Retire abroad (2026): retirement visas, pension tax and healthcare

Visas & Immigration
, ,
1

To retire abroad legally you need a residence route that accepts pension or savings instead of a job, and in 2026 the entry bar ranges from about US$1,000 a month in Panama and Costa Rica to a US$150,000 fixed deposit in Malaysia. The visa is the easy part; the decisions that cost real money are where you become tax resident, whether your US benefits can follow you, and how you replace Medicare, which usually doesn’t pay outside the US.

Last checked: September 2026

In short:

  • Panama’s pensionado permit needs a lifelong pension of at least B/.1,000 a month (B/.750 if you own property worth over B/.100,000), and the permit is indefinite with no renewals.
  • Spain’s non-lucrative visa asks for 400% of IPREM, which is €2,400 a month in 2026 because IPREM has stayed at €600 under the extended 2023 budget.
  • Medicare.gov says Medicare usually doesn’t cover health care outside the US, and Social Security can’t be paid to people living in Cuba or North Korea.

Retirement routes compared

We only list figures we could confirm on an official page or, where noted, a named secondary source. Thresholds are per main applicant unless stated.

Route Age Money test Notes
Portugal D7 Any €920/month passive income; spouse adds 50%, each child 30% (per Portugalist) Tracks the 2026 minimum wage of €920 set by Decree-Law 139/2025
Spain non-lucrative visa Any 400% of IPREM (€2,400/month) plus 100% (€600/month) per dependant No work allowed; insurance with no co-pays or deductibles; US$140 visa fee for Americans at LA consulate
Panama Pensionado Any B/.1,000/month lifelong pension, or B/.750 with B/.100,000+ property; B/.250 per dependant Indefinite permit, no renewal
Costa Rica Pensionado Any US$1,000/month permanent pension from abroad (Art. 81, Migration Law) Rentista route instead needs US$2,500/month (Art. 82)
Mexico temporary residence Any San Diego consulate: US$4,049/month for 6 months, or US$68,241 average balance over 12 months Each consulate sets its own figures; check yours
Mexico permanent (retiree) Retired or 62+ Washington consulate: MXN 139,400/month, or MXN 5,576,000 average balance over 12 months Skips temporary residence
Malaysia MM2H 25+ Silver: US$150,000 fixed deposit; Gold US$500,000; Platinum US$1m Must also buy property (RM600,000+ for Silver); 90 days a year in Malaysia
Thailand O-A 50+ 800,000 baht in the bank, or 65,000 baht/month income, or a mix totalling 800,000 baht a year 1-year stay; insurance of at least 3,000,000 baht or US$100,000
Thailand LTR (Wealthy Pensioner) 50+ Pension or passive income of US$80,000 a year, or US$40,000-80,000 plus a US$250,000 Thai investment (per BOI) 10-year renewable stay
Philippines SRRV Classic 50+ US$10,000 deposit plus US$800/month pension (US$1,000 with dependants), or US$20,000 deposit without pension US$1,400 application fee, US$360 annual PRA fee
Ecuador jubilado — Pension of 3 SBU: US$1,446/month in 2026 (SBU is US$482); US$250 per dependant 2-year visa; fees US$50 + US$270, halved at 65+
Uruguay legal residence — No fixed minimum in the migration office’s instructions; you upload proof of means Expect the official to judge “enough”

Two warnings. Mexico’s figures are pegged to the Mexican minimum wage and change each year, and consulates publish different numbers. MM2H’s age floor of 25 makes it a wealth route, not a retirement visa in the usual sense.

Tax on pensions and Social Security

If you’re a US citizen, moving changes nothing at home. The IRS says citizens abroad are taxed on worldwide income and must file as if they lived in the US, with an automatic two-month extension to 15 June. Your new country may also tax the same pension, which is where treaties and foreign tax credits come in.

Your new country’s rules decide the second bill. Per PwC, Portugal taxes residents on worldwide income at 12.5% to 48% in 2026, so a US pension doesn’t escape tax there. Panama is territorial: per PwC, residents are taxed only on Panamanian-source income. Costa Rica’s PwC summary says income earned inside Costa Rica is taxable but doesn’t spell out the foreign-pension position, so get a local opinion.

If you’re not a US citizen but collect US Social Security, SSA withholds 30% on 85% of the benefit, a flat 25.5%. IRS Publication 915 (2025) lists residents of Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Romania and the UK as exempt by treaty; residents of Switzerland are taxed at 15% of the total benefit.

Totalization agreements, which the US has with 31 countries, stop double social security contributions while you work. They don’t decide income tax on your benefits.

