Where to Retire Overseas
Why would you want to retire abroad? How can you determine where to retire overseas? It's widely known that your dollar goes further many places overseas. We explore the options for overseas retirement, as well as tips on making the big move. In the meanwhile, we offer these 2 articles courtesy of guest authors. Watch our site for more valuable retirement information soon. The content of these articles represents the view of the authors and not necessarily GreatRetirementPlaces.com. Enjoy!
Should You Consider Retiring Abroad?
By Lee Dobbins
When it comes to retiring, often many people find themselves stuck for ideas on what they can spend their time doing. You spend so much of your life working and being away from home that when it finally comes to it, being at home full time can often be a little boring. There is nothing new to do and taking up a hobby such as gardening is not always everyone's idea of a good time. That is when the option of retiring abroad should be considered.
Why Think of Retiring Abroad?
By retiring abroad you are getting to see an entirely different country. It marks the start of a new adventure instead of symbolising the end of an old one. There really is nothing better than waking up to a brand new life and so retiring abroad is certainly something you should at least think about. So just how hard is it and how much would you need to retire abroad?
Getting to know everything about the country you plan on moving to is absolutely essential if you want to plan everything properly. You should not just simply choose a random place and then jet off without knowing anything about it; otherwise you could end up hating your new life. So do some thorough research and then decide upon where you want to relocate to, based upon your needs and wants.
Once you know where exactly it is that you want to go, then you should focus upon how much it will cost you to move out there. Do some more research based upon the house prices in the area you will be moving to. Then either get a State pension forecast or if you have a personal pension you will be able to see an estimation of how much you have saved and how much you will receive once you retire on your monthly statements. That will help you to estimate how much more you need to save if anything, before you can afford to retire and live your dream of moving abroad.
Generally there should be nothing stopping you from retiring abroad, but it is always a good idea to check that your pension allows it. The State pension allows you to move anywhere that you want to and you can still get your money once you retire. However some private pensions may not agree to giving you the money if you are retiring abroad so do ensure that your pension allows you to move abroad and still receive a payout.
Get the latest on retirement by visiting http://www.retirementviews.com - a website that offers tips on retirement plans, retirement communities, retirement savings and retiring abroad.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins
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Retire Overseas? Don't Just Plunge In! Know These 7 Things First
By Cecelia Yap
For many people, to retire overseas is....exciting. A dream comes true......
But in the midst of all the excitement and euphoria, you could have missed out on a lot of things. Because retiring overseas isn't the same like going overseas for holidays. It's entirely a new ball game altogether.
Hey! You're moving to a foreign country, let's face it, you got tons of things to make sure first before you make that "gigantic" plunge!
Here are 7 things you should tackle first if you want to retire overseas.
1. Do Your Research
The Internet is probably the first and foremost place you could go for information.
For example, the IRS has a number of publications on taxation of US resident living abroad on retirement pension monies and also other issues that would affect a US national overseas.
Equip yourself with information on:
- Overseas destinations considered good as retirement locations
- The cost of living including property prices
- The social cultural environment
- The food, entertainment and travel conveniences
- The weather and climate
- The political climate and etc....
2. Taxation
First, you need to look at tax residency, whether you're a tax resident in a foreign country. Then determine how you need to declare your income and what you need to be paying in a local country.
It's quite a complicated subject, taxation. So it's best you leave it to the care of your tax consultant to sweat it out for you......
3. Health Care
It's a difficult area since it depends on the country you're moving to and whether or not it has a socialized medical system. If it does, you may potentially not fall under its benefits rules for travel abroad even while you're a resident in the local country.
P/S: You're not eligible for Medicare while you're overseas.
It's best you check out the local rules on health care.
4. Owning/Buying Your Own Home Overseas
From tax point of view, this is not a problem.
From the US perspective, when you buy a property overseas, you're taxed on the gain and the capital gain from the sale of that property just like you would be from a US property sold.
From a local tax perspective, it would depend on the country you're in and when you sell it and if you're a resident in the property when you sell it.
However, buying a home has a lot of issues overseas. If you're not a national of that country, in some countries you can't potentially buy property.
Some of the other issues are:
-not knowing enough about the local real estate market
-not understanding exactly what's going to happen from a tax perspective both on an annual basis and at the point of sale
5. Social Security Dollars
You can receive your Social Security dollars while overseas. The authority can mail the money directly to a foreign location or they can deposit it into a US bank and you can draw the funds into an overseas account.
6. Find Out The "Hidden" Costs
When you retire overseas, the biggest surprise or the unanticipated financial consequence that you may face is probably the hidden costs like costs of living which you don't anticipate, meaning, some things in certain countries just cost money whereas in the US they don't. So you need to do your homework ahead of time.
7. Live In the Country For A While
Before you make the move to relocate to another country, I would say it's good that you live there first for a while yourself, look around at the local amenities, what are being offered, what's free, what's not, and get a good feel for where you're going.
Retire overseas can be a successful move for you when you've done your homework, understood what the tax ramifications and the estate ramifications are of having moved, and what you're going to be living on on a day-to-day basis.
No doubt retiring overseas could be a good choice. But have you thought of what you will be retiring to, after you've settled in? That's important too. Cecelia Yap shows you what you can be retiring to here: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/my-passion.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cecelia_Yap
http://EzineArticles.com/?Retire-Overseas?-Dont-Just-Plunge-In!-Know-These-7-Things-First&id=1131547