Pension fund for life long expats

[John_Oates]

A quickie if I may.

I've been in Indonesia for over ten years, married with children, and will probably grow old here. I was teaching for a company for a year then moved to a school and have been here ever since. In the future, I may stay with the same school or move elsewhere - who knows?

Is my school required to pay anything into a pension scheme or anything like that? Will I be entitled to anything when I retire? or even if I leave?

To be honest the thought of retiring here on 'savings' is a bit scary.

Hope you are all having good days.

John

 

[lifelongexpat]

Not at all sure about work place pension schemes.

However, I would recommend you getting some sort of private pension going. There are local providers or offshore providers that cater for expats.

 

[kroshka]

I guess it kind of depends on what pension it is .. you should have some documents on that.. as far as I have heard.. BPJS is quite ok by releasing pension and retirement money...

 

[Daniel50]

I am no investment adviser but it is your responsibility to know if your school pays into a pension plan and if the plan seems okay. Also, investing in your own plan as lifelongexpat suggested, is an option. However, when investing be sure to watch for management fees as these can eat up a lot of your interest. Some plans would be better then others.

 

[John_Oates]

Thanks for the replies. I will look into some providers and ask what is going on at my school. Are there any one provider that seems popular and everyone goes with?

 

[John_Oates]

Yep. No contributions from my school. Does anyone have any lifelong plan suggestions?

 

[Smallworld]

Yep. No contributions from my school. Does anyone have any lifelong plan suggestions?

Depending how big your $$$ are per month I would so this way::
- get cheap state BPJS pensiun - 1% from your salary?
- support it with private fund like sinarmas pensiun (they have calculator on their website so you can do some simulations)
- you still have some $$ left then buy a land/build a house/rent out
If you have way too much money I would still consider maybe to pay for basic pension in your home country. Eg. in UK I can still pay some National Insurance which will go into my pension and this is regardless if you plan to go back or not. If IDR will be = as bolivian dolar/zimbawe dollar - become worthless then your pension from abroad will save your ass here.

Ideally you need to have all those 4 as the economy and politics are not stable anywhere.

 

[lifelongexpat]

Yep. No contributions from my school. Does anyone have any lifelong plan suggestions?

I'm in the same boat as you. My way of thinking is similar to what Smallworld has suggested:

1. Have a local private pension here in Indonesia. There are several options. Sinarmas (as Smallworld pointed out), Manulife etc.

2. Have another private pension in a more 'financially robust' country in a more 'sensible currency'. I'm not bashing Indonesia or the IDR, but one never knows what is around the corner.

Several prominent offshore/financial centres are attractive options for a private pension. Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Malta etc. Alternatively, somewhere closer to home such as Hong Kong or Singapore.

It's always wise to plan ahead. I've met far too many expats along the way who've not bothered saving and it never ends well.

 

[Daniel50]

I would think having something in Indonesia and owning my own property would be a good start. Some people need a small business after they retire, to make ends meet (perhaps this is something you could think of, or start, along the way). Also, having some money abroad. Again it is important to know what the management fees are as this can eat up a lot of interest. It is generally good to have more then one source as you are able.

 

[harryopal1]

Correct me if I am wrong but "buying my own property" can be a bit tricky as foreigners in Indonesia can lease but not actually buy. So at the end of the day, so to speak, you might not be able to pass on the asset. But there are others with this Forum who have much more knowledge about this.

 

[Daniel50]

Yes, I was thinking of an Indonesian spouse and I know pre and postnup etc.. Marriages do not always work but in this there are also different ways to look at an asset. (He believes, at this point, he will be in Indonesia long term) Also, it may depend on different factors including the ability to save etc.. Some people are not good savers so paying into a property/instead of rent can be helpful etc. etc. etc.. My comments are very general and not intended to be "financial planning".

 

[scouser59]

Correct me if I am wrong but "buying my own property" can be a bit tricky as foreigners in Indonesia can lease but not actually buy. So at the end of the day, so to speak, you might not be able to pass on the asset. But there are others with this Forum who have much more knowledge about this.

Ya your right of course , the right of ownership for mixed married is still waiting to be ratified , process etc .