Surprising Trend: One in Three Americans Eyeing Cheaper Retirement Overseas. Should You?

Fact checked by Vikki Velasquez

Retiring abroad isn’t just a dream—it’s becoming a plan. In fact, more than one in three Americans (34%) say they’re open to moving to another country for a lower cost of living, according to a recent Western & Southern Financial Group survey.

The allure makes sense: Many international destinations offer greater affordability, cheaper healthcare, and the promise of a slower, more peaceful lifestyle.

But the move isn’t as simple as packing a suitcase and finding a beachfront condo.

Jane Mepham, the founder of Elgon Financial Advisors, splits clients interested in retiring abroad into three camps: those who visited once and fell in love, those who lived abroad during international work assignments, and immigrants who now want to return home.

“The last two groups have a more realistic view,” Mepham said. “The first group can still make it, but they need to do more research.” Here’s what you should consider.

Retirement Abroad Can Be Cheaper—But Not Always Easier

Healthcare and housing costs are often two of the biggest motivators for people deciding whether to retire abroad, but moving comes with caveats.

Visa Requirements for Insurance and Income

A visa is a document granting someone permission to enter and live in a country for a specific period of time. Retirement visas allow retirees to live in a country for their retirement years.

Visas are almost always required for foreign retirees, and the rules vary significantly by country.

While destinations like Panama and Argentina offer dedicated retirement visa programs, others—including popular spots like Spain and Greece—don’t have official retirement visas. However, they offer alternatives such as non-lucrative or long-stay visas.

Always verify eligibility and documentation requirements through a country’s immigration authority.

This is important because many countries offering retirement visas require proof of private insurance, minimum monthly income, and sometimes even demonstration that your presence will benefit the country, notes Mepham.

For example, Panama requires $1,000 in monthly income for its popular pensionado visa, while Argentina asks for private insurance and proof of retirement income.

“It takes a while to get some of these visas, so that’s another thing to keep in mind,” Mepham says.

Then There’s the IRS

The United States taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, such as wages, pensions, and capital gains, no matter their residency, notes Amy Jucoski, head of family office services at Callan Family Office.

Jucoski adds that other foreign disclosures and reports for foreign financial accounts may also be required.

Even if you break residency ties to your home state, you may still be expected to file state taxes too unless you’ve relocated to a no-income-tax state like Florida or Texas before moving abroad, she further notes.

To help you avoid double taxation on foreign income, Jucoski recommends researching credits and exclusions available for you and seeing which countries have tax treaties in place with the U.S. that clarify taxing rights.

Legal Complexity Can Derail Your Plans

Jucoski warns that cross-border estate planning is where things can get messy—fast. U.S. citizens are also subject to estate and gift tax on worldwide assets regardless of residency.

And while the lifetime exemption is high ($13.99 million in 2025), the rules can get complicated if your estate spans countries that don’t recognize U.S. trusts.

“Some countries do not recognize your U.S. trust as an entity—particularly civil law countries,” Jucoski explained. “Forced heirship rules may override foreign and U.S. wills and trusts if assets are located in that country.”

One workaround? Consider parallel wills—one for the U.S. and another drafted to be valid in the country where your assets or property reside.

Life insurance can also help provide liquidity to heirs who may be disadvantaged under local inheritance laws.

Mepham also flags FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) as an unexpected burden: “Because of FATCA rules, a lot of countries will refuse to open bank accounts for U.S. expats—this can become a huge challenge.”

Try Before You Leap

Before making a permanent move, Mepham encourages clients to run the numbers conservatively—then run the lifestyle experiment.

“I encourage them to go live in that country for a couple months,” Mepham says, noting that it should generally be easy with a tourist visa. Avoid hotels and tourist zones, and rent a local apartment.

For an even more intimate understanding of what life may look like, join expat Facebook groups to get real advice from people who’ve done it.

The Bottom Line

Retiring abroad might stretch your dollars, but it also increases the rules. Taxes, healthcare access, legal status, and estate complexity all can become harder to manage when crossing borders.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing, though—just that it’s not worth doing unprepared.

If you’re serious about making it work, be strategic: Consult advisors with international experience, spend time living abroad before making it permanent, and keep a financial and legal safety net rooted in the U.S.

As Mepham puts it, “Everything is not always greener on the other side.” But with good prep work, you may just find the right fit.

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