Definitely a retirement Visa will do the job. But be sure to use an agent. All the paperwork and processing completed under a day. I value my time and this is definitely the way to go; fast and stress free.
I visited once and will never go back. It's very dirty and grimy place, don't feel safe at all, and too many scammers. Plenty of English is spoken in Thailand; never any trouble. Plus the female population does not compare to Thailand; 🇹🇠#1
Definitely in a US bank account. If there should be any problem, can you imagine how difficult it would be to get someone from the US SSA to talk to somebody in Thailand or vice versa? I'd also make the money transfers less frequent, say 2 or 3 times a year. Wire transfer is about $6.
I don't know of a Visa agent in that particular area but the one I used in Bangkok made everything seemless. Got the bank account setup, passport photo, all documentation done properly, and the retirement Visa completed in under a day with no stress. I can make money but I cannot make time so the Visa agent route is highly recommended from my point of view (also for the renewal).
It doesn't in my Thai bank, but I'm okay with it as any income earned now opens the door to tax obligations. Anyway the interest amount is not big money, so I consider it the cost of living in this wonderful country!