retirement (now 43), but I am trying to do something about it.
I am single, no kids, no intention to have a wife or kids in the future, so it's just me. (No way could I afford to support them on my salary, and my salary won't go up in any meaningful way in the future).
I bought a twenty year-old house and land back in 2017, so I can live somewhere rent/mortgage free after about 58 years old.

I max out my tsumitate-NISA (33,333) and iDeCo (12,000) each month.
I pay into a company DB pension scheme (10,000 per month).
I pay in to the UK (class 2) and Japanese pensions.

Don't know what else I can do, really....
I have hardly any spare cash left each month after the above, plus living costs.

If I can have 20m yen in the bank upon retirement (if that will even be feasible), I would be pretty happy.
All it takes is one thing though for it all to come crashing down! (lose job, house needs a new roof, get long-term sick etc.)

Ho hum!

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:30 am I max out my tsumitate-NISA (33,333) and iDeCo (12,000) each month.
I pay into a company DB pension scheme (10,000 per month).
I pay in to the UK (class 2) and Japanese pensions.

That should get you most of the way there

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:30 am Don't know what else I can do, really....
I have hardly any spare cash left each month after the above, plus living costs.

In that case, you might want to consider different ways to increase your income.

1. Offer freelancing services on Fiverr:
https://www.fiverr.com/

2. Creating an online digital course of any topic you might know well about, then sell it on Udemy:
https://www.udemy.com/

There are plenty of videos on YouTube as well about creating extra income streams - it can be very inspiring, but also would take a lot of effort as well.