Forty years ago International Living Magazine began popularizing the advantages of a bargain retirement overseas. They began promoting the idea that. since many foreign countries have a much lower cost of living it is possible to enjoy a better style of living even on just your Social Security.
Every January International Living (IL) generates a ranking of the top countries in the world to retire based on a variety of factors not just cost. After all, there are some very cheap places around the world, but you may not want to live there.
In their 2021 Country Index IL ranked Malaysia as #7 behind Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico. The rankings are from 0-100 with 100 being a perfect score. As you might expect Malaysia ranked very well on Cost of Living receiving a 91%. So it certainly qualifies as a bargain retirement overseas.