Retiring abroad

Yes. The IRS states that U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad are "subject to tax on worldwide income from all sources and must report all taxable income and pay taxes according to the Internal Revenue Code" (IRS). Tools like the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credit can reduce double taxation, and the detailed rules sit in IRS Publication 54.

Generally no. Medicare.gov states that "Medicare usually doesn't cover health care while you're traveling outside the U.S." (Medicare.gov). The exceptions are narrow and tied to inpatient hospital admissions in specific border situations involving Canada or U.S. waters, and some Medigap policies pay foreign travel emergency benefits with a lifetime limit.

For most U.S. citizens, yes. SSA's International Programs hub explains that the U.S. has bilateral Social Security agreements with 30 countries, and the Payments Outside the United States page sets out the rules, including special restrictions for noncitizens and countries to which SSA is prohibited from sending payments. The Payments Abroad Screening Tool returns a yes-or-no answer for a specific scenario.

SSA describes totalization agreements as bilateral treaties that "improve benefit protection for workers who have divided their careers between the United States and another country" and "eliminate dual Social Security coverage and taxes for multinational companies and expatriate workers" (SSA). The U.S. has agreements with 30 countries, and detailed summaries by country are linked from the same page.

U.S. taxpayers with foreign financial accounts file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) electronically through the BSA e-filing system, and the obligation applies "even if the accounts don't generate any taxable income" (IRS). The IRS page links to the dedicated FBAR portal and to FATCA reporting rules.

The State Department directs readers to "research immigration or retirement visas on the official government or embassy website for the country you plan to live in" and to use the U.S. embassy or consulate in the destination country for English-speaking legal contacts (U.S. Department of State). Visa pathways, residency permits, and tax residency triggers are set by the destination country, not the United States.

The CFPB states that consumers "can cancel an international money transfer within 30 minutes after it is sent" if the recipient has not yet collected it, and that a problem can be reported "up to 180 days from the date the funds are available" with the company required to investigate within 90 days (CFPB). Providers must disclose total cost, exchange rate, and estimated amount delivered before and after the transfer.

The State Department flags this directly: "Find out if your trust, will, and powers of attorney will work in your destination. They may or may not be enforceable there" (U.S. Department of State). The same page recommends seeking professional legal advice in the destination country and using the U.S. embassy's list of English-speaking lawyers.

The IRS describes the foreign earned income exclusion as a benefit that lets qualifying Americans abroad exclude a portion of earned income from U.S. tax (IRS). The exclusion applies to earned income from work, and retirement income such as Social Security, pensions, and investment distributions falls outside that definition, with the foreign tax credit serving as the primary tool for retirees who pay tax to the destination country.

The State Department's Retirement page is the closest thing to an official, neutral starting checklist, and the U.S. embassy or consulate in the destination country provides country-specific information. AARP and Kiplinger publish lifestyle-oriented country guides framed for U.S. retirees, useful for orienting before the planning work begins.