Inside the Trend of Americans Retiring Abroad

A day at the seaside tourist resort of Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo State, Mexico, on Feb. 15, 2019. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

As a record number of Americans turn 65 this year, retiring abroad is becoming an increasingly attractive option for many. Former U.S. residents—or “expats”—say it offers a solution to soaring costs of living and health care in the United States. This dream, however, comes with a disclaimer: There are still plenty of challenges to navigate in other countries.

For some retirement-age expats, finding a slower pace of life, a sense of community, and a temperate climate were reasons enough to pull up stakes.

Near the sun-drenched shores of Playa del Carmen in Mexico, Jeff Natale is living his best life at age 68.

“I wanted a warm spot year-round,” he told The Epoch Times in an email.

Natale, the author of An Expats Guide to Living in Playa del Carmen, runs JMN Consulting LLC. After spending years in New York and New Jersey, he decided he'd had enough of brutal winters and urban sprawl.

The inspiration to live a different kind of life came after a high school trip to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula in 1982. Natale fell in love with the culture, traditions, and slow-paced lifestyle of the locals and dreamed of returning one day to live there.

More than 30 years later, after marriage and raising a family in the United States, that’s exactly what he did. After what he referred to as a “series of life-changing events,” Natale turned his attention back to Mexico. He contacted a realtor and closed on a condo in Playa del Carmen in 2014, which kicked off a five-year retirement plan countdown that came to fruition in 2019.

“I said goodbye to the United States and arrived in Cancun with five suitcases and my African Grey Parrot,” Natale said.

Latin American countries such as Mexico, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil are top choices for living, according to the expat resource InterNations. In Europe, Spain ranks in the top 10 for best expat destinations, alongside the Philippines and Thailand in Southeast Asia.

The number of Americans collecting Social Security income abroad in recent years has risen sharply. In December 2008, the number of retired workers collecting benefits abroad was 306,906, according to the Social Security Administration. That number reached 443,546 by December 2021.

As of this year, more than 760,000 total Social Security beneficiaries living abroad receive a total of $7.5 billion in payments. That’s represents an almost 40 percent increase of total beneficiaries collecting from another country since 2008.

Beachgoers in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on May 25, 2020. Isaac Buj/Europa Press via AP

In the Philippines, Mike Jansen said he'd be spending his golden years abroad due, in part, to “unhappiness with American lying politicians” and how the government has treated former military service members like himself.

“Decided on the Philippines due to the culture, and they have more [spoken] English here than any other Asian country,” Jansen told The Epoch Times in a text.

Having lived in the country for 15 years, Jansen married a Filipina and is raising a family. He’s been working on an addition to his house for the past 10 months, putting in a formal dining room downstairs and a bedroom, bathroom, and balcony upstairs.

Jansen said the lower cost of living is definitely a bonus of living in the Philippines.

“So far, it’s cheaper than America,” Jansen said. “As long as the exchange rate does not dive.”

Health Is Wealth

When asked why he chose Playa del Carmen, Natale said the seaside town is a colorful “melting pot” of people, food, and lifestyles from all over Mexico.

“Considering Cancun is only 53 years old, and the state of Quintana Roo just celebrated its 50th anniversary, the vast majority of ‘older’ locals are representative of all parts of Mexico.”

Natale also said medical services are good and can be affordable. “I have found health care to be reasonably priced as a resident. Of course, there are two tiers of pricing—one for non-residents and one for residents. I do not have health insurance here as prices for care are much less than in my home states.”

Pricing varies in Mexico’s health care system. Public health care is cheap by U.S. standards, with an emergency room consultation costing as little as $6 in some places. However, services can be limited in the public sector, especially in rural areas. There can also be longer wait times for doctors in the public sector compared to the private sector.

Private health care is considered the gold standard in Mexico. It offers access to a wider network of hospitals and specialists, better infrastructure, and a higher number of English-speaking staff, according to the insurance provider Allianz Care.

As in most countries, private health care is more expensive in Mexico. Insurance options are available for expats who want the highest quality of care, and coverage plans are customized. On average, private health insurance can cost $1,700 per year or more. Insurance through Mexico’s public or national health care program is considerably less, costing $500 per year for eligible residents.

Natale acknowledged that despite the overall affordability of health care in Mexico, private insurance prices are steep. “If I need world-class health care, I can always go to Cancun, Merida, or Mexico City. Age and pre-existing conditions dictate the costs for insurance [in Mexico], and at my age of 68, it does not fit into my budget.”

