FYI: (The Linkster would like to add one more.)
People living in these 10 developed countries are most likely to have retirement security, based on certain factors including health, finances during retirement and quality of life.
The 2018 Natixis Global Retirement Index evaluated the U.S. and 42 other developed countries.
Regards,
Ted
1. USA
1A Switzerland
2. Iceland
3. Norway
4. Sweden
5. New Zealand
6. Australia
7. Ireland
8. Denmark
9. Canada
10. Netherlands
2018 Global Retirement Index Report:
https://www.im.natixis.com/us/resources/2018-global-retirement-index-report
Comments
One is pretty much a visitor, depending upon visa allowances for time in country.
Denmark is a no go, NZ, too.
Check a few of these for your knowledge base.
Otherwise, a nice list.
I've been near to wanting to stay, but only stayed for a few days, in Andorra.
The Basque region of Spain, too.
There are so many fascinating places to visit.
A sampler: How to Live in Denmark
Dunno about public sector pension... I once entertained staying Stateside, but doing it in a US territory. Not PR, never. Guam? Saipan? Northern Mariannas? USVI? No, the heat and humidity would kill me in 2 months.
It's different for Part D (drug) coverage, Supplemental Medicare, and Medicare Advantage (Part C). Those are strictly private insurance policies, and offered based on your state of residency. Since an expat has no state of residency, these policies cannot be purchased. The good news here is that this means that an expat isn't penalized for not buying a Part D plan when turning 65.
https://goodcare.com/dealing-with-medicare-as-an-expat-when-and-how-to-enroll/
Original Medicare does not cover any service, even emergency care, outside the US except under extremely bizarre and limited geographic situations. "U.S. Standard Medigap plans C, D, F, G, M, and N provide foreign travel emergency health care coverage when you travel outside the U.S". As noted above, these are not available to expats.
https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11037-Medicare-Coverage-Outside-United-Stat.pdf
Medicare Advantage plans (also unavailable to expats) will often cover medical emergencies abroad as well. Here's a sample United Healthcare Medicare Complete 2 contract: https://www.aarpmedicareplans.com/alphadms/ovdms10g/groups/ov/@ov/@highrespdf/documents/highrespdf/4249418.pdf
Sounds like the typical senior doesn’t have much of a chance of retiring abroad unless wealthy enough to fund his / her own emergency medical care. Regular Medicare won’t cover you and Medicare Advantage isn’t available to expats.
Humm ... I suppose living near the border (Mexico or Canada) would work. I do like Canada - but would prefer to be farther away.
Hell, for that; we'll spent some big cash in Harbor Springs or nearby for the warm months and go south bound to AZ or ??? for the winter months.
As far as those retirement choices go, fine if you have lots of money. Those Northern European countries are expensive, and you'd be paying Uncle Sam AND Europe taxes on your US investments. Even with double taxation agreements, Europe taxes you more so you'd be paying the difference. Then there is wealth tax, inheritance tax...Asia would be a better option, unless you have the dough.
Yes - geographically we are a rich land. Harbor’s a lovely area. Actually hoping to get back to the Canyon in the not too distant future. First trip out there a few years ago was a “mind-blower”. (But not the kind OJ’s been dealing in).
Take care.
PS - @Catch, if you haven’t noticed, one of our state’s Gubernatoriial candidates is appearing in TV ads - gun in hand. Says a lot about where we are as a nation.
https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-a-costs
Curiously, even without Part A, one can still buy Part B.
https://www.medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/medicare-basics/medicare-eligibility-overview/medicare-part-b-eligibility-for-those-ineligible-for-premium-free-part-a
There's also the weird situation where some people with 40+ credits may decline Part A coverage. So there are various reasons why not all Americans are covered by Medicare at age 65.
https://www.dummies.com/personal-finance/insurance/health-insurance/how-to-opt-out-of-or-disenroll-from-medicare-part-a/
What's special about Europe for your coverage?
Someone mentioned Costa Rica above and it is #1 in this list.
Portugal looks most interesting to me.
We subscribed (print form) to International Living from 1975-1990. We always enjoyed their research; although we were not always a fan of some of their choices. I still am not comfortable with some of their current list.
I traveled quite a bit during my 20's and found pieces of "paradise" here and there, but could not piece them all together in one package/one place.
What I could deal with and tolerate in my 20's would be a different situation today.
Thanks for the link.
Catch
@Catch22- Yes, exactly. One thing to learn and adapt to a foreign language when you're young, quite another pushing 80. Even though we have gone to Europe many times on guided tours, we like to get away from the scripted tour parts and go out on our own. You soon realize that the side of things that tourists see is one thing, and the everyday experience of shopping, for example, is something else again. As a tourist we can easily get by with primitive hand signals and asking for help if there's anyone around who might speak English. But as far as survival on an everyday basis as a resident, that's a whole different kettle of fish.
The grass might actually be a bit greener on the other side of some fences, but actually being able to enjoy that is something else again.
Can't get into story telling here, as I would violate thread drift more; but I was always the good, courteous American when traveling at my young age. I have not done anything else that helped form and shape me into having a more complete understanding of myself, my own country; as well as the countries and people of the many places I visited or lived for an extended period of time. Always curious and open to what was in "my world" at the time; and try all of the food, most important, IMHO.
I would not change any of this experience.
Btw, Portugal has a special deal. Look up non habitual residency status. You are given a tax break on income that you already pay taxes on outside of Portugal. The status is good for 10 years. Google it, since it isn't as cut and dried as I mentioned. I think International Living is a scam, and wouldn't take any of their info seriously. They must be tied into selling real estate in the countries that they promote, only informing you about the positive aspects of living in their latest foreign retirement paradise of the month.
(a)access to good reasonably priced healthcare,
(b)cost of living in general,
(c) safety,
(d) ease of assimilation in community,
(e) alignment with your intended retirement lifestyle,
(f) distance from family/current friends,
(g) political stability, etc.
Every now and then, especially due to novelty factor and lower costs, option of retiring outside US comes to mind. However, I keep coming back to US in spite of negatives about a, b. Everyone's situation is different. We immigrated from Asia (legally), got excellent post-graduate education in mid-West, moved around a bit, but finally settled in Southern California, mainly due to access to opportunities in my field as well as great weather, friendly/diverse community. However costs are high and would like to reduce those as I get closer to retirement just to reduce risk of running out of savings. Healthcare is getting more expensive. With new developments, I am developing doubts about (d) and (g). For immigrants (f) is always nuanced due to split families and friend circles. You have to give up some in either case. Many South American countries score high on a, b and e, but I am not sure about c, d and g in many cases. I do know many who have successfully made the move to Costa Rica, Equador, etc and have been happy. Portugal scored high on a, b, c, e, g. I concur with Portuguese people being very nice and extremely helpful, which can make d easier in spite of language. This also gives me an opportunity to really learn a new language
Obviously, France has changed a great deal from when I was there in 1973. Although I never had time to visit all the compass points; France reminded me, somewhat, of the "regions" found in the U.S. Regional climates obviously different, the food, the mix of the cultural influences and the landscape.
Had I been fluent in French, I suspect I would have noticed variances of tones of pronunciation in the language in the various areas; not unlike England and the U.S.
One (well, at least I could) could spend a lot of time wandering France and discover so many varieties of everything.