Overplanners Always Make This Wasteful Mistake When Retiring Overseas

Tempted by lower costs of living, mild climates, and slow-paced lifestyles, many Americans are rethinking their retirement plans, opting to spend their golden years abroad. In fact, over 750,000 people receive Social Security benefits abroad each year — and overseas retirees have increased over 75% since 2000, according to Fortune. However, many retirees make the costly mistake of applying for a retirement visa too soon.

While this might sound counterintuitive to type A planners, delaying your retirement visa application will likely save you time, money, and a huge stack of paperwork. Instead of choosing a country and applying immediately for the retirement visa, try living there on a trial basis with a tourist visa. This will ensure you experience your potential home outside the honeymoon phase. And, a tourist visa is much cheaper and usually requires considerably less paperwork than a pensioner visa. For instance, Thai Embassy says that to apply for the retirement visa in Thailand, you must have 800,000 baht (around $25,000) in your Thai bank account, proof of inpatient and outpatient health insurance, and proof of at least 65,000 baht (around $2,000) of monthly income, among other requirements. 

Many international retirees even recommend living briefly in multiple countries before choosing one to settle down in. "Living abroad myself I would suggest you make a list of 3-4 countries," advised one expat on The Epic Retirement Club's Facebook group. "Then I would travel to some of those selected countries ... Trust me when I say you really don't know a place until you spend time there."

How long you wait to apply for a retirement visa depends on your retirement country of choice, but it should be long enough to see your potential new home without rose-colored glasses. This can be anywhere from one to six months, possibly more if you want to experience all the seasons. "I would spend at least a month in a residential area ( no Hotels) and try to live as much as possible as a local," shared one expat on Reddit. The last part is especially important, as living like a tourist is vastly different from everyday life in a country. How efficient is the healthcare system? Is it difficult to connect with locals and other expats? Will your budget truly cover your wants and needs? These are just a few questions you can't answer in full until you spend a little while in a place.

However, some countries have long visa application processes, and you don't want to get stuck doing visa runs on a tourist visa. Using Thailand as an example again — it's home to one of the most affordable cities to retire in Asia – you'll likely need 12 months of bank statements showing your monthly income, according to Siam Legal. If you don't already have this, you'll need to start organizing your documents one year before applying. If you're not ready to fully commit to retirement abroad, check out the top travel destination for new retirees along with the best states to retire to in the U.S.