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Five things to consider before you retire abroad

Know before you go!

Published: 21 March 2017 13:59 CET
Five things to consider before you retire abroad

Retiring abroad is a dream for many. Imagine spending your days reading on the beach, or tending a garden where avocados and oranges thrive.  Or perhaps drinking red wine on the patio each day and turning in early under the Tuscan sun, or meandering the Louvre for hours on end.

But whether in Paris or Cyprus, there are a few things you must consider before you make the move. Here are five things you need to think about before making the decision to become a pensioner abroad.

1. What kind of visa do you need, and how can you get it?

This may be the most obvious one. If you want to live anywhere for an extended period of time, you’ve got to ensure you have the legal right to be there first.

If you’re already a citizen of an EU country and want to move to another EU country, the process should be quite simple – but for those outside of the EU or those who want to retire somewhere more tropical, there could be quite a bit of paperwork involved. Many countries – such as Australia, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malta, and Mauritius just to name a few – have specific retirement visas. The requirements vary but you must at the very least provide evidence of good health, adequate funds, and no criminal record.

If a retirement visa doesn’t suit you then a standard immigration visa might, or even an investor’s visa if you’ve got the funds – but be sure to look up the individual country’s requirements before you get too attached to the idea.

2. What benefits can you receive overseas?

So, you’ve built up a sizeable pension and you’re ready to live off it while lounging in the sun. Don’t act so fast. For Americans looking to retire abroad, keep in mind that Medicare does not cover healthcare overseas.

US Social Security benefits are valid overseas if you’re eligible, but there are also other issues involved. For example, if you have worked much of your life abroad and contributed to a pension programme in another country, there might be a bilateral social security agreement allowing you to receive similar Social Security retirement benefits anyway. There are also Totalization Agreements, which help ensure you’re not double taxed for social programmes. However, there are gaps in these agreements since they don’t exist with every country – know before you go so you don’t fall in the cracks.

The UK has similar rules – it has agreements with certain countries but not others. So while you’re working abroad, make sure your state pension is increasing – and when you retire abroad, keep an eye on taxes and how your pension payments are treated wherever you retire.

3. Do you have adequate health and medical coverage?

Speaking of Medicare not applying abroad – before you retire abroad it’s imperative to figure out how you will handle medical costs. UK citizens who move abroad will no longer be entitled to receive standard NHS medical care, and if you have a European Health Insurance Card, that might not be eligible anymore, either.

The best way to make sure you’ll always be covered, for whatever you need and wherever you go, is to have a private international health insurance.

Cigna Global, for example, specializes in health insurance for expats, with a medical network of over 1 million hospitals and healthcare professionals worldwide.

Customers aged 60 and over get a special reduced rates on your health insurance plan, as well as the new 60+ Care benefit also ensures you’re covered for pre-existing conditions like arthritis, glaucoma, hypertension, osteoporosis, and Type 2 Diabetes.

4. Should you close your accounts back home?

If you’re living abroad, you’ll probably need a bank account in your new country of residence. However, don’t be too hasty to close your accounts back home.

Many retiree expats find it’s easiest to keep the majority of their wealth in their home country. For Americans that makes it a lot easier to keep the IRS happy, since you have to report on all of your assets abroad.

Many foreign institutions don’t have equivalent accounts for things like 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts, so the easiest way to maximize your pension can be to keep it in place even if you move yourself.

And no matter where you’re from, it’s often simplest to have your state pension deposited into your account based in that country.

Just transfer what you need each month to avoid extra ATM and currency exchange fees, but don’t move what you don’t need.

5. How close will you be to friends and family?

If you’re planning on retiring abroad, chances are you’ve already got a location in mind. But have you thought about how easy it is to get to?

How hard will it be for friends and family to visit? How often will you be able to go back?

Make sure to consider connectivity – how close is the nearest airport? Is there local public transportation? And if you plan on driving, is your license valid there?

If you’re moving far away, it can be a good idea to try out the location before you make a permanent move. See how you feel being there for a month first.

