Country Article / Postcards

U.S. Retirees Invade Panama

Date: 05/20/2005

Dear International Living Reader,
Something's happening in the United States. The desire to invest, live, vacation...and retire...outside America...is growing.

On newsstands, glossy travel magazine covers claim to tell you all about it. Here in Panama City, at the 20th Annual Premier Offshore Advantage Seminar, I've had the pleasure to meet some of the people--fellow readers--who are doing it.

The idea of retiring overseas is not a new one. But the sheer volume of Americans due to retire is staggering. Today 38% of the U.S. population is over 50. By 2020, half the U.S. population will be over 50. Most Americans aged 41-59 say they'll move when they retire.

In 1980 when Costa Rica introduced its famed pensionado program...U.S. retirees swooped in...and property prices began to soar. If you had bought a beachfront lot back then, that same slice of coast would be worth today 25 times what you paid for it.

Today, the same thing is happening in Panama.

Panama is a liberal, free country with all the advantages of tropical Caribbean living, but few of the disadvantages. The roads are almost pot-hole free...it's out of the hurricane belt (in fact it's barely even experienced fast winds in the last century)...it has state-of-the-art infrastructure and services...fast Internet access...and excellent healthcare.

In many of The Americas' great retirement havens of the last decade (like Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica)...expats had to sacrifice a number of these things. But because of Panama's strategic location, its U.S. influence and its famous canal, Panama offers top benefits usually only available in industrialized countries.

Here, you can enjoy a low cost of living; near perfect weather 365 days a year; and the pensionado program, the best in the world for retirees, gives discounts of up to 50% off everything from public transport to movies and sporting events...from doctor's visits to electricity bills...from restaurant dining to airfares.

Flights frequently shuttle back and forth between the States and Panama City's Tocumen International Airport.

Bottom line: For Americans, Panama is one of the best places in the world in which to retire today...and it's only going to get better.

The best place to position yourself to profit from the coming invasion of Panama by U.S. retirees is the First World metropolis of Panama City.

Panama City is one of the least expensive places in the world to live in a First World city. Here you'll find world-class restaurants, every imaginable luxury, hundreds of multinational businesses...all at about half the price you'd pay in any U.S. city.

A non-resident can get financing in Panama. HSBC offers 80% ltv over 20 years at 5.7% interest. If you are over 70, you'll find it difficult to get a mortgage. This is due to life insurance restrictions. My banking contact tells me if you over 70 and you can get a life insurance policy, the bank will give you a mortgage.

Lief Simon
Real Estate Editor, International Living