Netherlands paradise for the elderly, Thailand only average
The Netherlands is in the top four countries in the world where you can grow old carefree. Although many retirees are entering their old age Thailand wear out, that country only ranks 42 in the ranking.
This is shown by research by the Global AgeWatch index of the elderly organization HelpAge International and the United Nations.
The elderly in Sweden are best off, followed by those in Norway and Germany. Canada is in fifth place, the US is eight. Afghanistan ranks 91st and last.
The researchers looked at factors such as income, health, work and training opportunities and the design of the living environment.
Belgium
Living in Western Europe is no guarantee for a good old age. Belgium, for example, is only in 24th place, between Uruguay and the Czech Republic. Among the emerging economies, Brazil and China score relatively well (31st and 35th), while India and Russia lag behind (73rd and 78th).
Thailand
In Thailand, 9.6 million inhabitants are over 60 years old, which is 13,7% of the total population. In 2050 this percentage will have risen to 31,8%. The report says the following about Thailand:
“Thailand ranks 42 on the Global AgeWatch Index. This can be attributed most to an enabling society, for example 89% of people over 50 have relatives or friends they can count on when in trouble.
Thailand has recognized population aging as a critical issue and has made innovative progress in areas such as pensions, healthcare and home care. The government has revised and updated policies on aging in line with the Madrid Plan recommendations.
Future challenges include expanding work and education opportunities for older adults, providing long-term care for older people and establishing age-friendly housing. This year as part of our Age Demands Action campaign, older Thai people are asking for an increase in the amount of old age pensions, decent work for older people and to put the existing laws and policies on aging into practice.”
Global aging
The report warns that many countries are taking too little account of the aging of their populations. In 2050, for the first time worldwide, there will be more people over 60 than children under 15. Most of the aging will then occur in developing countries.
The report was published on October 1. This day has been declared 'Day of the Elderly' by the UN.
Read the report here: www.helpage.org/global-agewatch/reports
Another meaningless study, I have been amazed for a long time about this kind of research and the results thereof.
So yesterday October 1 (day of the elderly) then it was a holiday for me, if I had known that I would have taken it a bit easier, and maybe I would have taken a walk through my neighborhood in the evening, if if they wanted to rob me then I could have said hoho is not allowed because today is the day of the elderly,
Because while we are still investigating, I was born and raised in the most criminal city in the Netherlands, we are number 1 for the fifth year in a row.
I think few people are really happy here, older people can no longer walk the streets at night without running the risk of being robbed.
The highest number of unemployed, food banks, at the beginning of next year the Bulgarians and Romanians will flow into the Netherlands with the associated crime, etc. etc., every year more and more compatriots leave to settle permanently in countries such as Thailand.
No, I don't know what exactly is behind such an investigation, someone will most likely become wiser from this, and I don't know where this research was done either, certainly not in my city, where the TV series was not for nothing then happiness was still very common is included.
No, the time of the string that hung from the mailbox, or the carpet that fitted on every door in the street is over.
I only have a few more years and then I will retire after 50 years of hard work, and when the time comes, you will no longer see my buttocks from the clouds of dust, because then I will leave this paradise as soon as possible, to go to what now number 42 on the ranking nl. Thailand Heaven for us elderly.
Totally agree, what should we do with a day of the elderly? Will we get an extra bone just like on Animal Day on October 4? The research does show the Income Securety, but not what it costs to maintain elderly care and nursing care, including fraud. and the income is not that certain, every six months you have to surrender your pension or the AOW scheme is stripped down again or you have to work longer again. And if you then buy something to supposedly keep the economy going, you will be fined 21%! under the guise of VAT. When I started paying premiums, your pension had turned out to be stable in value and inalienable, a big lie. Indeed for me also a few more years and then to Thailand, get out of here and to the country without schoolmasters and ministers and gray skies.
I agree with Hans, the research does not sound so crazy. If you grow up in a country with a welfare state such as the Netherlands or Sweden, you are still fine as an elderly person, at least in relative terms compared to other elderly people in other countries. How many Thais, Americans etc. wouldn't be happy with the things they are building here? You won't be completely out in the cold here or dependent on your children.
