How the calculator works
Retiring abroad turns two numbers into one question: does your pension cover the cost of living where you want to live, and if not, how long can savings fill the gap? The calculator works out a monthly budget for your chosen country and lifestyle, adds health insurance, subtracts your monthly income and draws the rest from your savings, which keep earning the return you enter.
Monthly gap = cost of living + health insurance − pension
Using our figures, a comfortable life in Mexico City costs about $3,190 a month and the same lifestyle in the US about $4,630. With $250 for health insurance and $1,800 of Social Security, the Mexico gap is about $1,640 a month, which $300,000 at a 4% real return covers for roughly 23 years.
The nest egg number
The last row shows how much you would need saved to draw the gap forever under the 4% rule, which is the gap for a year multiplied by 25. If your savings are larger than that number, you can treat the gap as covered for life with a reasonable margin.
Remember to budget for things the monthly figure does not include: return flights to see family, residency visa fees and the cost of health care as you age. Many countries offer retirement visas that need proof of a minimum monthly pension, so check those rules before you choose.
Where the numbers come from
Rent is a typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the main city we list for each country, taken from 2026 listings and local market reports and converted to dollars at the exchange rate of October 28, 2026. Rent is the number that varies most from street to street, so the calculators let you change it whenever you have a better figure.
Everything else starts from a monthly budget for one person in the United States: about $450 for groceries, $250 for eating out, $200 for utilities, $90 for phone and internet, $300 for transport and $350 for clothes, personal care and fun. Each line is then scaled by the World Bank's International Comparison Program price levels for that type of spending, and brought forward from 2021 with the World Bank's latest price level data, so a country where restaurant meals cost a third of US prices gets a third of the eating-out budget.
These are planning estimates, not quotes. A lean budget uses 75% of the moderate one with cheaper rent, and a comfortable budget uses 150% with nicer rent. Visas, health insurance and flights are not included unless a calculator asks for them.
Common questions
Can I retire abroad on Social Security alone?
In many places, yes. A moderate single-person budget is about $1,230 a month in Bangkok and $1,400 in Marrakech before health insurance, below the average Social Security retirement benefit.
Do I still pay US taxes if I retire abroad?
US citizens are taxed on worldwide income wherever they live, though treaties and credits prevent most double taxation.
Is health insurance included?
Only the amount you enter. Expat health insurance costs vary widely with age and cover.
Sources
This calculator gives estimates for planning. Real returns, rates and prices change, so treat the result as a guide rather than a promise. Read how we build and check our calculators.