Retirement: Why Panama Is the New Florida: Business Week July 2, 2009
Posted 07-09-2009 at 06:04 PM by JustJoy
SPECIAL REPORT July 2, 2009, 5:00PM EST
Retirement: Why Panama Is the New Florida
Panama's quality health care, low costs, and proximity to the states are attracting American professionals as a retirement haven
By Michelle Conlin
Prospective retirees: Panama wants you. The pitch? A plane ride just 21/2 hours from Miami enables the newly poor to swap a wretched retirement in the U.S. for one befitting a royal in the balmy Central American nation. Cash out! Emigrate! Feel rich! Panama—the new Florida.
Spin aside, Panama is increasingly popular among retirement-age types looking to hedge against—or skip out on—the recession. The Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank that studies the movement of people around the world, says the chief factors prodding professional-class Americans to flock to Panama include its First World health care available at Third World prices and the country's pensioner program, which offers some of the deepest retiree discounts in Latin America. Seniors get up to half off on nearly everything, including movies, motels, doctors' visits, plane tickets, professional services, and electric bills. Expats also pay no tax in Panama on foreign income. Nor are they required to pay property tax for the first 20 years.
The fact that a luxe beachfront manse can be had for the same price as a dump in Daytona doesn't hurt, either. "We would have been looking at $3 million in Miami," says Jon Nickel of his 3,000-square-foot oceanfront penthouse in Panama City. Nickel and his wife, Gretchen, bought the place in late 2007 for $250,000, right after Nickel retired from his corporate law job in Portland, Ore., and sold the family's mortgage-free home for $800,000.
MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK
The skinny isthmus—nearly all coastline, with a mountain range slicing through the middle—boasts some of the best weather and lowest crime rates in Latin America. Other draws include guilt-free conspicuous consumption, with laughably low prices—by gringo standards—on splurges such as a day of beauty ($10) and a maid ($15 a day). A complete blood workup at Panama City's gleaming new Hospital Punta Pacifica, managed by Johns Hopkins Medicine International, is $36. A checkup with a physician is $50. Boomers who say they would have had to pay roughly $1,200 a month in the U.S. for health care say they are paying roughly $800 a year for coverage in Panama. Barbara Dove, a 66-year-old who suffers from Parkinson's disease, worried that she would eventually need in-home care if her condition deteriorates. Researching rates in Seattle, she found that nurses run $25 an hour. In Panama City, where she has lived since 2007, they cost $25 a day. Says Dove: "I didn't want my kids to have to worry about me."
According to a 2006 report by the Migration Policy Institute, the number of Panama visas issued to U.S. citizens began to rise dramatically after 2003, and an estimated 25,000 U.S. expatriates live there today. "With Americans aging, the economy in shambles, and, possibly, Medicare benefits on the cutting block, it is reasonable to assume that more Americans will retire abroad, particularly to warm, sunny locations such as Panama, where they can get more value for their dollar," says the Institute's president, Demetrios Papademetriou.
That's not to say life there suits everyone. Things in Panama movereallyslowly. A repairman who says he will be right over might show up days later. Water and electricity service can be spotty. In Panama City, drivers treat stop signs as a mild suggestion. "It takes a little bit of balls to retire here," says Matt Landau, a New Jersey native who is the founder of Panama City-based online portal The Panama Report. "This is not for type As. It's not your turnkey Florida retirement."
Still, boomers who have recently relocated to Panama say they feel as if they have figured out a successful geographic arbitrage. When Stephen Johnson and Linda Murdock were living in Aromas, Calif., they used to moan half-jokingly about how they'd have to retire to Barstow—the armpit of the Mojave Desert, with summers in excess of 100 degrees and winters that can dip below freezing.
Stephen, 63, retired as an executive of the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority in June 2008. His wife, Linda, 57, owned a dog-food business. The pair had watched several friends retire on depleted cash cushions. Many weren't fully eligible for Medicare and wound up spending 50% of their income on health care. The couple's retirement agita was worsened by the fact that they got a late start building equity. "We bought our first house when I was 40 and Steve was 46," says Linda. "We knew we would never have our house paid for by retirement."
Over late-night pinot noir on their patio, they started talking about moving to a developing nation to stretch their money further. They had discovered Panama on a trip there in 2004 and saw it as a bargain-basement paradise. The low cost of living appealed to Steve, whose pension amounted to 40% of his pre-retirement income of $150,000. The surf-perfect weather lured Linda, who took up the sport on her 50th birthday.
CRACKS IN PARADISE
Johnson and Murdock are now known as the gringos who live in the house with the red door. They bought their newly remodeled 1890 hacienda near the beach in San Carlos for $100,000 cash. They moved in last year and rented out their California ranch house. The rent covers the carrying costs on that house.
But Panama isn't only about the beach. The Boquete region in the mountains—Panama's answer to Boulder, Colo.—boasts loads of U.S.-style gated retirement compounds. The big draws of the area are tennis and golf. For those who are more interested in urban amenities, Panama City, which is by the sea, is sprouting yoga studios, bohemian boutiques, health-food stores, and artsy coffee houses.