The fact that you would rather or “better” move to a warm place after your working life is another matter. This is separate from the opportunities that are offered to the country's residents to build facilities for a good old age. After my retirement (71 years old?!!!) I would also like to go to Thailand or, if necessary, another warm place. Much better than staying in the Netherlands, but if I had been born elsewhere (for example in Thailand) it would be a lot more difficult in old age.
And the pension/AOW security, well, of course, it should have been reformed and adjusted much earlier. it was a bit stupid to promise the AOW/pension as 100% certain and stable in value and to maintain this for years to come, while people could already know and knew that this was becoming untenable. For years they held on to 65, argued for a few years about 67 years and now with one scribble quickly shoved the agreement “retirement age grows with age expectations” down their throats, which they should have done from day 1. Then the benefits and burdens of our social old age system could simply have been spread fairly and step by step so that everyone would and will get a well-deserved piece of the pie. I wonder if, at the age of 1, I have not been sentenced to tour through Thailand and other places on a mobility scooter and Segway because your body can no longer handle beautiful walks. Nevertheless, we are still not bad as Dutch people.
We certainly don't have it bad in NL, and putting the consumption to the business is also wise, but people (we?) should not have let it come to this. And whatever people forget that I don't just get my pension, I paid a premium for it.
Taking someone else's money is still called stealing to me, in The Hague it is apparently allowed under all kinds of pretexts. It is a bit different with the AOW, of course, but someone who does not have a pension for whatever reason does not have it wide here either. And with the new proposed participation policy it will be every man for himself and god for us all.
Yes, unfortunately the government comes along all too often... this is because our hard-earned money has disappeared into deep holes where years ago people could and should have intervened in the systems: the banking system, the cash-strapped living of the southern Member States and creative accounting there. Not to mention those nice bonuses in the healthcare sector or the rental sector, leaving the company burning or smoldering and the staff and customers suffering plus the taxpayer who has to step in again.
Rule 1 should be that everyone can enjoy their AOW and Pension as they have accrued. This also means that people will have to work longer as they age. If you 'only' pay 30-40 years and then enjoy it for another 30-40 years, it will not be financially responsible. I have not yet come across really good texts about pensions and AOW, but a lot of trench language “they want to steal my well-deserved pension and euthanize me as soon as possible” or “those old people only started paying premiums from the age of 25 and already at 55- 60 years out so that the working people of today pay the bill and will never receive such a benefit themselves”. I have not yet been able to find a calculation of where and how the affordability and sustainability of the old age system has failed.
Even more important, of course, are responsible reforms so that the system will be sustainable and fair (decent) so that the old people of now and in the future can both enjoy their old age decently. And if, after your working life, you leave for a nice place like Thailand, fantastic, right? Or for those who prefer to walk on the Veluwe, that's also fine. Go live where you can enjoy yourself with your money. I don't believe in stereotypes like “I only see curmudgeons walking around in Thailand/Netherlands/..”. I am now doing well here in the Netherlands, I am happy with the opportunities we get here, I want to fight for the much-needed reforms so that less money disappears into black holes and in due course (hopefully without a mobility scooter!! 😉 ) Thailand and the rest of the world can live and travel in my old age.
Sour, bitter, dissatisfied, prejudiced…
I get those kinds of associations when reading some of the comments. We live in a beautiful, well-organized country, few people in the world deny that.
I'm going on holiday to Thailand in the winter, I'm also going back and hope not to meet too many of the aforementioned Dutch people...
It has nothing to do with being sour or bitter, but with not getting what you were entitled to back then. You probably also go to Thailand because it is cheaper to spend a longer holiday there and the climate is better than in the European paradise, right? And if you don't get what you paid for, you also ring the bell, right? Holidaying in a tourist resort is very different from living there and living between and with the Thai.
Well two souls one thought I wouldn't say...
I am 66, have been enjoying self-earned freedom for many years, do not have to go back home after my holidays, but just enjoy myself here. I also enjoy beautiful trips, friendly people, other cultures AND the Netherlands. I have no need to "flash out" anyone anywhere, as you call it, even more, I wish you your beloved abode in paradise. However, there are people who know more paradises.
All the best…!
