You want to know one thing: is my check enough, and where? Type in what Social Security pays you each month, pick how you'd like to live, and you'll see every city it covers, with what's left over. Married? Add your spouse's check too. What you type stays in your browser. I never see it.
How the calculator works
- What a month costs is rent plus living costs in each city: groceries, dining out, utilities, phone and internet, transport, health insurance and doctor visits, household help, fitness, outings and a trip home. Budget uses the cheapest rental I found, More comfortable a middle-priced one, and Live in luxury one of the nicer ones. Prices are converted at today's exchange rate.
- Left over is your check, or both checks together, minus that monthly cost. That's what you'd have for travel, savings, gifts and surprises.
- Retiree visa compares your check with the lowest monthly income a retirement or pension visa asks for in that country. Many of these visas accept Social Security as pension income, Costa Rica's pensionado residency among them. Some count a couple's income together and some don't, so ask the consulate.
- Almost there lists up to six cities that cost no more than 20% above your check, so you can see how close you are.
Getting your check abroad
Social Security pays retirees in almost every country. Treasury withholds payments to Cuba and North Korea. Seven former Soviet republics, including Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, are paid only under SSA's special rules, which include an in-person check at a US embassy, and the calculator flags those. You can have your check sent to a local bank in countries that are in SSA's international direct deposit program, or keep it going to your US bank and move the money with a transfer service. I explain all of it in how to collect Social Security abroad.
Before you pack
- Use your check after the Medicare Part B premium comes out, since that's what lands in your account.
- Keep a cushion. Exchange rates move, and a stronger local currency raises your costs in dollars.
- Check the visa rules, health insurance and taxes for the country you pick. The retirement visa finder looks at your savings and age too, and the health care costs section shows what coverage runs.
- Want more filters, like weather by month or how long you can stay visa-free? Try the city search.