This year, you called me from several countries:
The US, Portugal, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico, the UK, Sweden, Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Cyprus and Switzerland.
You also called me from several states:
California, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico, Utah, Virginia, Missouri and North Carolina.
A few of you had already moved and wanted help with the next step.
Most of you are still in the US, looking for the best way out.
My calendar says 122 discovery calls since January.
(Most go for around 30 minutes, although sometimes I can’t help but ramble on and they go up to 45 minutes, those topics are just too interesting.)
Those calls are the best part of my week.
I get to hear what people plan to do with the next 20-40 years of their lives, and many of the stories I hear include exciting scenarios.
Today I want to share some questions that I hear often, so that all the people I haven’t yet talked to also get answers.
Here’s what we’ll cover today:
The 10 questions I hear most often on these calls
My honest answer to each one, and one key takeaway (in purple)
The one question almost nobody asks (and it might be the most important one)
Starting with the question I heard more than any other.
#1 Where do I open a bank account outside the US?
The question I hear on almost every call, usually within the first ten minutes.
Most people assume the answer is “in the country I’m moving to.”
You will need a local account there eventually, for rent and groceries.
But banks in your destination country rarely open accounts for people without residency and a local address, so it usually can’t be your first move anyway.
The account that matters most is in a third country. Not the US, not your new home.
Why?
Because your US bank can restrict or close your account once a foreign address shows up in your file.
Because the bank in your new country has their own reasons to make your life harder (residency regulations, regulatory changes for foreigners, you name it).
An account in a neutral third country has neither problem.
I made the full argument in The Bank Account They Can’t Touch.
Also, I clarified the difference between the mechanics of an offshore account vs. a local spending account in this video:
Takeaway: keep a US account that works abroad, a spending account in your new country, and a neutral account somewhere else.
#2 Will I be taxed twice if I move abroad?
The fear behind almost every money conversation I have.
The answer:
You will (most likely) file in two countries, but you will almost never pay tax twice on the same dollar.
The US taxes its citizens no matter where they live (the only other country that does this is Eritrea).
Your new country will usually tax you once you become a resident there.
Now, there’s a difference between becoming a “resident” and a “tax resident”.
If you residency has a low minimum stay requirement (e.g. a “Plan B”) you might become a resident, but not a tax resident.
And sometimes, even becoming a tax resident can still mean not paying local taxes, if the country e.g. has a territorial tax system.
Tax treaties and foreign tax credits then decide who gets what, so the same income isn’t fully taxed twice.
Sounds confusing?
👉 Check out the Tax Residency Cheat Sheet for more info.
How much you are taxed depends on the income type.
Social Security, a government pension, an IRA withdrawal, and rental income from a US property all follow different rules, and every treaty handles them differently.
That’s why “how are taxes in Portugal?” is impossible to answer without knowing what your income looks like.
And those rules change constantly, so make sure what you read is up to date.
I broke down the full system in How Taxes Work When You Retire Abroad.
Takeaway: moving abroad usually means a second tax return, and the treaty decides which country taxes each income stream.
#3 What happens to my IRA and 401(k)?
Nothing.
It stays where it is.
An IRA is a US legal structure. It cannot be transferred to a foreign bank.
Getting the money out means cashing out, and a cash-out is a distribution and a taxable event (Roth excluded).
(One exception: a self-directed IRA. The account itself stays in the US with a US custodian, but with the right structure, it can hold assets outside the country, including money in a Swiss bank account.)
Two things need your attention before you leave:
First, your custodian. Big US brokerages close accounts when a foreign address shows up in your file, so move your IRA to one that accepts Americans abroad while you still have a US address.
Second, your investments. The IRS punishes Americans who buy foreign mutual funds (look up PFIC if you want to lose an afternoon).
Takeaway: leave the IRA in the US, and move it to an expat-friendly custodian before you fly.
#4 Which country should I pick?
Half of my callers ask this with a country already chosen.
The other half have a spreadsheet with twelve.
Both get the same answer: asking “which country” is the wrong first question.
A country is a set of trade-offs, and the right one depends on inputs only you have:
Your monthly budget
Your health and the care it needs
How fast you want to reach your kids
What you want a normal Tuesday to look like
Write those down first.
I ask my Blueprint clients almost 100 questions in our first session.
You can check how it works here.
Takeaway: start with your priorities, then let the countries compete for you.
#5 Will my US bank close my account when I move?
Some of them will.
Since FATCA passed in 2010, every bank in the world has to report its American customers to the IRS.
Serving Americans abroad became an expensive compliance job, and banks hate expensive compliance jobs.
A foreign address in your file is enough to start that process.
Some institutions restrict what you can do, while others close the account.
The answer:
Open accounts outside the US.
Move your account to an institution that accepts foreign addresses.
Set up a “bridge” for converting currencies, so you’re not paying crazy fees.