@The O
We certainly live in a well-organized country, I do not deny that, because nowhere in the world are there so many rules as here, and the Netherlands used to be a beautiful country. And I also believe that few world residents deny this, because many of those world residents live around the corner from me and they laugh like crazy, for them the Netherlands is a large ATM. No, I know what I will leave behind and you can have it, the Netherlands is no longer my Netherlands. And that in many situations in Thailand it is less good than in the Netherlands, I take that into account, you simply cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs.
I'm not saying it's better here or anywhere else, that depends far too much on the person and his/her wishes. Just that I (also) find this a pleasant country, sorry. Good luck!
Dear Cees, I think that many Thai people are happy to pay 21% Vat to be assured of the same good old age in 2050 as many people in the Netherlands.
The fact that so many Western people opt for an old age in Thailand is of course also related to the fact that in Thailand you soon belong to the richest 20% of pensioners, measured by the standards of the country. As a result, you have access to the best facilities in Thailand. So you cannot compare that with life in the Netherlands where you are one of the many if you are not one of the rich.
Fortunately, the weather is free, but was not included in the study.
What I fear most in the Netherlands is the euthanasia urge that can strike if you are no longer able to defend yourself. Compassionate family and doctor's disregard for the Hypocratic oath, that's the biggest problem. Slowly starve and dehydrate when your mental abilities have deteriorated and the eating / drinking impulse is no longer there. Seen this several times in the Netherlands, no for me no Netherlands in my really old age, shit
Even if you only receive state pension, you still belong to the middle class in Thailand in terms of income. It is logical that life in Thailand is suddenly much more fun than when you stay behind in the Netherlands.
I think it's still a purely financial decision for most people. Does age have anything to do with it? Don't think so actually. Because I always say, if you want to go to Thailand, do it when you are young if you have the chance, and don't wait until you are 65. Unless that doesn't change due to things like work, etc.
I also think that it is just a trade-off, in the Netherlands a number of things are certainly better arranged, but due to the difference in price level you are also more limited in what you do.
The research certainly does not include the nature of the people around you. For example, in the Netherlands they are meddlesome and bossy, but in Thailand I don't have to keep my fellow Dutch people company. Sometimes I get into conversation with it -although, you can hardly call it that- on this blog. Do I really have more than enough (I almost wrote: “van”; maybe later).
If you leave for Thailand young, as BA always says, you should not forget that you lose 2% of your state pension here per year, work for a local salary, accrue little pension with this Thai company, so that you are also a not very popular candidate for marriage for the Thai women. There is little financial security in the long term.
It is of course correct that even with only state pension you are already quite rich in Thailand. But let's be honest. Most of us also have a pension from the company where we worked and/or have a pension from the ABP, or even a private pension. In addition, we sold our house in the Netherlands, which we were able to buy with financial support from the Dutch government.
If Willem Drees had known that an increasing number of pensioners would leave the country to build up their (sometimes second) existence in a country with a clearly lower cost of living, he would probably have formulated the law differently. After all, the AOW was not intended for that.
Sometimes I get the nasty feeling that it is the same people who complain about transferring child benefit to Turkey or Morocco (that should become country-dependent) as those who think that they do not receive enough AOW and pension in Thailand.
One thing I have learned here in Thailand (working on a local salary, handing in 2% of my AOW every year and paying alimony according to Dutch standards) (from Buddhists) is to be more satisfied with what you have and not to whine and complain. complaining about things you don't have. And I am much happier here than I was in the Netherlands.
Chris,
It all depends on your field of expertise. As a teacher, you probably cannot avoid working on local terms. But there are also professions where your location in the world does not apply. And you can therefore live in a different country than where your employment contract is arranged. So you can live in Thailand, enjoy a Western salary, and still build up your pension premium, etc. The disadvantage is that you do have to pay taxes in the country where you work/get paid, but if you didn't, you could invest that money yourself instead of paying taxes.
That's why it says ′′ if you have the chance ′′ in my story 😉
Or you can go into business for yourself etc, plenty of options.
The above-mentioned 'survey' is not a survey but a calculation of the most interesting country to grow old in. Read carefully: to grow old, that is to say: for its own people.
Research has been done among (prospective) retirees around the world where people would most like to spend their old age. And then Thailand is in ninth place.
