Decisions, decisions

[chrishansenhome]

I will turn 60 on November 8th. Big effing deal, one might say. Well, in the United Kingdom, it is usual that private pension funds "mature" on your 60th birthday. Any time after age 50, you can take your pension money and buy an annuity with 75% of it, and take as a lump-sum the other 25%, which is not taxable in the United Kingdom.

A few weeks ago my pension fund carriers noticed that I was about to turn 60. Therefore, I began to get material about it. However, the one time I clicked on a Facebook ad was for an outfit that shops around for the best deal with the money you have.

Briefly, the (gay) agent who spoke with me has gone through the entire process, and we have discovered that I will likely be able to take a lump-sum payout of a little less than £26,000. and buy an annuity that will provide me with around £430 per month. Those sums translate to a bit more than US$41,000 and around US$680 / month.

Now for the catch. While the lump-sum is not taxable in the UK, as I'm still a US citizen I will have to pay US taxes on it. My US tax accountant does not think it'll be excessive but I suspect that I'll lose up to 25% or so of that to Uncle Sam. Oh, how I wish I'd followed through and renounced my US citizenship a few years ago.

So, let's say that I'm left with around US$30,000 or around £19,000. What to do with that money? I have two ideas. The first is something that I've wanted to do for decades: take a trip to Australia. My health isn't getting any better, and if I don't do this now, I may never get to do it. I'm thinking March 2013. I would go to Sydney and Melbourne, with perhaps a trip to Ayres Rock on the way. I think this will cost somewhere around £4,000 for travel and lodging and mad money (just a wild guess). I would stop off in Singapore on the way there and the way back, of course.

But the other thing I would like to get is a gastric bypass. As the NHS is unwilling to pay for it, I would like to use the rest of the money for the operation and recovery. I think this will cost something around £13,000 in the UK. There is also the option of going abroad for it—Thailand and India specialise in this kind of operation for expats with ready cash and I suspect that it will be a bit cheaper there.

So after filling out the forms for actually getting the money, I will have to do some research on travel and health. In two years I will get my US Social Security (which I would have gotten even if I'd managed to renounce my US citizenship) and that will add another £600 or so to my monthly income. In five years, if I'm spared, I'll get my state pension here, which won't be a heck of a lot but will probably add a few bob to my total income.

I will continue to update here as I make my decisions.

Comments

Bypass

[am0.livejournal.com]

I've never understood why anybody would consider gastric bypass surgery. With my recent experiences, I understand it even less. There is an alternative way to lose weight and it isn't permanent: go Paleo. I've lost nine pounds in the short time I've been doing it and it appears to be fat loss rather than just water.

What I'm doing isn't the real Paleo diet: for three months I'm trying to give up all carbohydrates. Not eating grains means I'm avoiding gluten, which is what got me started. I've also learned that I have to avoid phythates, the chemicals some plants produce to protect their ungerminated seeds from being digested. All you have to do to reduce the phythates is to soak the food anywhere from a few hours to two days, until germination starts.

What's wrong with phythates? They prevent you from absorbing the vitamins and minerals in the foods you eat by binding them into an indigestible form. They irritate the hell out of the intestines in the process.

Three months ago I didn't know phythates existed. Three years ago I was unaware of the dangers from gluten. These discoveries, as useful as they are, are taking their toll on me. But I'm getting better already.

Anyway, get a copy of any of the books on the Paleo diet from your local library and commit to a reasonable period of trial. In my case, my doctor told me to try it for three months and then decide. I've already had to adjust my insulin pump to deliver less insulin several times and it looks as if I'll have to adjust again in a few days because I'm getting blood sugar readings in the 90s again. I'm using about half as much insulin now as I did three months ago.

Besides, I like eating meat. And I like not feeling hungry.

Re: Bypass

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

While I appreciate your suggestions, I have friends who have had bypass surgery, and have reported unqualified success. In most cases, a bypass which removes part of the small intestine completely alleviates diabetes, to the point that at least 80% of those who have the surgery see their blood sugar return to normal ranges within 2 weeks of the surgery without medications.

I have already been assessed fit for the surgery, it's just that the NHS won't pay for it. So I feel that going ahead with it is a good option for me.

[merlinwon.livejournal.com]

Eh.. take the trip and forget the surgery!

Why the need? You look fantastic when yu took those pics at your brothers!!

Happy Weekend, Handsome!!! ♥

If you do have the gastric bypass

[mouseworks.livejournal.com]

...do it where you live -- followup care in India is a bit tricky. A friend of mine in Philadelphia went to Mexico for a tummy tuck and ended up with a rather nasty infection which had to be treated in the US. My dentists here have indicated that they think dental tourism is a bit silly and not something they want to get involved in.

Re: If you do have the gastric bypass

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice; I will talk to my GP shortly to see what she thinks.

Citizenship

[bob sienkiewicz (from livejournal.com)]

Is it too late to renounce US citizenship? Eduardo Savarin did it to avoid taxes, among several other well-publicized recent cases.

Re: Citizenship

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

No, it's not too late. However, the process is very cumbersome and there is quite a wait, I'm told. So it's probably not feasible for me. When I first became a British citizen, you could renounce your citizenship by just going to the embassy and swearing an oath. You now have to do all sorts of forms, tax returns, and the like. For an attorney to do it costs around £1700.

And, anyway, I just want to simplify my life, as filling out tax returns every year for a country in which I don't live is a real drag.

[tim1965.livejournal.com]

I agree that the real issue with overseas medical care is infection and follow-up. The old "you get what you pay for" is very true. A number of my friends have traveled to Mexico or Brazil for medical care (including sex change surgery), and their experience has been that spending a little more money means a much better operative outcome as well as post-operative experience.

I'm curious as to why you'd accept the much-reduced Social Security payment at 62, rather than wait until 67.

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

I think it's quite likely that waiting until 65 (I'm old enough so that I'm still under the old 65 rule) will mean that I either will be so gaga that I can't enjoy it or dead. And if I die before I start getting SS then the government will take it all. I will be getting around £600 a month from SS, and with my private pension paying a bit more than £400 I'll have £1000 / month to play around with, and then if I do make it to 65 I'll be getting Her Majesty's Pension from my work here. That should be enough to make a good contribution toward living costs and then having mad money to do whatever I'm able to do by then (perhaps dribble a bit).

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

I hope whatever course of action you decide on will make you happy. :)