The full setup is in The 3 Bank Accounts Everyone Retiring Abroad Needs.
Takeaway: fix your US banking while you still have a US address and set up a fintech before you leave, and a local account after you have your residency.
#6 Is my money safer outside the US?
Depends on where you move it to.
“Outside the US” is not one place.
Every country writes its own banking rules, and those rules decide how safe your money is.
How much capital banks must hold, and what happens to depositors when one fails.
Whether your deposits are protected, and who pays for that protection.
Some countries set the bar far above international minimums.
Others barely have a bar.
I ranked the best options, by currency strength, bank capital, government debt, and track record, in The 3 Safest Countries To Park Your Money.
Takeaway: the country’s rules protect your money, so make sure to vet them as well as you vet the bank.
#7 Can I still work a little on a retirement visa?
Sometimes you can.
Often you cannot.
Some visas ban work of any kind, for example Italy’s Elective Residency Visa or Spain’s Non Lucrative Visa.
Some include the right to work, such as Portugal’s D7.
Working on a visa that forbids it puts your renewal at risk.
Which is a bad trade for a few consulting hours.
So decide before you apply.
If remote income is part of your plan, digital nomad visas exist for exactly this, with income minimums that you need to meet.
I compared the 4 European options in The 4 Best Retirement Visas In Europe.
Takeaway: choose the visa for the life you’ll actually live, including the work rights, if you are not ready to give up work just yet.
#8 How does healthcare work abroad?
There are three strategies.
Public-Primary
You join your new country’s public system once you’re a legal resident. Cheapest of the three. The trade-off is waiting, both to qualify and for non-urgent care.
Private-Primary
International private insurance from day one. Fast access and your choice of hospitals. The trade-off is that premiums climb with your age, and insurers care about your medical history.
Dual-Track
Both at once. The public system as your base, private cover for speed and comfort. It costs more than public alone but still far less than what you pay in the US today.
Which healthcare strategy fits depends on your health and the country you pick.
I broke all three down in 3 Healthcare Strategies Expats Use Abroad (And Which One Fits You).
Takeaway: decide on your healthcare strategy, instead of obsessing about healthcare systems.
#9 Can I split time between countries without becoming a tax resident anywhere?
Yes.
This is actually a real strategy, one of eight I deploy for my clients.
The anchor is the 183-day rule.
Spend less than half the year in a country and, as a general rule, you don’t become a tax resident there.
The 183 days rule is by far not the only thing you need to be aware of.
Days are only one test.
Tax offices also look at your ties such as a home, a spouse, a bank account, a registered business.
Treaties call this your “center of vital interests”, and it can make you a tax resident at less than 183 days if your life is anchored there.
When two countries both claim you, tax treaties have tiebreaker rules that decide which claim wins.
The full set of rules, including the reporting requirements most people miss, is in The Tax Residency Cheat Sheet.
Takeaway: staying under 183 days works, if your ties don’t anchor you somewhere, and the US taxes you either way.
#10 Do I have enough money to retire abroad?
The question is very hard to answer without knowing a lot of things about who I talk to.
I know people who retired on $500k and make it work.
I also know people who had millions and blew it, because they did not plan it right.
I don’t want to give a number here, because I simply can’t. And anyone who says they can, you should be skeptical of.
But a good starting point is to:
Estimate your cost of living abroad, e.g. with this prompt: How to Estimate Your Cost of Living Abroad.
Map out scenarios for what your investments will yield over the next decades (best case, middle case, worst case).
Always plan for a buffer, and unexpected things happening.
At the same time, don’t let your “worst case scenario” bring up so much anxiety that you scrap your idea of moving abroad altogether.
Takeaway: there is no universal number, so create your own, and plan for a buffer.
The question almost nobody asks
Ask yourself this:
“If money didn’t matter, and distance didn’t matter, where would you go?”
I’m not trying to make that country work for you.
I ask because of what comes after.
When you say Fiji, I ask why.
And then the real answers show up:
The food
The pace
The ocean
The people
The taxes you’d leave behind
Those reasons become our compass.
The country you name first might not be the one you move to.
But the reasons you name it for point us towards one that you will.
Conclusion
That’s it.
I appreciate all of you reading, following, commenting, or even purchasing a subscription or a service from me.
This truly is the work I was meant to do, and I enjoy every minute of it.
If you ever want to book a call with me to bring clarity into your moving abroad plans, you can do so here.
I don’t work with everyone.
If you show up with good energy and you’re ready to do your part, we’ll get along well, and the process will be more fun than you’d expect.
My clients are the reason I love this work.
Here’s what they say about our work together:
Appreciate have you here,
— Ben
This article is general information, not personal financial, legal, or tax advice. Rules change constantly, and what makes sense for you depends on your situation, your assets, and your tax position. Before you move money or commit to a visa, talk to a qualified professional who knows your specific case.