I wonder whether Thailand is really such a paradise for the "expats", and reading the comments, it is assumed that the male expats are here, and then the expats who, as an employee, whether or not a civil servant, are nice and familiar without risk, have accrued a pension, but men/women and the small tradespeople,….who have barely or NO pension accrued because it was PRICELESS for that group, and that is also a significant part of the population.
And with the fixed costs in the Netherlands, you will not be happy with a "small" pension and or only AOW (benefit) with all kinds of restrictions, .. you will not be happy (this is a nice modern Dutch pronunciation) in the Netherlands, no holiday, .. no car etc. and pay attention again and turn every " dime ", .... The Netherlands paradise, Of course, ... if you have money it is a paradise.
But now Thailand, ... here your Euro is worth a thaler, but for the price that the expat pays for something in Thailand, for the Thais it is 2 get one pay, because you pay almost everywhere more than the Thais, that's why there is also purchased by wife / partner / girlfriend. You should not rent a house yourself, because you pay significantly more, .... ATM holiday prices.
And don't let me tell an expat here that it's different. have seen and spoken to many of them and know their living conditions, but it is often one there too, of great loneliness.
But as it is all over the world,..if you have money (and keep your money) then you have a great life and your freedom,..so it's luck or bad luck.
a saying,..if you are alone with a peak, you have a peak,..with two of you only two quarters left,...with a whole circus you have nothing left 🙂
Yet there is another side to the story.
In Thailand your guilder is worth a thaler….. I would say that the basic necessities of life are cheaper in Thailand. You can eat out every day in Thailand with the money you buy groceries for in the Netherlands. An evening in the bar is also not too expensive, etc. If you rent a normal house, if your transport is a motorbike or perhaps a small car, etc., it will probably be cheaper than in the Netherlands. You can buy clothes cheaper.
If you only want to pursue a more “above-average” or Western way of life, life here in Thailand quickly becomes very expensive. Just look at the prices of electronics for fun. If you buy a brand new TV, they are considerably more expensive than in Europe, the affordable TVs that are sold here in NL have not been in the showroom for a few years. Furnishing a house in the same way as in the Netherlands will probably cost you a god's fortune. If you want a bit of a luxury car, the cheapest BMW here costs at least twice what it costs in the Netherlands. Clothing from an A brand in a department store is often simply more expensive than the same item of clothing would cost in the Netherlands, etc, etc. If you participate in this, you will lose even more in terms of living in Thailand than in the Netherlands.
Depending on your wishes, it can therefore turn out better or worse. The only thing remains of course the atmosphere here, which is priceless 🙂
Funny such a study in times when the elderly are increasingly squeezed. You would almost think they care. When I read the story in the newspaper, I especially thought that “work and education opportunities” was a wonderful part of the research. How seriously should you take such an investigation? Would there really be many over-65s waiting for work or a nice course? Perhaps “changing diapers for the needy” is a nice course given the developments in the care of our “paradise” welfare state.
It's a global survey. There are plenty of countries, including Western countries, where you will not receive a state pension or pension after you turn 65 and you still have to happily go to work, because quitting is really not an option, unless you have saved for it yourself.
What nonsensical comments from some. Apparently it is forgotten that the current 65+ people have paid for their state pension. If the Netherlands had had a capital system instead of a pay-as-you-go system, I would have been considerably better off than I am now with my AOW benefit. To now be cut despite my large contribution to the AOW of others feels a bit unfair. Nevertheless, people can do much more with their benefits in Thailand than in the Netherlands. But wasn't the real reason that we as ex-pats found the partner for the rest of our lives {at least some of them!] in this not perfect but wonderful country? What the Aow benefit has to do with VAT is a mystery to me.
I started working at the age of 14, salary 15 guilders per week. I have paid 50 years old age pension. Don't complain now?
Thailand certainly better to live if you have a state pension, I've been to South Pataya in beautiful apartment 350 apartments 200 empty 100 to 150 euros pm. very cozy, many from Europe little from the Netherlands. When I get older and can walk less well, right? rather in Thailand. the apartments have a swimming pool, elevator, cable TV, air conditioning.
The problem is the doctor who thinks in Thailand that we are treasureryk. The bills are much too high
The doctors drove very expensive cars