With more older Americans retiring to la dolce vita abroad, it pays to keep in mind the perks and potential pitfalls when the sweet life gets complicated.
Dan Prescher and his wife, Suzan Haskins, became expats shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and have lived in four countries since then.
For the past four years, Prescher, 60, and Haskins, 58, have been living in Cotacachi, Ecuador.
They are editors with International Living, a company that promotes the expat lifestyle in websites and live conferences.
The company recently noted Social Security Administration data that showed the agency sent 613,650 benefit checks outside the United States in June, up from 242,128 in 2002, the year after the terrorist attacks.
Prescher believes that the figures underrepresent the number of American retirees living abroad, he said, because some of them continue to have checks sent to U.S. banks.
We caught up via phone with the couple and asked them to share a little about how they're making it all work. An edited transcript follows:
Q: Living abroad sounds romantic, but how difficult are the mechanics of getting there?
Prescher: There's a lot of bureaucracy, and visa requirements are changing all the time.
You can do a lot of research now on the Internet, so that helps a lot, but every country is different. We recommend getting an on-the-ground attorney or visa facilitator. They can actually go with you to the immigration offices.
Q: Why Ecuador?
Haskins: We like it here because of the climate and (low) cost of living. The Ecuadorean people are really wonderful too. They go out of their way to help you. Every day here is 75 degrees and beautiful. We never pay more than $30 a month for utilities.
Prescher: It's the best bang for the buck that we know of, and this country lacks for nothing in infrastructure.
We live in a condo complex built by an Ecuadorean developer. Our place is 1,100 square feet, and we paid $52,000 for it when we bought it four years ago. The property taxes are $53 a year. All in, our living expenses are $1,500 a month.
Q: What does that exclude?
Haskins: Those are our daily living expenses.
It doesn't include travel or health insurance, and because we are serial relocaters, we have an international health insurance plan, which is more expensive than buying a (localized) policy.
It also doesn't include a car, because we've found we don't need one.
Q: Have you met many U.S. retirees there who are continuing to pay for Medicare premiums even though they can't access benefits while abroad?
Prescher: It seems like about half are keeping current on their plans in case they want or need to go back (to the United States) when they're older.
Q: What advice would you give to people thinking about retiring outside the U.S.?
Prescher: Do a lot of research and then spend as much time on the ground as you can before you pull the trigger. You can do a lot of research and then get someplace and it feels completely different than what you thought. You need patience, a sense of humor and a sense of adventure. You should be running to something, not away from something.
Haskins: I think the people who are most successful are the ones who are very flexible and able to go with the flow.
The more you can adapt to new situations, the better off you'll be.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/sc-cons-0814-journey-20140815-story.html
Dan Prescher and his wife, Suzan Haskins, became expats shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and have lived in four countries since then.
For the past four years, Prescher, 60, and Haskins, 58, have been living in Cotacachi, Ecuador.
They are editors with International Living, a company that promotes the expat lifestyle in websites and live conferences.
The company recently noted Social Security Administration data that showed the agency sent 613,650 benefit checks outside the United States in June, up from 242,128 in 2002, the year after the terrorist attacks.
Prescher believes that the figures underrepresent the number of American retirees living abroad, he said, because some of them continue to have checks sent to U.S. banks.
We caught up via phone with the couple and asked them to share a little about how they're making it all work. An edited transcript follows:
Q: Living abroad sounds romantic, but how difficult are the mechanics of getting there?
Prescher: There's a lot of bureaucracy, and visa requirements are changing all the time.
You can do a lot of research now on the Internet, so that helps a lot, but every country is different. We recommend getting an on-the-ground attorney or visa facilitator. They can actually go with you to the immigration offices.
Q: Why Ecuador?
Haskins: We like it here because of the climate and (low) cost of living. The Ecuadorean people are really wonderful too. They go out of their way to help you. Every day here is 75 degrees and beautiful. We never pay more than $30 a month for utilities.
Prescher: It's the best bang for the buck that we know of, and this country lacks for nothing in infrastructure.
We live in a condo complex built by an Ecuadorean developer. Our place is 1,100 square feet, and we paid $52,000 for it when we bought it four years ago. The property taxes are $53 a year. All in, our living expenses are $1,500 a month.
Q: What does that exclude?
Haskins: Those are our daily living expenses.
It doesn't include travel or health insurance, and because we are serial relocaters, we have an international health insurance plan, which is more expensive than buying a (localized) policy.
It also doesn't include a car, because we've found we don't need one.
Q: Have you met many U.S. retirees there who are continuing to pay for Medicare premiums even though they can't access benefits while abroad?
Prescher: It seems like about half are keeping current on their plans in case they want or need to go back (to the United States) when they're older.
Q: What advice would you give to people thinking about retiring outside the U.S.?
Prescher: Do a lot of research and then spend as much time on the ground as you can before you pull the trigger. You can do a lot of research and then get someplace and it feels completely different than what you thought. You need patience, a sense of humor and a sense of adventure. You should be running to something, not away from something.
Haskins: I think the people who are most successful are the ones who are very flexible and able to go with the flow.
The more you can adapt to new situations, the better off you'll be.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/sc-cons-0814-journey-20140815-story.html
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