29-year old very early retired european - what should i do NOW ?

[patrick01]

Hello,

I guess I am one of the youngest early retired here. I am 29 years old and I receive government-pension already since 2 years !!

I am from a country within the European Union and I receive 800,- Euro monthly (14 times a year not 12) and I am allowed to leave my country and they will send the money wherever I like. Plus it is inflation-protected. Also I still have free health insurance for all European Countries. So far sooo good

My only problem is: I want STUDY abroad and live . Perhaps in India or SE Asia for a couples of years, but can I afford that I only get 800,- Euro every month.

I want to study and go for a bachelors degree, but not here in my home country. What should I do ?

Any ADVICE ?

so long

 

[DayDreaming]

It's great that you already receive a pension (how did you do that?! )

But if you don't have enough money to do what you want to, your options are the same as any other college student: get a student loan and/or get a part-time job to help cover your expenses.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

According to most sites on living in SE Asia, 933 Euros a month will get you a decent lifestyle though I don't believe that figure includes graduate school tuition.

BTW, just out of curiosity, how does one receive a pension at 29?

 

[plex]

For those who think in US $, it is about 15,800 (before?) taxes. Your health coverage is unlimited, but only works (or is limited?) outside the EU. Studying abroad is likely going to be a good bit more expensive than just backpacking, additionally, you will likely, based on what you said, have to get some sort of health coverage while you are over there, though I imagine it would not be astronomical at your current age, probably something around $100-150/month for a 3-5k deductible plan.

You will probably have to work to makeup the difference, which has a good chance of being 1/3 or more than you receive from your pension each year. You can either do that in the EU ahead of time, find someone sort of online work you can do while studying abroad, or (the least likely choice) find some sort of decent paying part time job at your study abroad destination.

Personally though, for my own needs, I would be set with that sort of pension, well done, it is essentially the equivalent of having earned $2M dollars by age 29, though there is a risk it could be reduced if whoever is offering it goes bankrupt.

 

[freebird5825]

...BTW, just out of curiosity, how does one receive a pension at 29?

Took the words right out of my mouth...

 

[patrick01]

BTW, just out of curiosity, how does one receive a pension at 29?

I actually started to receive the pension when I was 27 years old. Well, I guess in Europe the law and all the things are totally different than anywhere else..

I have heard that a girl (in my country) already got pension when she was 23 years old. That's not so unusual.

I think I will also need a student loand to study like the others...

 

[Leonidas]

Now I'm curious. Patrick, to our way of thinking, one usually receives a government pension after satisfactorily completing a career in government service. But those are usually not received until one has retired from government service, and sometimes even years later if one leaves service at an early age. Members of some occupations (military, police, firefighters) receive their pensions earlier than other occupations, but usually not before at least 20 years of service. Getting an earlier pension would involve unusual circumstances, most likely a debilitating injury received in the course of performing their duties.

If you don't mind clarifying a bit, could you tell us what one has to do in order to get a pension from your government in their mid-late twenties?

 

[Letj]

Now I'm curious. Patrick, to our way of thinking, one usually receives a government pension after satisfactorily completing a career in government service. But those are usually not received until one has retired from government service, and sometimes even years later if one leaves service at an early age. Members of some occupations (military, police, firefighters) receive their pensions earlier than other occupations, but usually not before at least 20 years of service. Getting an earlier pension would involve unusual circumstances, most likely a debilitating injury received in the course of performing their duties.

If you don't mind clarifying a bit, could you tell us what one has to do in order to get a pension from your government in their mid-late twenties?

He is probably Western European. I have a couple of friends from northern Europe who were perpetual students/philosophers/travelers who never seemed to run out of money. They would spend a whole year at a time in this country and withdrew government money from the ATM. From what I could tell, their unemployment and income support (the term they prefer to use) seem to go on forever.

 

[Leonidas]

He is probably Western European. I have a couple of friends from northern Europe who were perpetual students/philosophers/travelers who never seemed to run out of money. They would spend a whole year at a time in this country and withdrew government money from the ATM. From what I could tell, their unemployment and income support (the term they prefer to use) seem to go on forever.

I hadn't considered that possibility, mostly because OP said he was "retired". Unless the dole in Europe literally does go on forever.

