[quote=“quandary, post:176, topic:167613, full:true”]
How does health insurance work in this situation? Don’t you need to be insured both in the US and in Taiwan? Can you insure for a partial year?
This is something I need to try and figure out. I’m looking into global health insurance with coverage in the USA and possibly health share ministries. I’m a little wary about health share ministries since from what I heard it’s technically not insurance.
I’m considering Roth conversions also as it will definitely help us down the road, but in doing so I think it will prevent me from receiving ACA subsidies.
I have high blood pressure and manage it with medication. If I enroll in a health care ministry plan would they deny my claim if I had a heart attack while back in the states? I’m guessing they could very well do that. It’s just something I need to look into more thoroughly before I actually retire.
Such evil legislation, taking away Americans’ freedoms and consitutional rights to not have health care!
Or something like that. 
Guy
If your tax rate is lower in retirement, it’s better to defer paying the taxes, rather than paying sooner via a conversion. And you’re likely to want to withdrawal more in an early retirement, when you’re able to do things, have to pay insurance, etc. SS is not taxable unless you have enough other travel income, which you’ll need less of when drawing SS. You’re not convincing me that a conversation is generally a good idea. 
might want to recheck your assumptions there…
I am not trying to convince you. This works for someone who has a low income in the tax year, has substantial assets in pre-tax portfolio that RMD is a concern, has money outside of those retirement accounts to live, travel, and pay taxes, and will have higher tax rate when SS and/or pension kick in…
It’s funny. You have no idea about my asset allocation and tax situation. Hopefully someone who is able to retire early such as muubie, GoCurryCracker and myself, is not a dummy and knows what they ware doing.
if you have substantial assets for a conversion in a low tax year, that’s not going to be a low tax year due to conversion!
I’m talking generally, not whatever your specific situation is.
You convert up to a tax rate that is acceptable to you, or you set a budget on how much tax you want to pay (Not saying you should convert everything all at once). Go Curry Cracker can do it without paying any tax. I am not as lucky, so I have a budget for the amount of tax I want to pay. I just have to make sure the tax amount for my income plus the amount of conversion is within that budget.
I used a health share ministry (maybe not the right term since it wasn’t religiously affiliated…I think the broader label is medical cost sharing groups) for about 3 years with no complaints. It was called Sedera. But nothing serious ever happened to us in that time. However in the past year a bunch of these have turned out to be scams. Doesn’t mean they’re all bad or the concept is broken, but it just means it’s easy for them to operate improperly so you must do thorough research and be aware of the risks.
And since they aren’t ACA-approved, no most (all?) of them will not cover pre-existing conditions.
As for maintaining coverage in the US and Taiwan, once you’re eligible for NHI in Taiwan, you will need to continue paying premiums each month forever…UNLESS you leave Taiwan for more than 6 months. So if you decide to always take more than 6 months away, that could allow you to pause your NHI. I don’t know all the details so there may be other considerations, but that’s the general rule. For the US, if we’re talking pre-Medicare, then the ACA does allow for Special Enrollment if you have just moved back from abroad. However, I don’t know exactly what requirements are needed to prove a permanent move back from abroad, nor do I know if this is something you could routinely do.
I think I retired in my forties. If you go wherever you want whenever you want and only do what you want whenever you want does that mean you’re no longer part of the rat race？
Go off grid…that’s finale!
I just realized that you’re the Max I’ve been following on YouTube. I first heard of you through a podcast interview you gave before moving to Taiwan. I haven’t really seen many videos from you so I guess you’ve been pretty busy.
So, how’s life going so far in Taiwan? My wife and I are planning a visit in October. We usually go back every few years but this will be the first time since covid. This trip will be a little different as we are trying to find out what it will take for us to stay there as residents and to be able to enroll in the national health plan.
Cool to know a celebrity, right?
Have you actually tried any off the grid living? I have. No thanks, I enjoy modern conveniences.
I’m planning off the beaten path but very connected. Who wants to live on the Moon and not have access to Netflix, ebooks or pron?
The concept is broken - there’s no obligation for them to pay (way beyond regular insurance issues).
That’s pretty much what I do every day! I love it! And I’m not even 40 yet.
Although I will probably have to start working again if I ever decide to get married and have kids.
Maybe it is. I don’t know enough to say for sure.
Yeah I think I’ve posted maybe two videos in the last year? Lol, I might do more but my time and energy is moving much more towards my music stuff. A lot in the works when I get back to Taiwan next month.
Oh sweet, where? Do I know them? 
Not if you are already a multimillionaire (USD) or multibillionaire (NTD) now, or have a good passive income (for example rental income).
Who has that kind of money? I only know one “multimillionaire” my age and he inherited his fortune from his parents and is an insufferable trust fund baby. There’s not a lot of doctors, lawyers, and early crypto investors in my circle of friends/acquaintances. I think most multimillionaires aren’t rushing to come work in Taiwan unless they won their wealth here by opening some super successful buxiban chain or expat restaurant. And even that is pretty rare.