Find out more about Cigna Global Healthcare

This article was produced by The Local Client Studio and sponsored by Cigna Global.

For members

HEALTH

How to find available therapists in Germany

It’s no secret that mental health care can be particularly tricky to access in Germany. Here are some helpful tips for anyone who is struggling to book an appointment for therapy.

Published: 23 April 2024 12:55 CEST
How to find available therapists in Germany

The process to find psychotherapy in Germany’s urban centres is arduous – licensed therapists often have impossibly long wait times, and private practices don’t accept public health insurance.

A major reason that public insurance funded mental health care is hard to find in Germany comes down to regulations. Specifically the ‘coverage plan’ (Bedarfsplanung) that basically limits the number of licences available for publicly insured therapists in a region.

Germany’s maddening bureaucracy probably won’t be fixed any time soon. So residents in need of therapy will need to find a way through the system as it is.

So here are a few helpful tips for finding therapists, as well as how publicly insured patients can have private practice therapy costs reimbursed.

Look for therapists enrolled at academies

You’ll probably have a better chance getting an appointment with therapists who are currently in training, because not everyone knows that this option exists.

You can search for “Akademie für Psychotherapie”, to find one in your location. The Berliner Akademie für Psychotherapie, is one in the capital city, for example.

If you arrange an appointment this way, you can expect to be connected with a grad student therapist in training who needs to complete their supervised practice hours. In this case, you would see your therapist as usual, and they will be going through your session with an experienced therapist afterward.

The main advantages to seeking a therapist in training is that it may be cheaper and you can probably more readily find an appointment. A potential disadvantage is that the therapist you’ll be seeing is less experienced. 

But according to a Stockholm University study, student therapists who receive regular feedback from supervisors may be just as effective as licensed therapists at treating patients.

How to get reimbursed for going to a private practice

As mentioned above, therapists covered by public health insurance are few and far between, especially in many urban centres, and therefore regularly come with long wait times. But for those willing to do battle with the bureaucracy, there is an option to have your costs reimbursed for seeing a private practice therapist.

Specifically, public insurance providers are obligated to provide full reimbursement of costs in the event of a “supply emergency”. 

Waiting times of more than three months are considered unreasonable. So generally, patients can claim a supply emergency if they have contacted several therapists, and none of them offered available appointments within that time frame.

But you’ll want to make sure that your process is properly documented so that you won’t be stuck with the out-of-pocket costs.

First, you’ll need to document your need for psychotherapy. To get this, make an appointment for a psychotherapeutic consultation with a practice in your area, and be sure to collect a written recommendation for treatment (a PTV 11 form). 

If you don’t know where to start with this, look to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung) for a database of therapists. You can also call 116 117 or use the 116 117 App.

After you’ve got your PTV 11 certificate, you’ll need to document your futile search for a licensed therapist. To do this, contact at least three to five therapists that have public health insurance approval. Keep a list of the names of therapists you contacted, as well as dates and times of contact and how long the waiting list for treatment is. 

Additionally, you should try to arrange treatment through the aforementioned Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and receive confirmation if it’s not possible. So you’ll need to call 116 117, or use the 116 117 App again. But this time go through the process to have them try to find you placement with a therapist. This should take a maximum of four weeks, but rarely happens.

Finally, if you have documented all of the above and have still not found a readily available therapist, then you can seek out a private practice. You’ll need to enroll as a self-paying patient initially, but then you can submit an application for an outpatient reimbursement (Kostenerstattungsverfahren) along with the previously collected certificates and proof of your search. Private practice therapists are usually familiar with this process, and may be able to help you with the application as well.

READ ALSO: What are the main reasons internationals in Germany turn to therapy?

Free phone consultations for students

Students in Berlin can also take advantage of a free 50-minute conversation with a therapist through StudierendenWERK.

For students elsewhere, it’s worth checking what kind of mental health support services your school offers. Many German universities offer mental health support to some extent, and if school counsellors can’t provide the care that you need, they may be able to offer helpful information about where such services are available in your area.

READ ALSO: Here’s how you can get mental health help in English in Germany

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