Is moving abroad your best chance for a comfortable retirement?

Recent statistics indicate that adults nearing retirement are in dismal financial shape. The median balance for those between 45 and 54 who do have retirement accounts is $115,000, much less than the recommended benchmark. A Gallup poll shows that 40% of Americans don’t even have a retirement account.

This means millions of retirees are depending on Social Security as their primary source of income, although the program is designed to replace only about 40% of a worker’s pre-retirement income ($6,440 per month for the typical 2.5 person household in 2023, while this year the average SS check is only about $2,000).

Against this gloomy backdrop, a record number of older Americans are contemplating moving abroad as their best chance for a comfortable retirement. They would be joining the 5.5 million U.S. citizens already living overseas, according to the Association of Americans Resident Overseas.

You may be wondering, “Is it really possible to live solely off of a monthly Social Security check in a foreign country?" From personal experience we can tell you the answer is an emphatic “yes”!

We took a leap of faith and moved to Cuenca, Ecuador, over 15 years ago when we lost our careers and much of our savings during the Great Recession of 2008. Too close to retirement for any chance of a financial recovery, we concluded that our best option was to move abroad for a more affordable cost of living.

The decision turned out to be life-changing, both psychologically and monetarily, as the crushing burden of constant worry about money instantly vanished.

For the first four years, our budget was based only on Edd’s Social Security check. Once Cynthia’s benefits kicked in, we discovered we had hit what we call the retirement trifecta — a jackpot of three financial benefits that we never dreamed could coexist.

Raise your standard of living. We live in a modern penthouse apartment and are able to afford upscale amenities like frequent meals out, gym and yoga studio memberships and a housekeeper. Whether single or with a partner, many retired expats who worked hard their entire adult lives to maintain a modest middle-class lifestyle are delighted to enjoy perks they never imagined possible back home.

Preserve (or add to) your nest egg. Older adults are more afraid of running out of money in retirement than dying. A totally unexpected windfall of retiring abroad has been our ability on a Social Security budget to increase instead of deplete our savings. We are often able to set aside 20% of our monthly income after expenses.

Health care: While many Americans express unhappiness with their health care coverage, it is natural to wonder if retiring in another country would be even worse. Numbeo’s 2025 mid-year global health care index brings some perspective to this issue.

Our home country of Ecuador ranks an impressive No. 7. Other popular expat destinations like Spain (No. 9), Thailand (No. 10), Mexico (No. 21) and Portugal (No. 23) also place highly. The U.S. lags behind at No. 39.

Modern hospitals and clinics with bilingual doctors are found in major cities throughout the world. Costs for services and medications are so low that many expats choose to pay out of pocket. Others enroll in their new country’s public health system or private plans.

Today, assistance from smartphone apps like Google Translate makes fluency in another language totally optional. A more achievable goal is learning enough to carry on basic conversations and make your needs known.

English is widely spoken in most top expat destinations. In Mexican hotspots like Lake Chapala (home to more North American expats than anywhere in the world), San Miguel de Allende and Playa del Carmen, hearing English is so common it almost seems like Spanish is the second language.

Being away from family: Modern technology makes staying connected with family just a touch away. With Whatsapp, a popular free communication tool, you can make phone and video calls, send text or audio messages and attach photos, videos and documents to any other subscriber in the world.

Expats planning to return to the U.S. frequently for visits often retire somewhere in Latin America because of its proximity. A bonus benefit we have come to appreciate living in the southern hemisphere is sharing the same time zone with our family and friends. Scheduling calls is a breeze, and when visiting, there is no need to recover from jet lag.

While the impetus for our own move to Ecuador was economic hardship, retiring abroad attracts people across the financial spectrum.