Who Richard advises
Richard advises people from organisations like these.
Employer information is provided by clients during the consultation process and is not independently verified. Logos shown are trademarks of their respective owners and do not imply endorsement of Richard Knight or Business Class Asia.
Who this is for
Who this service is for.
- 01
Pre-retirement professionals
55–65, planning the move to retirement, want a sustainable drawdown plan that survives a thirty-year horizon.
- 02
Recent retirees in Thailand
Already drawing pension, want a second opinion on the sustainability of the current rate.
- 03
Retirees with multiple income sources
State pension, occupational pension, savings, possibly a rental property, want it all sequenced sensibly.
What's involved
What's actually involved.
Most retirement plans are sales tools dressed up as planning. The real work starts with the numbers that actually matter: your pensions, savings, investments, monthly cost of living in Thailand, and your exposure to sterling against the baht.
From there, the aim is to create a long-term retirement income plan that can survive market falls, rising healthcare costs, currency movements and the reality that retirement may last thirty years or more.
Where appropriate, this can be structured through a recognised international pension trust, established and regulated as a pension rather than an insurance product, and recognised across multiple jurisdictions worldwide. Properly structured pension arrangements can provide materially different tax treatment in Thailand compared to standard investment or insurance wrappers, helping preserve more of your retirement income rather than losing it unnecessarily to taxation.
Sequence-of-returns risk
A 30% market decline in your first three years of retirement is structurally different from the same decline in year fifteen. Sustainable withdrawal rates depend on the sequence, not just the average.
The 2024 Thai remittance overlay
A withdrawal plan that was sustainable under the old Thai rules may not be under the new ones. The drawdown sequence has to account for the tax overlay or the plan understates true costs.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes to avoid.
- 01
Drawing too much, too soon.
The 4% rule is a heuristic, not a plan. A sustainable withdrawal rate depends on market conditions, age at retirement, and the desire to leave an estate. It is rarely actually 4%.
- 02
Ignoring currency exposure.
GBP / THB has moved 30%+ over decade-length windows. A retiree drawing GBP income to fund THB cost of living needs an explicit position on currency risk.
How the practice works
Three conversations before any commitment.
A measured introduction, a written plan, and a clear engagement. No long sales process. No pressure on the first call. You leave the first meeting with a clearer view of what is in front of you, whether or not the work proceeds.
- 01
An introduction.
Thirty minutes by video, or in person at the Bangkok, Hua Hin or Pattaya office. A discussion of your situation, your concerns, and what the years ahead are intended to look like. Rough figures are sufficient. No documents required in advance.
- 02
A written plan.
A second meeting where the work is appropriate for both parties. A written summary of the plan, the moves in priority order, the realistic timeline, and the cost in plain numbers.
- 03
An engagement, in writing.
A written engagement letter that sets out how I am paid, commission on what is arranged and a fee on what is managed, with every figure and what it pays, before you proceed. Either party may end the engagement at any time. Custody arrangements remain in place regardless.
Free guide
Retirement planning in Thailand.
Retirement planning is not about a number, it is about income for life. The visa requirements, the frozen UK State Pension, currency risk, medical inflation, sequence of returns, and tax-efficient drawdown across two systems.
What is inside
- The visa foundation and your income map: the O-A and the LTR
- The three Thailand-specific risks: frozen State Pension, currency, medical inflation
- A layered drawdown strategy, and the sequence-of-returns problem
- Tax-efficient drawdown across two systems, and the mistakes to avoid
Plain English, nothing to sign. Useful even if you never get in touch.
The advisor
Richard Knight.
Richard Knight is a British national with fifteen years' experience in private wealth management, advising internationally mobile clients across Asia, Europe and beyond. Based in Thailand, he works with expatriates and international families navigating the complexities of cross-border wealth, retirement and estate planning.
The practice is built on first-hand experience of international relocation and long-term expatriate life, rather than a purely theoretical understanding of it.
He is an Associate Member of the UK's Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (ACSI) and holds CISI qualifications in Financial Planning and Investments.
He also serves as Vice Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand in Hua Hin, supporting the local business and expatriate community.
Richard maintains a deliberately limited client base, focusing on conservative, long-term planning for people who value clarity, stability and peace of mind over unnecessary risk.
“Richard works in finance business for many years and his recommendations are reliable and efficient. He is very attentive to the clients and help them to come to the most beneficial solution. Having Richard as your personal finance consultant you can feel secure for your future.”
“Richard is reliable person, with good knowledge of the products that he propose to clients. He want client to understand the process and he cares of the client future.”
“Richard is a great and reliable service provider.”
Fees and what to expect
What it costs, and how I'm paid.
I am paid through commission on the products arranged and an ongoing fee on the assets managed. Every cost, and what it pays, is set out in writing before you decide.
You may ask what any recommendation pays me, and the figures that apply are agreed in writing in the engagement letter before you proceed.
A first 30-minute consultation costs nothing and obliges you to nothing.
Client assets are held by an appointed trustee or a regulated platform, never by me.
Questions
Questions about this.
Go deeper
Tools and related reading.
Try the tool
How long a pot lasts at the income you want, on assumptions you set yourself. A guide, not advice.
- Richard Knight, ACSI
Pensions · 8 min
The UK state pension is frozen in Thailand, what that actually means
Why the UK state pension does not uprate annually for expats resident in Thailand, and what to plan around it.
Read article - Richard Knight, ACSI
Pensions · 6 min
Pension fees, the twenty-year cost most projections quietly omit
The compounding effect of a 1.5% per-annum fee versus a 0.45% per-annum fee over a typical retirement horizon.
Read article - Richard Knight, ACSI
Retirement · 6 min
Can you retire in Thailand on £2,000 a month?
A grounded look at what £2,000 a month actually buys in Hua Hin and Chiang Mai in 2026.
Read article
Begin a conversation.
Thirty minutes, by video or in person at the Bangkok, Hua Hin or Pattaya office. Free, and without obligation. You leave with a clearer view of what is in front of you, whether or not the work proceeds.
Book a meeting
Choose a time that suits you.
Thirty minutes with Richard Knight, ACSI directly. By video, phone, or in person. No obligation.