Boomers May Soon Overcome Top Objection to Retirement in Mexico
By: Jim Scherrer
As retirees and 12 year residents of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, it’s quite easy to extol the benefits of living in Mexico. Of course, not every part of Mexico is the same (as is true in the US or Canada); however, we can certainly vouch for Puerto Vallarta. With its beautiful climate and landscape of the Sierra Madres cascading down into Banderas Bay, its kind and friendly local citizenry, its proximity to the US and Canada, and its lower cost of living, what’s there not to like in this wonderland south of the border?
English, as a second language, is widely spoken throughout the city, the safety of expats is of highest priority for the authorities with the rate of violent crime at a fraction of that back home, corruption significantly reduced, poverty virtually eradicated, and the cleanliness of this city make it a favorite resort destination for millions of visitors from throughout the world. All of the “Big box” stores such as Sam’s Club, Costco, Wal-Mart, Builders Square, Office Depot, nine beautiful signature golf courses, world class deep sea fishing, high speed internet, satellite TV, VOIP telephone service, etc. are all available in this beautiful city in the center of the Mexican Riviera. The face of Vallarta has been dramatically altered during the past decade with well maintained city parks, esplanades, a new malecon walkway along the beach, new water treatment facilities and miles of new water distribution lines, new or upgraded power distribution system throughout the city, new downtown above ground and underground parking garages, a new University of Guadalajara branch, a new Convention Center, the tripling in size of the Maritime Terminal, the quadrupling in size of the International Airport, and the addition of four new hospitals with modern and sophisticated diagnostic and surgical equipment, staffed with highly trained and experienced English speaking doctors.
Now that we’ve established the fact that Vallarta is a fine place to live or retire, let’s take a closer look at the last item above related to medical care.
With high quality medical care readily available in Vallarta, the cost of it, even though at a fraction of the cost in the US, can be a deciding factor when considering Mexico as a retirement location. Assuming that most retirees have reached or are fast approaching their 65th birthday, the availability, quality, and cost of medical care are of high importance. The quality of medical care in Vallarta is generally equal to or better than that received in the US and the cost varies from one third to one half of that in the States (speaking from experience and with authority!).
Having high quality medical care available in Mexico is one thing but paying for it is another since US provided Medicare for seniors fails to cross the border at this time. Various supplements to Medicare cover seniors traveling abroad for a limited period of time (for example, supplement F covers the holder for the first 60 days of international travel), however, they are inadequate for full time residents living abroad.
Although Mexican Social Security (IMSS) is available to expats, most under the age of 65 have their own private international health insurance which is somewhat costly as discussed in numerous articles and covered on websites such as MedToGo. For many years, we have used IHI/BUPA and can state emphatically; their coverage and service is absolutely great for expats living in Mexico and traveling worldwide.
Now, let’s assume you’ve reached the age of 65 and are considering Mexico as your retirement destination. It’s very difficult to abandon your free Medicare that you’ve contributed to for a lifetime, the cost of private insurance is almost prohibitive, and you can’t afford to take the risk of being uninsured. This is the main dilemma for seniors considering retirement abroad. Even so, there are more than five million (some reports indicate six million) Americans living abroad, of which more than a million reside in Mexico per the Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO). In fact, there are more US expats living abroad than reside in 24 of the states in the US as reported by Republicans Abroad!
Well, perhaps we’re on the verge of overcoming this top objection to retiring in Mexico! The US government has been approached by numerous expat groups such as the Puerto Vallarta based chapter of Democrats Abroad and the bipartisan group of American Citizens Abroad (ACA) with the intent of promoting the advancement of Medicare for expats living abroad.
Before Congress can enact such a law change, they must conduct demonstration projects in order to determine the feasibility and cost effectiveness of such law changes. The Americans for Medicare in Mexico, A.C. (AMMAC) have put forth a tremendous effort in promoting this benefit to eligible retirees and have encouraged many members of Congress to initiate such a demonstration project. They argue that not only have these eligible Medicare recipients paid into the fund over a lifetime, but the cost to the US taxpayers will be significantly reduced because rather than returning to the US for expensive and long term medical care, the majority of these expats will merely elect to have their medical care provided near their foreign residence at a fraction of the cost.
Proponents of the law change such as Professor David C. Warner of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas have written books and papers on the subject of “Getting What You Paid For: Extending Medicare to Eligible Beneficiaries in Mexico” and the newly appointed US Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, has been following the current efforts to establish a demonstration project for the initiation of Medicare in Mexico as a pilot program. In fact, Ambassador Pascual recently accompanied President Obama to a North American Summit in Guadalajara where one of the topics covered was Medicare in Mexico as reported by the Guadalajara Reporter.
