Where will you retire?

[Lisafuller]

Most of my Indian friends are from Tamil Nad, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh - one good friend from Kerala married a woman from the Mumbai area, and after 10 years PR in Singapore they decided to pack it up and move to Mumbai. He got a job offer that matched his SG salary in India. Considering what they can afford on that salary in India… guess it was too good to pass up.

Can only imagine the difference in quality of life. The cost of living in India is insane (in a good way of course).

[Lisafuller]

Canada, fortunately I immigrated many years ago but it would be hard now based on my age.

Which part of Canada were you in? It’s beautiful and the people are all so polite but not for me unfortunately, too cold.

[Lisafuller]

We see ourselves going back to the US when our daughter leaves for college next year. Not sure where exactly, will probably have something to do with where she decides to go.

That is exactly what we are doing, except one year later than you! There are many good reasons for us to do this. In-state tuition for both of our kids should save us at least $500k alone. Saving two years fees at SAS will also be significant. Also, my wife is not currently covered under my social security if we live overseas, and we need to live 5 years in the US as a married couple in order for her to become eligible. Her eligible means our payments in retirement will be 50% higher, and if anything happens to be, she gets my full benefit the rest of her life. Because I’ve been paying social security in Singapore all these years, I expect to be close to the maximum benefit, so it is worth the trouble.

Once the kids are done with college and once I officially retire, I am not sure what we will do or where we will go from there. Who knows.

Which part of the US are you planning on settling in? Are both kids the same age, or is just one going to be of age for college but the whole family will move?

[Lisafuller]

India obvious choice for me. In sinkie terms eh ceca retire in cecaland leh

I have a lot of friends from India who always think they will retire in India… but as time goes on, they often think twice.

I believe the major reasons would be :
1. Kids growing up outside India makes it harder for them to make that move.
2. The longer you spend outside, the more you feel that the place you left behind has changed. Especially among Indians, there is a tendency among NRIs - the longer they spend outside, the more the perception that things have become effed up back in India. Maybe it's because they just get more and more used to life outside.

True, just a culture shock. The longer you’re away, the more difficult it is to make the adjustment back.

[Lisafuller]

How about Costa Rica?

I’ve got friends in Tamarindo- nice beach town with very laid back energy. A little pricey from what they’ve mentioned though, not as cheap as you’d expect for living in Latin America.

[Lisafuller]

How about Costa Rica?

It’s a beautiful country, but the main city there, San José is a real dump and isn’t safe.

To be honest, I can’t really think of any countries in Latin America that really appeal to me in the same way that Asian countries do. Maybe I’ve been here too long? If I really had to, I’d probably choose somewhere in Mexico or the Caribbean.

True, San Jose is not a great place to live. But the quieter beach towns are quite nice, I’ve got friends in Tamarindo.

[malcontent]

We'll need to check some little details still, but I think it should be quite feasible.

Yes, the little details can have big consequences… especially when it comes to non-compliance. I’m not sure how Europe treats CPF LIFE annuity income, but the US is quite punitive.

If my wife starts collecting payments while she is US taxable, the entire amount will be taxable as income. US tax law has very specific provisions on foreign pensions where a nonresident alien made contributions that were not taxed by the foreign government. So if we are going to be US taxable, we will apply for a CPF LIFE exemption based on her US social security spousal benefits, which should be higher than the CPF LIFE payment, but no guarantees.

I’m also not sure if Europe has any gift tax, for the US, the maximum I can transfer to my foreign spouse in a year without gift tax is currently $159,000. For anyone other than a spouse it’s only $15,000 per year.

[malcontent]

Which part of the US are you planning on settling in? Are both kids the same age, or is just one going to be of age for college but the whole family will move?

Daughter starts college in fall of 2024, son in fall of 2026. Whole family has to move in order to get in-state tuition. Location depends on what school she gets into, but I think it would be nice for them to experience the 4 seasons. I also have family in Michigan and an employer in Illinois, so that may play in.

[ProvenPracticalFlexible]

We'll need to check some little details still, but I think it should be quite feasible.

Yes, the little details can have big consequences… especially when it comes to non-compliance. I’m not sure how Europe treats CPF LIFE annuity income, but the US is quite punitive.

If my wife starts collecting payments while she is US taxable, the entire amount will be taxable as income. US tax law has very specific provisions on foreign pensions where a nonresident alien made contributions that were not taxed by the foreign government. So if we are going to be US taxable, we will apply for a CPF LIFE exemption based on her US social security spousal benefits, which should be higher than the CPF LIFE payment, but no guarantees.