Mexico has been a popular medical tourism destination for years. Thanks to the rising number of U.S. residents seeking health care abroad, retirees now enjoy well-established infrastructure and English-speaking care providers. In 2007, roughly 750,000 Americans traveled to other nations for health care. That number surpassed 1.4 million by 2017, according to a study published in The American Journal of Medicine.

A man holds a sign advertising dental services as he waits for American medical tourists to arrive from the border crossing checkpoint in Los Algodones, Mexico, on April 11, 2023. Around 600 dentists cram the four main streets of the town, offering procedures at a fraction of the cost in the United States. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

In the medical tourism world, Prathyusha Itikarlapalli said she’s encountered many reasons why U.S. residents are looking to retire in another country.

“Health care is the number one priority for most people considering moving abroad for retirement,” Itikarlapalli told The Epoch Times by email.

In her work with Envoy Health, a company that partners with dental clinics in Mexico, she has found that many Americans seek treatment like implants and full mouth restorations across the border.

“These patients are often drawn by the flexibility of appointments and the convenience of transportation amenities that clinics offer, making the experience much easier for those traveling from the U.S.,” Itikarlapalli said.

“Whether it’s the final medical bill that drives home the unsustainable costs or the realization that their retirement savings won’t be enough, this financial pressure is what frequently tips the balance.”

At face value, dental work in Mexico can offer significant savings, depending on a patient’s circumstances. Costs can vary from $35 for a simple cleaning to $650 for a dental implant. By comparison, a dental implant in the United States starts around $1,000 and can go up to $5,000.

Another important value add for American expats is proximity. “Mexico, for some of us, never really seems that foreign. Plus, we can go back and forth so easy!” Mike Wall, an expat in Playa del Carmen, told The Epoch Times via text.

Careful Planning

An estimated 80 percent of households with older adults—around 47 million—are either financially struggling or not far from it, according to a National Council on Aging study.

Being able to afford retirement in the United States is a growing concern. This is reflected in a recent CNBC survey where one in every five retirees said they have no retirement savings. Another 15 percent said they have less than $50,000 saved. More than half of respondents feel they don’t have enough money to last for the duration of their retirement, and 86 percent said inflation has impacted their savings.

In the same poll, one in every three surveyed retirees chose to relocate. Among the reasons cited are finding a lower cost of living, a better lifestyle, and better weather.

The results aren’t surprising, considering the number of Americans collecting Social Security income outside the United States. It’s a trend that transcends generations—with interest in living abroad tripling since 1974, according to a Monmouth University poll.

However, despite the perks of finding cheaper, sunnier shores abroad, there are still hurdles to navigate.

“Challenges for retirees often involve understanding and integrating into local legal systems,” attorney Michael Hurckes, managing partner at MAH Advising, told The Epoch Times by email.

As a legal professional specializing in succession planning and transition services, Hurckes helps clients navigate the challenging landscape of international financial and legal decisions. In many cases, he said clients need help with retirement planning abroad.

“Many U.S. residents I’ve worked with choose to retire outside the U.S. primarily due to favorable tax implications and robust estate planning opportunities, which often reduce financial burdens considerably while protecting their legacy. One client cited the advantage of a reduced estate tax burden in their selected country as a decisive factor,” Hurckes said.

“My role frequently involves ensuring compliance with foreign property and inheritance laws, which can differ vastly from U.S. systems and impact tax liabilities.”

There’s no getting around the fact that retiring abroad requires a lot of leg work. According to U.S. Bank’s wealth management division, retirees should consider residency requirements, tax obligations, banking, and real estate before moving overseas.

“There’s a big difference between visiting a country on vacation and moving there,” Rachelle Tubongbanua, senior vice president and managing director of U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, said in a company article.

According to Natale, some of the barriers American retirees encounter in other countries involve language, distance from family, and political and economic turmoil. However, not all obstacles are straightforward.

Americans can move to Mexico with their pets, but Natale said this was no easy feat for him. It took nearly a year to obtain the proper permits for his parrot to enter the country, but only “30 minutes to almost be deported upon our arrival.”

He called the incident a “classic lesson” in bureaucracy and corruption. But for Natale, it was just a bump on the road toward finding a new community and a better quality of life.

“Mexico is now my home,” he said. “My lifestyle is local. I live among locals, shop like a local, and have fully assimilated into Mexican culture. My acceptance by Mexican society has been overwhelming.”

On the other side of the world, Jansen feels the same way and is glad to call the Philippines home. “God willing, I'll never have to leave here.”