As Vietnam’s expat retirees defy the traditional notion of “slowing down,” they are reimagining what it means to grow older while remaining engaged in work and their passions. But can they truly retire in a country that lacks a formal retirement visa?
As populations around the world age, questions of how to approach retirement—and what to do with your time during retirement—are confronting more people than ever before.
These demographic trends present serious challenges for national governments striving to maintain economic growth while providing healthcare and other social services for older generations.
Retirement also presents a range of practical considerations for individual people, and long-time residents of Vietnam are no different.
For some expatriates who have already reached retirement—or are nearing it—the key is to not really retire. Among the five people interviewed for this story, there was a common theme: find a passion to remain engaged, even if that means continuing to work in some capacity.
“Retirement is kind of a misnomer,” said Dr. Mason Cobb, Chief Longevity Advisor at Vitalgen Health.
Dr. Cobb was chairman of Victoria Healthcare for over 20 years. “Maybe you quit your job—in Vietnam, 65 [years old] is mandatory—but don’t quit. Start another career or something. I plan to be relevant, to be doing something, to be dedicated to something, for as long as I can.”
Ken Atkinson OBE, who helped found Grant Thornton Vietnam nearly 30 years ago and now does a range of advisory work, echoes this view.
“I’ve never really planned to retire,” he said. “So I always took the view of what my father said about his friends, that basically the day they retired, they started dying. I think you need to have something to keep your mind active, and you need to do something for your well-being.”
Both Cobb and Atkinson continue to work in some capacity despite technically being of retirement age, and they are far from alone.
Dr. Wade Brackenbury worked as director of the American Chiropractic Clinic for almost 20 years and has “retired” three times during his career. Yet he has always been drawn back to doing something. His long-term retirement goal was to have a home in Thailand and a home in the United States, while being financially secure enough to not work.
“As I approached that point I realized I wasn’t happy about it, so now I’m still working a bit at my old company even though I don’t own it anymore,” he said. “I’m trying to do something meaningful without suffering very much.”
In his case, that means working two half-days a week while only seeing patients who specifically want to see him, and taking a few months out of the year to travel.
These circumstances highlight both the opportunities and challenges presented to those considering retirement in Vietnam.
Ample Opportunities
Across the board, the cost of living and thriving social scenes are viewed as two major benefits of retiring (or semi-retiring) in Vietnam.
“In many ways, this is a great place to retire because there are so many friends from around the world,” said Fred Burke, who has worked for Baker McKenzie Vietnam in some capacity since 1993. “It’s an enriching life, and it’s inexpensive. It’s not costly compared to living in San Francisco, where I’m from. I still like to go back there to visit my family, but it’s such a shock.”
Jocelyn Tran, who has nearly 30 years of professional experience in Vietnam’s sourcing industry, concurs, highlighting the exciting social opportunities of living in Vietnam.
“Living here gives you such an opportunity to learn about different cultures, and you can meet other foreigners who also live in Vietnam,” she said. “In cities like Saigon or Hanoi, you can go into any place and there are many foreigners mixing with locals, so the conversations are rich and broad; versus in the US, everyone has the same living experience as you even if they come from other countries, and they tend not to talk about it as much.”
Dr. Brackenbury highlighted this social mixing as well, adding that it’s relatively easy to fit in here in Vietnam, more so than in Thailand, where he also spends considerable amounts of time.
Atkinson, for his part, adds that those considering retirement—whether in Vietnam or elsewhere—should consider where the friends they want to spend time with are located.
“I always say just figure out where your friends are,” he shared. “Because when you get older, you get into retirement, having a circle of friends is very important. I love socializing, and I love entertaining, and that is one of the reasons why I wouldn’t go back to the United Kingdom. I’ve got friends in the UK, but scattered all over the place.”
The Visa Drawback
As with anywhere, of course, there are challenges associated with retiring, or semi-retiring, in Vietnam, with the most prominent issue for foreigners being how to maintain a visa. The Vietnamese government doesn’t offer a retirement visa, making full retirement almost impossible.
“Many people are interested in retiring here, or at least living here, but as it is now, you have to cross the border every month and get a new visa, which isn’t functional for anybody,” Cobb said. “Having a retirement visa program would be a good way to do it, otherwise it does sort of force people into continuing to work because then you can get a work permit.”
Burke, meanwhile, pointed out that some foreign residents are able to enjoy a secure immigration status since their spouse is Vietnamese, but he advised caution since that status will not continue in case of a divorce.
“Among my peer group, people do talk about their retirement years and a lot of them say Vietnam is the place, but it doesn’t have the right visa,” Fred Burke said.
Tran, meanwhile, highlighted other quality-of-life concerns to keep in mind, including the relentless heat in Ho Chi Minh City that will only get worse with climate change. Healthcare is another issue in her mind.
“Healthcare is top of the list as a major issue as the medical care is still far from other countries, even in comparison to neighboring countries like Thailand or Singapore,” she said. “Second would be the air pollution, noise pollution, the food safety and clean water in some parts of the country are also major concerns.”
These issues aside, the five people interviewed for this article are enjoying life in Vietnam and were more than happy to offer advice for those considering some form of retirement, either here or in another destination.
Atkinson, for example, has investments both in Vietnam and overseas and recommended a balanced portfolio approach.
“Frankly, if you take a long-term view of investing in the top companies, you’re not going to go wrong, so that’s a little bit of equities, but mainly investment trusts and ETFs,” he said. “That’s a conservative portfolio, and I’ve also got a smaller playbook portfolio, which is a bit more speculative. But I’d recommend having a good financial advisor that you can trust and is regulated.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Brackenbury passed on a piece of advice from a former business partner: “He made me write a retirement constitution of what my days would be, and when I wrote it out, I realized it wasn’t at all what I wanted to do. I’d say really think about what you want day in and day out when you retire. Sitting on a beach drinking cocktails can sound great, but think about that for a year.”
As these expats prove, retirement is less about quitting and more about continuously discovering what keeps you alive.
