RetireJapan

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:45 am

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

beanhead wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 12:40 am

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:45 am

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

Agreed. And the 20M in that original study (which may well be flawed!) was for a couple.

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:30 am 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.

sugus wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 7:29 am

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.

JimNasium wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:33 pm

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:30 am 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.

Sorry, I don’t mean to get all up in your business, but I was in a similar situation as you. However, I’m about to get married at 40. I totally understand about kids, but if the reason you don’t want to get married is because you can’t support her financially I’m sure you could find someone who is financially independent. Although it didn’t work out for me, I’d give a dating app like Pairs a try. The filters on it are really good, and I was able to find quite a few good possible matches.

EmaxisSlim Cultist wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:13 pm

beanhead wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 12:40 am

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:45 am

That should get you most of the way there

Agreed. And the 20M in that original study (which may well be flawed!) was for a couple.

I do not view the study as that deeply flawed. If anything the adverse reaction to it proves a cautionary tale.

Roger is well on his way, and definitely far ahead of the average Japanese investor.

I am not a nenkin doomsayer. But, I would encourage all retirers to plan for a decreased nenkin payout. That way the worst outcome is a very pleasant surprise.

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:21 pm
Thanks. Based on my estimation from the UK pension website, I can pretty much live on the UK pension alone if it is just me, single, in retirement. Anything else I am trying to view as a "bonus" (things to make life just that little bit more enjoyable : real beer instead of 'happoshu', a long weekend at an onsen, etc.).

captainspoke wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 11:46 am

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.

EmaxisSlim Cultist wrote: ↑Fri Oct 29, 2021 12:23 am

Roger Van Zant wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:21 pm
Thanks. Based on my estimation from the UK pension website, I can pretty much live on the UK pension alone if it is just me, single, in retirement. Anything else I am trying to view as a "bonus" (things to make life just that little bit more enjoyable : real beer instead of 'happoshu', a long weekend at an onsen, etc.).

Those class 2 and 3 contributions put Uk-expats in an extremely advantageous position. It is a pretty unique situation.

Happoshu gives me a headache. Life is too short for low-quality liquor. I just picked up a bottle of The King`s Ginger, I am excited to try it.