Getting US benefits paid abroad

SSA’s April 2026 guide says US citizens can keep receiving benefits abroad if they remain eligible and live somewhere SSA can pay. It cannot pay people living in Cuba or North Korea, and generally cannot pay people in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan, with limited exceptions. Non-citizens who don’t meet an exception lose payments after six full calendar months outside the US. Report address changes and any work abroad, or you risk an overpayment claim.

Healthcare: Medicare stays home

Medicare.gov is blunt: Medicare usually doesn’t cover care outside the US. The exceptions are narrow: a cruise ship within six hours of a US port, or a foreign hospital that’s closer than the nearest US one in specific cases. Some Medigap policies cover emergency care abroad.

The harder call is whether to keep paying for Part B. Medicare.gov says the late enrolment penalty is 10% for each year you could have signed up but didn’t, and for most people it lasts for life. If you might return to the US for treatment, price that in before you drop it.

Most retirement visas also insist on their own cover: Spain wants full insurance with no co-pays, deductibles or waiting periods, Thailand’s O-A needs at least 3,000,000 baht or US$100,000, and Ecuador requires a policy that works in Ecuador.

Cost of living pointers

Treat visa thresholds as an entry floor, not a budget. For a sense of local wages, Portugal’s minimum wage is €920 a month in 2026 and Ecuador’s basic salary is US$482. A pension that clears the bar easily in Quito or Panama’s interior will feel thin in Lisbon or central Madrid, especially once private insurance is added. Price rent in the specific neighbourhood, not the national average, and check what your insurer charges at 70, not at 60. To shortlist countries, Numbeo’s crowd-sourced cost of living and health care rankings (2026 mid-year) are a quick way to compare everyday prices and how residents rate local care, then confirm with real quotes on the ground.

Related: Portugal D7 visa vs D8 digital nomad visa: which one you need (2026) · Panama digital nomad visa: requirements, fees and tax (2026) · Costa Rica digital nomad visa: income, insurance and tax in 2026 · Tax-free countries (2026): no income tax countries you can actually live in · Paraguay residency in 2026: temporary, permanent and investor routes

Related guides: Expat health insurance for digital nomads: SafetyWing vs Genki vs Cigna and more · Uruguay residency (2026): nomad ID, permanent route and tax holiday · Cost of living in Portugal (2026): Lisbon, Porto, Algarve and Madeira · Thailand retirement visa (2026): Non-O, O-A and O-X requirements · Cheapest countries to live in (2026): ranked by real monthly costs

Quick answers

Q: What is the cheapest country to retire abroad on a pension?
Among official retirement routes we checked, Panama and Costa Rica set the lowest pension bars at US$1,000 a month (Panama allows B/.750 if you own property over B/.100,000). The Philippines SRRV accepts an US$800 monthly pension plus a US$10,000 deposit, but you must be at least 50.

Q: Does Medicare cover me if I retire abroad?
Usually not. Medicare.gov says Medicare generally doesn’t pay for care outside the US, with narrow exceptions such as certain nearby foreign hospitals and cruise ships near US ports. Dropping Part B can trigger a lifelong penalty of 10% per year of delay if you later re-enrol.

Q: Can I get Social Security if I live overseas?
US citizens can generally keep receiving benefits abroad. SSA cannot pay people living in Cuba or North Korea and restricts payments to several former Soviet states. Non-citizens usually lose payments after six full calendar months outside the US unless an exception applies.

Sources

This is general information from the Nomad Forums team, not immigration, tax or legal advice. Rules change; check the official source or a qualified adviser before applying.

Over to you: If you’ve retired abroad on a pension visa, which route did you use, and how long did it take from consulate appointment to residence card? Did you keep Medicare Part B, and what does your local or international health cover cost you at your age?

Malaysia MM2H (2026): tiers, deposits and the new rules
Thailand retirement visa (2026): Non-O, O-A and O-X requirements
Cost of living in Costa Rica (2026): San José, Tamarindo, Nosara
Expat health insurance for digital nomads: SafetyWing vs Genki vs Cigna and more
Tax-free countries (2026): no income tax countries you can actually live in
NHR Portugal is closed: what IFICI (NHR 2.0) offers instead (2026)
Cost of living in Portugal (2026): Lisbon, Porto, Algarve and Madeira
Cost of living in Spain (2026): Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga
Cost of living in Mexico (2026): 4 cities compared for nomads
Cheapest countries to live in (2026): ranked by real monthly costs
Malta residency (2026): nomad permit vs GRP vs MPRP compared