What are the options for obtaining a retirement visa in Thailand, and can someone recommend a reliable visa agent?

@Todd ********

Exactly my point! 65k is the minimum required for the average retirement visa. You obviously don't realise that. And yet so many can't afford it, so they have to scamper every year to an agent to get the extension they can't afford. It's comical to watch them. I retired at 48 and accessed Super at 50 - so yep, I worked until "almost dead" - these days I'm getting 10-12% return tax free! And yet again your basic arithmetic fails you. LTR is 50,000 for ten years, OX is around 14,500 for ten years, but LTR is better? Yeah, right! I'd say OX is the 'smart' visa for those with better things to do with their money, but heyho to each their own huh?

@Todd ********

I'll ask you a simple question. Johnny has good income and transfers a minimum of 65k to his Thailand bank account every month, which he can use immediately. Why the f*ck would Johnny pay an agent 20,0000 for a simple job he can do himself? Anyone who has provided for their own retirement has sufficient income. The only people who use agents are those without a decent income stream, so they scamper every year, hand over the 20k and their passport. I know losers like this. Never made provision for their retirement. Meanwhile I'm not one of your loser friends. Being Australian my super fund pays me between 10% and 12% per annum TAX FREE, and also being Australian I've got the best visa, the OX, five years ME, extendable another five years. Total cost? 12,000 baht plus 1900 for the extension. You really have no idea. But keep pushing your visa company. I'm sure there's enough Cheap Charlies out there desperate for an agent every year

@Peter **********

I think this is a question you need to ask yourself. Perhaps out of ignorance, you have neglected to factor in the crucial 800k deposit. I will ask some questions to help you out. 1- If johnny has 800k baht equivalent in his home bank account at 5%, how much does johnny have in the bank after one year? 2- How much does a visa agency charge for an annual renewal? Hint - about 16k. 3. If johnny takes his annual interest income and buys a visa extension thru his agency, how much does johnny have left in his pocket? And bonus question - how much time would johnny need to waste at the bank and local immigration office in order to hand over his 1900?

@Todd ********

1,900 v 20,000. Yea right! Where did you major in simple arithmetic?