Sounds like nice unwork if you can find it.

 

[patrick01]

I hadn't considered that possibility, mostly because OP said he was "retired". Unless the dole in Europe literally does go on forever.

Sounds like nice unwork if you can find it.

I can assure you, I get the money from the pension insurance department and NOT from the unemployment agencies or welfare. That's not the same. They will literally send the money wherever I want them to. I only have the obligation to visit the embassy every year so that they know whether or not the retireds abroad are still alive. I can also do that abroad. Yes, that goes on forever.

Actually it sounds like a lotterywin but the problem is the monthly income is little. So I probably need student loans. And I dont like to apply for a loan, that would give me head pain at night.

 

[DangerMouse]

Patrick, what everyone is curious about is what you did that would qualify you for a pension at 27. You say it is not welfare or unemployment, so many are likely curious as to what type of work you did that would qualify you for a lifetime pension at such a young age which can mean you only worked for a limited period of time.

Leonidas, you will be surprised to find there are many countries where the dole goes on for life - Australia is one of them. You can leave school one day, go on unemployment within a very short period of time and never work a day in your life, until you shift to the pension at 65. Our pensions are not based on what you put in, they are means tested. So if you work for 40 years and save your money wisely you get nothing in the way of a government pension, however if you sit on your arse and do nothing you are justly rewarded with more of the taxpayers dollars. I believe the UK is the same. There is no work for the dole, and the little darlings all know the way around the system. All they have to do is apply for X amount of positions a week and report to the dole office every now and then and there is no problem. There was a case in the Australian paper this week of a 25 yo Gen Yer who has had 70 jobs but quit them all. She is on the dole and is not working because she does not believe she should have to do any job she finds boring. Makes you wonder about the future of the world sometimes.

 

[patrick01]

@ Joe Dreaming,
I worked for 3 years, and yes the pensions here are also mean tested, we usually get 80% (of the mean) which is Top in EU. I am not from the UK.

Yes, I do suffer from a disease, that's the reason why am I already eligible for pension at my early age.

Actually the down-under system sounds very much like europeans

sorry for my bad english

 

[rescueme]

sorry for my bad english

Never apologize for your use of the English language; be it the "Queen's English" or the "Americanized" one (through the works of Webster), it is more than adequate for discussions here.

I retired from a multi-national, and often traveled in France (in regions outside of tourist areas - such as Paris) where you had to know a bit of French to get by - at least find a room and a meal for the evening. If you think your "english" is poor, you should listen to my "french" ...

I understand your hesitation, completely but don't let language keep you from discussing items (especially from a Euro point of view), on this forum.

BTW, my son is on US SSD (Social Security Disability). Even though he has a BS/CIS, he is unable to hold a job. However, based upon his limited work experience (as a teen-ager and during his university years), he is eligible for disability payments that allow him to live a subsistance-level lifestyle outside our home. So yes, there are situations (even in the US) that "retirement" (if you can call it that) is before what would be considered normal age - early or otherwise...

 

[Letj]

@ Joe Dreaming,
I worked for 3 years, and yes the pensions here are also mean tested, we usually get 80% (of the mean) which is Top in EU. I am not from the UK.

Yes, I do suffer from a disease, that's the reason why am I already eligible for pension at my early age.

Actually the down-under system sounds very much like europeans

sorry for my bad english

I was with you up until now but now I am confused. Acutally, as you saw, I guessed you were getting unemployment but you're insisting it is pension. Do you mean to say long term disability benefits or social security benefits. Pension to an American means that you've worked for a set number of years (usually until you're 55 or 65) and then get monthly payments after you retire. Is this really what you mean?

 

[patrick01]

I was with you up until now but now I am confused. Acutally, as you saw, I guessed you were getting unemployment but you're insisting it is pension. Do you mean to say long term disability benefits or social security benefits. Pension to an American means that you've worked for a set number of years (usually until you're 55 or 65) and then get monthly payments after you retire. Is this really what you mean?

Yes it is really what I mean. Pension here means either you have worked 40 years, or you have worked only 10 years but you are over 60, or you have only worked 6 months in you whole life but you are suddenly disabled.

