may keep them local but enough seniors are already pursuing this retirement lifestyle so it can't be too much of a hassle...
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/whats-driving-americans-to-retire-abroad-money-or-lack-of-it/
Thanks for the link and research. It looks like the trend is that the more adventurous baby boomers may expand the number of retired overseas Americans. I suspect that more worldly Gen and Y will continue and expand this trend. There are probably businesses (and opportunities) designed to facilitate an overseas retirement move. Overseas retirement - and the flow of SS dollars overseas - may just be another consequence of globalization.
From the Wharton article: "The precise number of people retired overseas is hard to come by. About 350,000 American retirees receive Social Security benefits in countries other than the U.S., according to the Social Security Administration’s annual statistical supplement. The majority of those people live in Europe, Canada and Mexico. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this number will rise:
As many as 3.3 million American baby boomers are planning to retire abroad, according to figures from Travel Market Report, the industry publication. Three years ago, the paid subscription base of International Living, a magazine for retirees who live overseas or plan to, was 39,000; today, it’s 80,000.What’s driving them abroad? Money — or lack of it. Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement is at historically low levels, according to this year’s Retirement Confidence Survey, conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Only 14% of workers said they were “very confident” they would have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, according to the survey.
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"The cost of living in most international retirement destinations is much less than the U.S."
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"One of the most pressing financial concerns facing prospective retirees is whether they will have enough money to pay for medical and long-term care expenses. Health care costs have risen rapidly over the last decade and show no signs of abating. A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses — the costs not covered by Medicare — throughout retirement, according to the latest retiree health care costs estimate calculated by Fidelity Investments. This represents a 50% increase from 2002, when the estimate was $160,000.
Out-of-pocket medical costs are likely to continue to rise, says Olivia S. Mitchell, a Wharton professor who specializes in health/retirement analysis and policy. “Nobody knows how the U.S. will ultimately resolve its fiscal problems,” she says. “Medicare and Social Security are the biggest drain on the budget. I believe that more of the retiree health care cost burden will be borne by consumers in the form of higher co-pays and higher premiums in the future.”