Still, there are tradeoffs in this seemingly easy life. "Paradise is just a place you visit," says Johnson. "If you live here, you begin to see the cracks." Those include the three months it took them to get their driver's licenses—a process that involved blood tests, a hearing exam, and lines that make a U.S. Motor Vehicles Dept. seem like a fast-food joint.
But Johnson and Murdock have no major complaints, and Panama is certainly better than the Mojave. Murdock surfs—every single day—and says Johnson looks 20 years younger since retiring. They both love the way their dog can run on the beach without a leash and the fact that their doctors, many of them schooled in the U.S., happily give out their cell-phone numbers and actually answer when called. And their social life is far more active than it was in Aromas. They go out with new friends, a blend of expats and natives, almost daily, often for evenings of fish tacos and endless margaritas—for $20. "We have more time," says Johnson. "And apparently we have more money."
To return to the Retirement table of contents.
Conlin is the editor of the Working Life Dept. at BusinessWeek.
Total Comments 6
Comments
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Have watched similar phenomena all my life in Florida for retirees seeking the "it" place.
Yes, you have a ZILLION options on the planet for affordable cost of living. Which is great for 10-20 years. But WHERE'S you're social safety net when you're in your latter years before the nursing home? You're 85 with a walker now in a STRANGE COUNTRY! Worse yet, you've developed dimentia or Alzheimer's.
Are your kids going to fly to Miami and then take the 2-1/2 hour connecting flight regularly to check up on you? (What about you returning for important familiy birthdays, anniversaries, christenings, weddings, funerals, etc. when you're in a wheelchair? You'll miss it, and they'll miss you!)
Is your Panamanian housekeeper, who doesn't speak good english, going to nobly change your diaper several times daily with a smile? Can you afford a nurse if needed? Will she be any good (i.e. certified)?
Will you die if you have any health problem and need local emergency medical attention at any time of day, or have to be medi-vaced/airlifted to Florida/Texas hospitals at hysterical costs (this situation alone will blow ALL your cost of living savings and could even put you/surviving spouse in debt.)?
What is the cost to ship your body back to the states for burial? Who's handling the arrangements and customs?
What happens to your Panamanian "estate" when you die? Does the country seize it?Does your family rely on local professionals to ship it, sell it, transfer it, etc.? How does that work for them? Who pays for their services, fees and costs? Will they be scalped? Things go "missing"? What about customs and duty on your "legacy?"
A potential headache is not something your family wishes to remember you by, no matter how much they love you.
I think a 10-20 year plan is better, with the understanding you will return later to the states as required.Posted 07-20-2009 at 02:13 AM by daytonadewd
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Reply to daytonadewd
Dear daytonadewd, as the article states and as we advise our clients, Panama is not the the place for everyone - living in a foreign country for that matter is not for everyone. That is why we spend a lot of time talking with our clients before they make a major move. If it is someone who wants family members in very close proximity, then moving to another country most likely will not be a good idea. I have also had elderly clients with medical problems who have been interested in Bocas del Toro where I have told them I did not think that area of the country would be a 'good fit' for them, as the hospital there is more for stablizing a patient so they can be airlifted out. I would rather lose a sale, then have someone make a decision that is not good for them.
The Republic of Panama has excellent hospitals where a lot of the doctors were trained in either the US or Europe. And yes, there are nurses who provide in-home care, and the costs here are much lower than in other countries. Retirees to the Republic are afforded the same benefits as locals, including substantial discounts.
As far as what happens to one's estate should, God forbid they die, there are Foundations and other ways that provide for those situations so, no, the government does not take the land away. It can be willed to one's heirs; it's why it's important that the brokerage, client and attorney work as a team to ensure that when someone buys property their objectives are met.
What we try to do is lay out the pros and cons to our clients, then let them make the decision that is right for them and their circumstances - it's not about 'us' the brokerage, but the client and their specific needs. In your case, it does not appear the Republic of Panama or a foreign country for that matter would be a good fit for you so consequently I would not advise you or anyone else with your needs to not relocate away from close proximity of family members with those types of concerns; rather to live closer to family members.
I hope this answers your questions and please feel free to either post other comments or DM me directly if you have any further questions.Posted 07-20-2009 at 09:26 AM by JustJoy
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Hello...I'm new here...the wife and I are looking to semi-retire somewhere...Panama sounds terrific...what info I'm looking for is the possibilities of buying a beachfront lot and building a beachouse...we are in the casino,cafe,bar business industry...we have a very small income and still want to work...employment oppurtunities,cheap beach living,sailing,snorkeling,thats what I'm about...anybody want to comment,feel free....Posted 09-06-2010 at 05:31 PM by boneymaroni
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Hi Boneymaroni, please feel free to visit my profile where you can email me directly so I can answer any questions you may have. Best, JoyPosted 09-07-2010 at 09:03 AM by JustJoy
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"Is your Panamanian housekeeper, who doesn't speak good english, going to nobly change your diaper several times daily with a smile?"
The housekeeper does not need to speak good english, old dude needs to speak good spanish. After all, Panama is a spanish speaking country.Posted 12-19-2010 at 11:50 AM by intelbeing
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Questions!
JustJoy! Is there a more private room I can contact you in to ask you some questions? My wife and I have been looking at Costa Rica for retirement, but Panama could be the place for us...
Posted 05-29-2012 at 05:49 AM by MRHermann