In all 3 options, you will get roughly 80 % of your mean income before. In all theses options you will get the pension from the same pension departement. If you are disabled you will get a real pension, based upon your contribution. It does not make so much difference if you claim pension as a 27-year old or as a 57-year old

I guess that's not the same as pension in america.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Yes it is really what I mean. Pension here means either you have worked 40 years, or you have worked only 10 years but you are over 60, or you have only worked 6 months in you whole life but you are suddenly disabled..

Since by definition you cannot have worked 40 years and are not older than 60, it must be the case that you are "on disability" as we would say here.

While this allows a degree of financial independence, in general usage here we would usually not describe such an individual as "retired." Just a matter of semantics, I guess, but it implies that all the issues of planning, investing, saving, withdrawing, tax strategy are less of a concern for you.

Doesn't matter really. I think a number of posters were a little confused by your situation so I was just clarifying.

Welcome to the board.

 

[Alan]

I recently checked what my UK pension will pay at normal retirement age of 66 and it is $7,140/year and that is with 19 years of my paying into it before I emigrated.

I then checked what the incapacity allowance would be for someone in the UK and its $7,956/year plus an additional sum while you are under 45.

However, the incapacity does require re-certification by a doctor each year and living abroad is flagged as a strong probability that full benefits will not be paid.

It sounds like Austria has a more generous system than the UK, but I would be very concerned about health systems and costs if the OP were to consider living in another country.

 

[patrick01]

Yes, that must be really scaring. Assuming 2.5 Million people receive pension from the government already, and 300'000 unemployed people, but the population here is only 8 Million people.

The ratio between active work force and retired persons reaches 1:1 in 2020 according to statistics austria. That's so soon in 11 years. I think that is going to be a problem for several countries in europe. And in UK I think its the same.

 

[jambo101]

My uncle who lives in England became disabled after a serious motorcycle accident when he was in his 20's,he's been collecting a good disability pension ever since,he's 60 now.

 

[beowulf]

In the US, this is not as unusual for disability as some may think. I had friends in the military who were injured - not in combat, but in training - and were retired from the military with a pension for life, plus free medical care. Same of course goes for combat, but that's more understandable. If the injuries are not so serious as to stop them from working, the pension will be reduced by some complex formula. The same goes for firemen, police, most public employees, etc., who can all collect semi-decent disbility pensions at an early age well in excess of SSID, which really is at a subsistence level.

 

[Alan]

My uncle who lives in England became disabled after a serious motorcycle accident when he was in his 20's,he's been collecting a good disability pension ever since,he's 60 now.

And would he have retained it if he emigrated to another country like the OP I wonder?

My sister suffered brain damage 10 years ago aged 28 and was on disability until last year once the doc said that the anti-seizure drugs were keeping her under control. She went back to work last Fall. While her disability was enough to live on it was only comparable to what she earns now, $14/hr for 20 hrs/week. However she is very much hopeful that she will be able to increase her hours and improve her hourly rate with promotions.

 

[patrick01]

That means in the US only public employees get disability pension if they are injured? And the private employess only get cheap SSID and no real pension? That's unfair.

so long

 

[haha]

That means in the US only public employees get disability pension if they are injured? And the private employess only get cheap SSID and no real pension? That's unfair.

so long

Hey, welcome to reality. But our public workers deserve it, as they are "civil servants" whereas most of us are merely employees.

Ha

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

That means in the US only public employees get disability pension if they are injured? And the private employess only get cheap SSID and no real pension? That's unfair.

Well, that's why it's called disabilitiy pension. Most upper-income workers have private disability insurance to cover that risk since government disability is not usually generous.

I'd be careful about making judgments as to fairness given the fact that you are receiving a full pension from the gov at age 29. A few hard-working folks might question just how "fair" that is from the other side of the fence.

But from your perspective, sounds like things worked out very favorably.

 

[Moscyn]

So, Patrick01, why India or SEA? Cost of living is lower over in SEA or India but 800 Euro monthly is not enough. I see a lot of British and Americans over in SEA giving part time language lessons (mostly English) and getting paid a lot for it. You may wish to spend a few months travelling first and have a feel which country you want to settle in for studies. I know a number of western friends who chose to live in China for a few years and enrolled in universities there to study chinese language.