Retire in India and live off interest payments?

capt_mahajan

FERA has been replaced by FEMA. Both of these acts refer to foreign exchange issues, particularly conditions under which it can be brought in or taken out of the country.

The old FERA: Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, replaced with

FEMA: Foreign Exchange Management Act


Reasons for the change were that FERA was a product of a more restrictive set of foreign exchange laws. When the 'nation was on the move '(Mahatma Gandhi said once when told this, "yes, but in which direction?" ) it was probably felt that 'regulation' should give way to the word 'management'.

Besides, putting the word 'Management' in always sounds impressive, even if it is the same wine in a new bottle.


http://www.femaonline.com/ (warning, not an official site)

Aishah

Thanks for clarification, Capt. Now I will understand what I'm reading! It will all make sense (I hope)..

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"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Brisso

Contrary to many views, the current oil price is not a supply issue. The collapse of equity, finance and housing markets has created a rush to a relatively secure investment - oil. Most of the price increase in the last 4 months is driven by speculation, or to be more accurate, a flight to a perceived safe haven.

capt_mahajan

Frankly, I am confused about the oil price rise- or, rather, how much either speculation or supply/demand have contributed to it. There seem to be strong arguments for both.

edwardseco

A quick look at production levels over the last decade and consumption levels over the same period is telling as Chindia moves the rest of the world adjusts. My brother in law in Hyderabad has a new car..

capt_mahajan

I hope its not the brand new Swift I saw yesterday, not even registered yet but scratched like the cat that lost the fight

wannagoback

I am sorry, I am newbie and didnt know where to put my query.I have lived and worked in Canada for 34 years, just turned 60, want to get early retirement, which is less than if I waited till 65. I am by myself, all my family lives in India. My ex and two grown ups will stay in Canada. I want to go back to my roots. I did get Canadian citizenship.I am told I can get$450-$500 a month , it will be $300 higher at age 65. Question! where can I 'servive' and volunteer for free with a charitable
org. Any suggestion or ideas will be apprecited.

Aishah

wannagoback - take a look at this forum:
http://www.indiamike.com/india/volun...-in-india-f85/
it may give you some ideas for locations for retiring to.
and here's another good thread too:
Where is the Best Retirement Place in India?
although some of the places suggested may be quite pricey to retire to! However, it's all up-to-date information there.
How many rupees to the Canadian dollar? I tend to relate to rupees these days to give me some idea!
Oh, and welcome to India Mike!

sanjaymehra

Barring the metropolitan cities, like Delhi, Mumbai, the smaller towns are a good bet for you. A simple life in a smaller town like Bhopal, Dehradoon, etc is possible on the budget you are mentioning.
Where in India is most of your family located? I presume that you want to live close to them.
You could also always take up part-time or even full time employment or consultancy based on your work experience to supplement your income. With a growing economy, there are many options open in India now.

tsk1979

Wow, what a thread, I saw it just now.
Well lets see, retire in India in a medium sized non metro cosmopolitan city like chandigarh
Rent for a nice apartment : 15000/month
EMI for nice car etc., : 25000/month
Total = 40,000/month fixed cost
Add another 40 as your living expense.
this means comfortable living with holidays, dining, activities etc.,
this is like 2000$/month.
Nowadays you get 10% interest easily in India/ year
That means you need to have 240000$ in the bank to get 24000$/year. Of course taxes etc., come later.

But the point is if you have 1 million dollar savings at the end of your career in USA, you can enjoy a swank lifestyle with maids/drivers/cars/club memberships etc., at retirement!

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clint_bond

Possibly. The underlying question to ask is this - what do you seek out of "retirement" and life in general? An answer to that would get one started on whether "retirement" into India makes sense or not. Of course, I'm stating the obvious here.

Clint

doIhavetoReally

Well tsk -- you have taken the example of 'chandigarh' which has the highest per capita income in India!
I am sure you can get a comfortable living from anywhere between 500-5000$. Too many variables involved..

tsk1979

Chandigarh has very high per capita, that translates to comfortable living since everybody around you is educated.
But Chd has one advantage, many people earn near the per capita, its not that you have 1/1000th population of billionares and rest paupers.
Now compare this to Noida. To afford a good decent flat 3 bedroom in a nice posh locality you need to pay 30000 rent for a 3 bedroom.
In chd, you can afford much better accomodation for 15-20K/month

Half my family lives in chd, and I have also lived there for quite some time, therefore I know the living expenses.
If today I get a move on my current salary to chd or Mohali, I will jump! and its not just because its near to my home.

The figure I mentioned(80K/month take home salary after taxes) was for a mid size car + 1 domestic help + 4 nice vacations a year + movies on weekends and occasional fine dining.

Of course there is no upper limit.

another reason I mentioned chd because for a westerner, chd will be the city he/she will be the most comfortable in because of the style of living, roads, parks, amenities, less corruption and cleanliness

kmalik

Around the beginning of June - starting with post #265/page 18 on this thread, we had an exchange in which investment levels sufficient to support retirement living (in India) were being discussed. The market gyrations of the recent weeks and month have put a lot of retirees relying on similar strategies in some difficulty. Of course, those relying on interest might well be on relatively safer ground - but overall lesson is quite sobering indeed.

A lot of you in India with defined-benefit (pension) plans are in somewhat inoculated from the volatility and decline in markets. For the others who are more familiar and/or affected by it, I am wondering what lessons you are drawing and what forward looking strategies you are contemplating?

alouise

Cyberbaba, I think you could still do it for $300/month. True, it was probably easier in the 80s. The monthly rent in Candolim was incredibly cheap back in those days, but there are much less developed places to choose from where your budget would stretch quite nicely. Depends where you want to base yourself. Or perhaps you want to wander around? Either is possible, even if travelling that needn't be expensive. You could save by going slowly and taking sleeper class. Also, you might need to think about what type of investments would guarantee secure income. In the current global situation, bond dividends are probably the safer bet and you might think twice about $US. I was reading that something like 80% of US GDP is foreign debt ($65 trillion?) and that's not the most recent figure which is probably much worse! China, which owns most $US, is not really keen to take more losses and could be about to dispose of their stockpile which could see the dollar dive. Best see what goes down and plan accordingly. Good luck. Hope you do it. Sounds a great idea.