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Q: Retirement funds in China - Any suggestions/advice
On the other recent topic about how long people will stay in China there was a response from Scandinavian about building up retirement funds here & in your home country.
Ill be be eligible for the UK state retirement pension in 18 years which in today's money is "worth" about 6000 rmb/month. I also have a small private pension fund in the UK that I'm no longer paying into.
For those of you planning to stay here long-term what types of investments are you using to build up a retirement fund in China?
I'm considering buying a place here if the prices continue to drop (possibly Zhongshan as even now you can get a place for 6k/sq meter). So at least I don't have to worry about rent when I'm retired. But I do need to start investing some more to ensure a better retirement pot on top of what I'll get from the UK.
So any suggestions would be most welcome.
9 years 35 weeks ago in Money & Banking - China
The "Chinese way" is to buy health insurance.
The concept.
You pay X amount per year.
You will get medical coverage for a sum up to Y (Y = X * something the insurance persons computer says)
The insurance company invests your money (most likely in the property market)
If you get sick, you can get a one time sum to cover for the treatment (if your ailment is on the list of covered ailments)
If you don't get sick, you can then get your money back after having paid for 20 years, with interest. Getting your money out from the insurance company also ends your medical coverage.
There are variations to this theme, but this is the general "Insurance with Chinese characteristics"
Scandinavian:
you could also try the stock market, it is heating up pretty well right now, so if you put in money, and pull out at the right time, you should have that as a saving...with the risks involved
Hotwater:
Thanks. Think my wife has just taken out something like that. She didn't really explain it to me. She is also playing with the Chinese stock market. Will get more info off her :-)
I am really not sure why you want to stay in China for your entire life. I think it is better for both of your and your wife move back to UK where you can buy a small house in the country side and enjoy a real life. You can buy a house in China and live in here but you are not going to enjoy the same air and food quality back in UK.
ScotsAlan:
Oh, I don't know. Lots of fresh air and fresh food in the Chinese countryside.
And have you seen the prices of little houses in the UK countryside? The bankers have bought them as holiday homes with their mega payouts. I read today on BBC that average house prices in some parts of rural England are 20x average wage. Half a million quid for a two bedroom flat in the Cotswolds.
The idea of a cheap house with a bit of land (and a fishing pond) in subtropical south China to retire to sounds good to me 
.
The big worry is the bills when you get sick.
Hotwater:
I have a real life in China, thanks!
I enjoy living here & my wife doesn't fancy the idea of living in the UK (& neither do I!)
I've also weighed up the pros & cons, especially financial, & the UK has nothing to offer me.
I earn the same here that I did in the UK yet here I can save half my salary monthly & still have 2-3 holidays around Asia a year. I'm also finding more career opportunities here for a non-degreed Engineer (starting something new next month that will improve my long-term prospects).
Pensions - there is no way I could live on the current UK state pension yet I could get by on it in China, carefully.
Also as ScotsAlan stated....I'm totally priced out of buying a place in the UK now at my age. If I don't buy here then there is always her traditional family home in rural Jiangxi to fall back on, & I'd love to retire there.
So I'm here for the long-term & want to find investments to enhance my retirement income (especially with the lack of health care here!)
If you're going to trade stock markets, ease in slowly. Buy a few books, study them and paper trade. Whether you want to day trade, swing trade or invest long term, there's a little homework to do before you start.
I avoid the Chinese stock markets (and any equity originating from China) because it's illegal for me to trade them and/or they are unpredictable.
I feel no need to invest locally in any manner.
So far, I even don't have slightest idea on how I will manage when I get older. Probably I never see life beyond a year or more at a time. Nevertheless, I thought about buying stocks in China few years ago (influenced by my Dad who is literally in it every second). Hindered by my lack of Chinese language and not going to be here for long, I channeled some mount back home to my Dad so that he could invest on shares on behalf of me. Additionally, some amount I invested in Australian Share market. I hope, assuming the world remains and I remain to see beyond 30 years from now with all those companies in two countries where I invested, I will surely have something for my retirement. Based on my personal experience (observed from Dad) stock market works great for me rather than investing in property. Property values surely grows but you can't sell bits by bits when necessary.
My advise: do little bit research and spend some money on stock as bill8899 suggested (diversify your fund like :income group, dividend group, capital growth and throw few bucks in small but emerging companies whose price you think will grow, e.g small mining or energy companies) and spend some in gold. Finally if you have enough, and if you think you don't mind locking up money for long and don't need to worry for small amounts now and then later, then spend on property.
