Participant Experiences
What people say about reading here
Experiences shared by participants who have attended the Reading Companion, used the library, or joined the Day-Planning Workshop.
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From the reading room
Robert B.
Bangkok, retired engineer
"I had a folder of UK pension correspondence going back eight years that I had never properly opened. After four sessions in the Reading Companion, I had read every document and had clear notes on what each one said. The facilitator never told me what to do — but she helped me understand what I was actually looking at."
Reading Companion · April 2025
Supranee L.
Silom, former civil servant
"I found the library through a friend and subscribed for three months. The staff printed and bound the Social Security documents I needed, and I could read them at my own speed during my visits. It is the kind of quiet, useful service that is hard to find. The room itself is exactly right."
Library Access · March 2025
David K.
Sukhumvit, recently retired
"The Day-Planning Workshop was practical in exactly the way I needed. I had retired six months before and my days were shapeless. Two days of structured thinking with the group and a facilitator left me with a plan I actually use. No finance, no pressure — just a methodical look at how to fill the week."
Day-Planning Workshop · April 2025
Anne-Claire V.
Sathorn, semi-retired
"I hold pension documents from France and Thailand. Before the Reading Companion I had never managed to read them properly — partly language, partly just never having the time to sit with them. The facilitator was patient and knowledgeable about the format of both. I finally understand what I have."
Reading Companion · May 2025
Wirat P.
Lumpini, planning to retire
"I am two years away from retirement and wanted to read through my provident fund documents before meeting my company's HR team. The Reading Companion gave me the vocabulary and confidence to do that properly. I went into the HR meeting actually knowing what I was asking about."
Reading Companion · March 2025
Graham H.
Phra Khanong, retired teacher
"The library subscription is good value for what it is. I visited four or five times over two months and used it mainly to read through the government guides. The staff knew exactly where to point me. It is a genuinely useful resource and the room is a pleasure to work in."
Library Access · April 2025
In Detail
Three participant journeys
From a folder of unread documents to a clear personal summary
The situation
A 63-year-old British participant living in Bangkok had accumulated pension correspondence from the UK over twelve years without systematically reading it. She found the language and format of the documents difficult to navigate alone and had been putting off engaging with them.
What happened
She joined a Reading Companion cohort and brought different documents to each session. The facilitator helped her work through the language and structure of each one. She made notes at each session in her own words, building up a document-by-document summary over four weeks.
The outcome
After the four sessions she had a clear personal summary of each pension document, written in plain language, that she could refer to when speaking with her adviser. She described the experience as removing a source of low-level anxiety that had been present for years.
"I had been dreading sitting down with those papers for a long time. Reading them in a quiet room with someone who knew the vocabulary made a real difference."
A Thai-Australian participant reading two pension systems at once
The situation
A 58-year-old participant with both Thai provident fund documents and Australian superannuation statements had never been able to read both sets together. The two systems have different structures and vocabulary, and he had been managing them separately without a clear picture of the whole.
What happened
He used two months of library access to read background material on both systems, then joined the Reading Companion to work through his own documents. The facilitator was familiar with both systems and was able to contextualise the vocabulary in each.
The outcome
He left the programme with a clear set of notes on both pension arrangements and a much better understanding of how they related to each other. He subsequently sought out a regulated financial adviser for individual guidance, better prepared than he had been before.
"Using the library first was a good idea. By the time I came to the group sessions I already knew the basic vocabulary."
Planning the practical shape of a newly retired life
The situation
A 67-year-old Thai participant had retired four months earlier after a career in corporate management. The transition had left his daily schedule shapeless and he was finding the unstructured time difficult. He was not looking for financial guidance — his finances were settled — but for help thinking through the practical shape of his days.
What happened
He attended the two-day Day-Planning Workshop. The first day helped him map how his current week was actually organised. The second day, working with the group and the facilitator, he built a new structure that incorporated community activities he had not previously pursued.
The outcome
He left with a weekly plan template he has continued to use and a list of specific community groups and activities in his area. Three months later he reported that the structure had made the transition to retirement significantly more comfortable.
"I did not expect to find the Day-Planning Workshop as useful as I did. Having a structured two days to actually think about the week was exactly what I needed."
In Numbers
Quiet Years at a glance
4
Years running
380+
Programme participants
4.8
Average rating
92%
Rate higher document confidence after sessions
Telephone
+66 84 562 9173Reading Room Hours
Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00
Sat 09:00–13:00
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New Reading Companion groups start on the first Tuesday of each month. Contact us to find out which sessions still have space.
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