Best Posts in Thread: Over Age 70

Bit late now - but just for info.....It was an artery down south - not the aorta....Supplies blood to the legs....and the lack of blood for a while meant my legs are about 80% of what they were. I'm not going to do a marathon but walking a k or 2 daily is ok....They did fix it up as best they could and I feel fine except for the leg weakness....Not a huge issue at my age - I would expect worse. Wife has retired.....from her nurse job at a local hospital....she will go to Negros soon to visit relatives (finally after Wuhan virus killed travel from and to Australia) and stay a while to evaluate things. We will see....I feel fine and working on the leg circulation daily.....currently 10 km a day on the exercise bike with moderate resistance. I think on current trend-line that Bacolod or Dumageute is likely. Pity my favourite relative there on Negros, an uncle who died from the Wuhan virus.....his wife almost died and is still suffering. I really feel the loss of such a great man and his wonderful dedication to helping the poor. Just because I want people to know - his name was Nestor Gabalda....an extremely successful businessman (owned sugar and electrical companies across the Visayas)....but also a very pious Catholic who sponsored probably hundreds of young students up to and thru university. Many of which he hired after they graduated. Many of which were the children of his very own employees! It is hard to imagine an employer who pays fairly - and pays for the entire education of your children...That was Nestor......He grew up poor....and remembered what a helping hand would have been worth.

I really miss Nestor he was a kind and yet lively friend - always with an opinion - and always so helpful. China killed him with their virus - and the Phillipines lost a very, very rare angel. But his good works will live on for generations - those graduates are moving forward in life and so are their children. An amazing fact - he actually lived in a house in downtown Bacolod.....a house he bought with his earnings in the early 1980's after he had a few taxis in his first successful company....That house was the same house he died living in. Of course he made it larger and more comfortable for his wife and kids....It was still the same house they always knew though - and the same house we enjoyed visiting and even staying. Minimal security....everyone knew - Nestor was special.

What is the point of writing this about Nestor? People like him do happen...even in the Philippines.....So rare...we should treasure them when we know them.....

 

Pacific Cross offers insurance for seniors, their Blue Royale Premier product.
It's not cheap though, at age 70 you'd pay 9,300 US$ per year for their "Standard" product, and 3,500 US$ per year for "Major", with an optional rebate up to 40% if you agree to a sizable deductible.
Premiums go up as you get older. 13,000 US$ at 75, etc.
Brochure available here

Obviously, nobody wants to insure a house that's already on fire, so you'll need to answer a whole bunch of questions in the application form.
I would also think that with customers getting insurance with them at a rather advanced age, the risk of getting into discussions about whether some medical problem was "pre-existing" at the time of applying seems rather large anyway.

 

I think we are all aware of the chances we take...

 

I did the same thing - and as soon as a claim is made they find you had neo-natal jaundice 70 years ago and dismiss the claim (Source?: I made it up as an example).

 

Agree totally, I don't gamble with my health concerns, that's why I remain a visitor not an Expat.
Anybody with on going medical problems or previous major health issues would be advised to have a back-up plan.
Chances are that anything major goes wrong, it would be a further risk, just to travel back home for treatment. Stay healthy folks.

 

Money "saved" is not the same as money "invested". All investments by nature are risky - and often the greater the return, the greater the risk. But I do understand that younger people need to protect the value of their assets - often the safest is in property (but I would avoid commercial currently) and the least safe is sending to a Nigerian 'prince' so he will send back $5 million in gold!

Money saved for medical requirements needs to be very liquid, not all investments are. It needs to be in a bank with easy access - but it definitely will be deflating in value as hardly any easy-access accounts give above inflation rates. That is not to say it is safe as there is no 'absolute safety' - banks go bust, governments may not have the money to replace it (unless they keep printing, but that trick will one day lead to a meltdown), money under the mattress is lost in a fire or by governments eliminating certain currency overnight.

Life is risk, of course.

But for anyone thinking of having 'safe' liquid cash, then stocks and shares are too risky, property is too illiquid (and subject to value crashes).

I hold cash in the home, cash in various banks, gold in a vault, one property and no shares or stocks (I am too old to do that).

As most members here are elderly (SORRY!) then they need to think safe - but I accept younger people can think 'risk', as we know they do.