Baby Boomers say retirement in South Korea is better than Germany

Keay receives more than $2,900 a month from his military retirement pension, in addition to a monthly disability veteran’s pension. He also receives payments from investments he previously made in a Vanguard Mutual Fund and money from the sale of his home in Germany.

“The disability combined with my retirement makes living at my age very comfortable,” Keay said. “With this money, I certainly have not only security, but also financial independence.”

Keay is one of nearly a thousand Army retirees who have settled in South Korea. In fact, the country hosted 908 US military retirees in September 2022, the second-highest amount for any country outside the US after Germany, according to a Defense Department report released in October 2023.

Keay said living in South Korea gives him better healthcare and a better quality of life. Furthermore, he doesn’t think he would have the same disposable income if he lived in the US.

A childhood interest in the military sparked a career

Keay was born in Malvern, a town in Worcestershire, England, and grew up in West Germany. His father was a member of the British Royal Air Force and served in World War II. From a young age, Keay was fascinated by the military and the US.

In 1989, while living in Germany, Keay met his ex-wife, who was an American soldier. A year later, Keay moved with her to Alabama and enlisted in the US Army in 1992.

For 10 years, Keay was stationed in various U.S. states and earned his U.S. citizenship, he said. Then, in 2002, he was assigned to outposts in Germany and the Netherlands.

When Keay retired from the US Army, he said he had no intention of returning to the US. Meanwhile, he and his first wife divorced.

In 2016, Keay visited Yongsan, South Korea, a district in Seoul, where he met his current wife Mi ok Jeon. Although they originally lived in Germany, Mi ok had difficulty adjusting to life in Waurichen, a small village near Germany’s border with Belgium and the Netherlands, he said. In addition, her son, who lived in South Korea, had a baby and wanted to be closer to her family.

Life in South Korea is convenient and efficient

In 2021, Keay sold the house he bought in Waurichen in 2005 and the couple moved to Daejeon, the fifth largest city in South Korea.

Keay and his wife rent an apartment in a complex that it has an excellent community and quality of life, including underground badminton and tennis courts, a fitness center and a mini library, he said.

Keay said he paid a $220,000 down payment when they signed the lease in order. to negotiate a cheaper monthly rent. He pays an average of $3,000 annually.

Keay said life in South Korea, from public transportation to healthcare, is convenient and efficient. For example, Keay said he can buy a one-way bus ticket in Daejeon for less than $1.

“The transportation is honestly amazing,” he said.

He said he is enrolled in the government’s healthcare system and because his pensions are his only income, he is classed as having a low income. Keay pays about $18 a month for health care coverage, he added.

Keay visits the doctor every three months for blood pressure medication and said an appointment costs about $3, while a three-month supply of the medication costs about $15.

Keay also said he likes the ease of travel in the Pacific. He and Mi ok have traveled to over a dozen countries together and recently returned from Japan. In October, Keay plans to visit Saipan.

Are you a veteran or baby boomer who retired overseas? This reporter wants to hear your story. Please contact at [email protected].