Total Financial Solutions President/CEO Arif Halaby is talking about a rising trend among Americans in their 50’s and 60s: retiring outside of the U.S.

When Halaby first became a financial professional 21 years ago, one out of 10 of his clients chose to leave California when they retired for a variety of reasons, including to go back to the state where they were born.

But now, one out of three of Halaby’s clients are retiring outside of California, and almost 100 percent of them say it’s because of the cost of living and taxes.

Related: Total Financial Solutions: The California Pension Crisis

The U.S. World and News Report conducted a recent poll on the top countries Americans are choosing to retire in, which Halaby noted is where people believe, “‘My dollar can go further, even if there is an increase in expenses, etc.’”

Halaby continued, “Imagine for a minute living in an Italian countryside, and the dollars that you have coming in from Social Security or your pension or the required minimum distributions that you’re pulling out of your retirement accounts, imagine those dollars go twice, maybe three times as far, so you really end up in a position where you can live amazingly well and not be subject to the income tax of California.”

In Dublin, Ireland, Halaby noted Americans can get a taste of home because of the presence of so many American corporations that have relocated there.

“When you drive through the streets of Dublin … you would think you were in San Jose or Santa Clarita or Marina Del Ray,” Halaby said. “What do you see? You see signs that say Amgen … Apple, IBM, Dell.”

Many retirees choose Canada because of its close proximity to the U.S., and Halaby noted those considering moving there should weigh whether that’s worth the drawbacks, such as living with a socialized healthcare system.

Halaby named Portugal as the place where an American retiree’s dollar would likely go the furthest than any other European country, but cautioned taking taxes into consideration.

“You have to be careful when you are looking at a retirement plan that says, ‘I’m going to live in this part of the world or this part of the world,’ because there may be a tax burden that jumps on you from a place like Portugal,” he said.

In addition to weighing what it will cost to live in another country, Halaby also advised keeping in mind that the same kind of freedoms that exist in the U.S. might not be found elsewhere.

“Imagine for a minute you’re in a place like Mexico — I have a lot of clients that retired down in Mexico — or Costa Rica,” he said. “Whatever happens with the police or a problem, you can’t think the same — you don’t have the same rights.”

Halaby concluded, “Understand the goal for you is to build your financial life so you can retire, travel, live where you want to go, be what you want to be and not be upside down with this financial system.”

Total Financial Solutions offers assistance with preparing for retirement in Santa Clarita and the surrounding valleys. Santa Clarita financial professional Arif Halaby, a Certified Estate Planner, and Total Financial Solutions staff work with people of all ages, helping them protect, grow and preserve their assets through an individualized approach. As a well-known financial professional, Arif Halaby is also the host of “Total Financial Solutions Safer Money Hour” on KHTS AM-1220. Launched in 2004, the show offers listeners retirement planning tips and guidance for dealing with today’s ever-changing financial needs.  

Total Financial Solutions, Inc.

24322 Main Street

Newhall, CA 91321

661-753-9683

800-990-7344

Total Financial Solutions – Newhall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE96biUaNTI

Arif Halaby, Total Financial Solutions, Financial Planning, Planning for Retirement, Retirement Planning