In summarizing, we are anticipating the availability of Medicare for eligible retirees residing in Mexico in the not too distant future. Once this obstacle to retiring abroad has been eliminated, not only will millions of baby boomers in search for a less expensive and better quality of life be heading south of the border, but so too will millions of retiring Mexican Americans desiring to return to their homeland. Combined with all of the other obvious benefits of living in Paradise, free and high quality medical care for boomers will just be the icing on the cake!
(ArticlesBase SC #1185916)
Article Tags:
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,boomer living
,luxury
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the once sleepy little Mexican fishing village located in the foothills of the Sierra Madres on Banderas Bay along the Mexican Riviera is no longer sleepy or little. The population has literally exploded since the filming of “The Night of the Iguana” in 1963. Vallarta has grown from 2,000 inhabitants prior to 1963 to the current figure of 350,000 inhabitants in 2007. Along with this explosive growth, real estate values have increased accordingly and are projected to continue to accelerate well into the future as the baby boomers migrate to Paradise.
Because there are no foreclosures, there has been no significant depreciation of values in Puerto Vallarta. That's not to say that there's not been a leveling off in prices or that the developers are not more inclined to "negotiate" today than they were a year ago. To the contrary, prices on newly constructed condos have never been better than they are today and bargains can be found throughout the city.
During your next visit to PV, keep your eyes open when you get off the beaten path (sometimes you won't even have to leave the beaten path!) and you'll surely encounter a banyan tree with its strange, almost grotesque trunk/root system wrapped around a palm, one of the oldest and most extraordinary of the many beautiful natural sights that Vallarta has to offer.
Having owned property in Vallarta for more than a quarter of a century, we can emphatically state that we’ve never seen a better time to buy property along the Mexican Riviera and seriously doubt that we’ll ever see it again during our lifetime. The selection is huge, the availability of credit is great, and the sellers are desperate, i.e., Puerto Vallarta is ripe for the pickin’ for the savvy investor as well as the retiring Baby Boomer!
You'll never find a better time to take advantage of a seriously depressed and overbuilt real estate market. With the current availability of mortgages in Mexico, this is a rare opportunity to buy low and perhaps someday in the future, sell high; it's a great concept!
In some respects, the intelligent sea turtles of Vallarta think in a manner similar to that of the smarter tourists that visit Vallarta; once they’ve been here, they continue returning!
Puerto Vallarta, being so conducive to creating, is a cultural Mecca south of the border in the center of the Mexican Riviera. So pack up your bags and come on down. Lay back, relax, and let your creative juices flow; you might be amazed by your own suppressed capabilities and hidden talents!
The next time you have the good fortune of seeing one of these magnificent reptiles up close, check out the third eye. Meanwhile, if you just want to have a little fun, ask your friends what has three eyes, two penises, and never sweats: the iguanas of enchanting Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!
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After reviewing this analytical approach with the documented facts and figures provided by the US government, you'll feel much more comfortable and inclined to visit our beautiful Paradise south of the border, where you have four times better odds of surviving than in the good ol´ US of A!
With perfect weather, very hospitable, gentle, and courteous English speaking locals inviting visitors with open arms, clean water and food, safety and security a major priority, and fun galore, you'll not have a Merrier Christmas than in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
You might be amazed to see that PV is approximately the same distance from Chicago, Minneapolis, and Portland as New York is from Houston, Dallas, and Denver. Relatively speaking, cities such as Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles are virtually next door to PV. Another factoid; Puerto Vallarta is nearer El Paso, Texas than is Texarkana, Texas.
You'll never find a better time to take advantage of a seriously depressed and overbuilt real estate market. With the current availability of mortgages in Mexico, this is a rare opportunity to buy low and perhaps someday in the future, sell high; it's a great concept!
The time has never been better for Canadians to explore the opportunities that exist in Mexico today. International monetary circumstances are ideal for Canadians concurrently with the condo supply and demand equation in Mexico heavily tilted in favor of the buyer. In terms of Canadian dollars, you can expect to find incredible condos at 30-35% lower prices than just a year ago and your cost of living will be 20-25% less than it was a year ago.
Regardless of where in Mexico you had invested your $100 ten years ago, whether it was in Mexican silver, stocks, or real estate, you’ve now got at least three times as much as you would have had if you had invested in the S&P 500 SPY’s!
When Medicare becomes available abroad, not only will millions of baby boomers in search for a less expensive and better quality of life be heading south of the border, but so too will millions of retiring Mexican Americans desiring to return to their homeland. Combined with all of the other obvious benefits of living in Paradise, free and high quality medical care for boomers will just be the icing on the cake!
As they say, all good things must come to an end; we all will pass on and when we do, the kids will probably be near retirement age. Hopefully, this will be a sad occasion for them however inheriting a beautiful condo in Puerto Vallarta will surely ease the pain!
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