I’m also not sure if Europe has any gift tax, for the US, the maximum I can transfer to my foreign spouse in a year without gift tax is currently $159,000. For anyone other than a spouse it’s only $15,000 per year.

Yes, indeed. I need to clarify that taxable pension part, whether I can pay tax to each country on pension received/earned in that country only. But I do think it would be acceptable.

The gift tax I know is crazy there, thus I would have to gift everything I want to give my kids in Singapore before moving there. But that one is doable. But in anyway the EU taxman is not as crazy as US one trying to tax people overseas.

[ProvenPracticalFlexible]

Which part of the US are you planning on settling in? Are both kids the same age, or is just one going to be of age for college but the whole family will move?

Daughter starts college in fall of 2024, son in fall of 2026. Whole family has to move in order to get in-state tuition. Location depends on what school she gets into, but I think it would be nice for them to experience the 4 seasons. I also have family in Michigan and an employer in Illinois, so that may play in.

Be prepared that after 4-5 years, depending on your age too if course, you might wanna move back.

Got a colleague who is just in that situation, he's younger one just started college this year. They've been back to US 4+ years now, after 12 years in Asia. He's 50+ but now he's looking to get back to Singapore.

[malcontent]

There is actually a deadline once my wife begins US residency in 2024, because of the “covered expatriate” rule (this rule was added thanks to Eduardo Saverin who cut and run to Singapore from the US to avoid taxes on his Facebook billions).

That means by the end of 2030 we will need to decide if we want to become tax refugees or just accept permanent US personhood and the tax and reporting obligations that comes with it. Way too far down the road to imagine right now!

[smoulder]

By the way, I just want to say this for all the US folks. I've been to the US a few times - around the west coast. It is absolutely beautiful - especially California where you have everything from beaches and ocean to mountains and snow. Except for the food part (I'm biased towards Asia), I think the US is a great place to retire if you can, at least whatever I've seen so far.

[malcontent]

Fortunately my wife and and kids are a more flexible on the food side. Thank goodness for that, because no matter where you go, local food is typically the best food. The US is no exception in that regard. My list of go-to places seems to grow longer each time we visit. And, you might be surprised, at least one type of Asian food in the US is more authentic and better quality than Singapore… Vietnamese food! Hong Kong Dim Sum is also better than Singapore, if you know where to go.

Indian restaurants in the US can be hit or miss, but there is a surprisingly authentic one just five minutes from my brother’s home -

https://www.hillsideindiancuisine.com

[smoulder]

Fortunately my wife and and kids are a more flexible on the food side. Thank goodness for that, because no matter where you go, local food is typically the best food. The US is no exception in that regard. My list of go-to places seems to grow longer each time we visit. And, you might be surprised, at least one type of Asian food in the US is more authentic and better quality than Singapore… Vietnamese food! Hong Kong Dim Sum is also better than Singapore, if you know where to go.

Indian restaurants in the US can be hit or miss, but there is a surprisingly authentic one just five minutes from my brother’s home -

https://www.hillsideindiancuisine.com

Oh don't get me wrong. I enjoy food wherever I go. I just have a taste for South east Asian and east Asian food having lived here for long enough

[malcontent]

Fortunately my wife and and kids are a more flexible on the food side. Thank goodness for that, because no matter where you go, local food is typically the best food. The US is no exception in that regard. My list of go-to places seems to grow longer each time we visit. And, you might be surprised, at least one type of Asian food in the US is more authentic and better quality than Singapore… Vietnamese food! Hong Kong Dim Sum is also better than Singapore, if you know where to go.

Indian restaurants in the US can be hit or miss, but there is a surprisingly authentic one just five minutes from my brother’s home -

https://www.hillsideindiancuisine.com

Oh don't get me wrong. I enjoy food wherever I go. I just have a taste for South east Asian and east Asian food having lived here for long enough

In that case you will probably like Mexican food in the US… they use many similar spices, the tortilla is much like a chapatti, and some dishes come with rice too. My favorite two foods are Mexican and Indian, even though I was raised on bland a western diet.

During dinner this evening I just asked my wife what her favorite restaurant was in the US and she mentioned a particular Mexican restaurant that we frequented as college students there 30 years ago, Chi Chi’s!