How much money do you need to retire abroad? Two numbers answer it, and they’re different. The first is the income a consulate wants to see: from $1,000 a month in Costa Rica and Panama to $4,510 a month at Mexico’s San Diego consulate, as of October 2026. The second is what a month actually costs once you’re there. In all five countries below, it’s lower than at home.
For two of them, Spain and Mexico, the visa is the higher number. It’s the real minimum.
Euros are converted at the European Central Bank rate of October 12, 2026: €1 = $1.1181.
How much money do you need to retire abroad: the visa floors
This is the income you must prove for one person on each country’s usual retiree route.
| Country | Route | Income floor, one person | In dollars | Clears it on the average check ($2,087.52)? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | Pensionado | $1,000 a month, permanent and stable pension | $1,000 | Yes |
| Panama | Pensionado | $1,000 a month for life; $750 if you own property over $100,000 | $1,000 | Yes |
| Portugal | D7 | €920 a month, the 2026 minimum wage | About $1,030 | Yes |
| Spain | Non-lucrative visa | €2,400 a month (€28,800 a year), 400% of IPREM | About $2,680 | No |
| Mexico | Temporary resident (San Diego) | $4,510 a month over 6 months, or $75,950 average balance over 12 | $4,510 | No |
The average check is the SSA’s figure for retired workers in August 2026.
Three details change the picture.
Pensions versus savings. Costa Rica and Panama want a pension. Costa Rica’s law says “permanent and stable,” and Panama’s says for life. A 401(k) you draw down yourself is hard to present that way. Mexico and Spain will look at savings instead.
Couples. Spain adds 100% of IPREM for each dependent, so two people need €3,000 a month, about $3,350. Portugal counts a second adult at 50%: €1,380, about $1,540. Two average Social Security checks clear both.
Your consulate. Mexico lets each consulate publish its own figures. San Diego’s are above. Check the one that covers your state.
What a month actually costs there
Visa floors say nothing about prices. For that I use the World Bank’s 2024 price levels for household consumption, which compare what the same basket of goods and services costs in each country against the US.
Here’s how to read the table. Pick what a month costs you at home. Multiply by the price level. The example uses $3,000. It isn’t a statistic, just a round number to scale from.
| Country | Price level (US = 100) | A $3,000 US month costs | Visa floor | What sets your minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panama | 51.1 | About $1,530 | $1,000 | Your living costs |
| Mexico | 59.0 | About $1,770 | $4,510 | The visa |
| Portugal | 60.5 | About $1,815 | About $1,030 | Your living costs |
| Spain | 63.7 | About $1,910 | About $2,680 | The visa |
| Costa Rica | 63.7 | About $1,910 | $1,000 | Your living costs |
Spain and Costa Rica come out identical on prices. Their visas are $1,680 a month apart.
Panama is the cheapest of the five on this measure, and it uses the US dollar, so there’s no exchange-rate risk. Mexico is cheaper to live in than Spain and much harder to get into on income alone.
The realistic monthly number
Take the higher of the two, then add what the price level leaves out.
- Medicare Part B, if you keep it: $202.90 a month in 2026. Medicare generally doesn’t pay for care abroad, but dropping it costs a 10% penalty for each year you go without. The trade-off is in does Medicare cover you abroad.
- Local health cover, priced on your age, not on local prices. Spain requires private insurance with no copays for the visa.
- Flights home. They recur.
- The exchange rate. In Spain and Portugal you’re spending euros, and a dollar that falls 10% is a 10% pay cut. Not in Panama.
- US tax filing, every year, wherever you live.
Put that together for one person. In Portugal, a $3,000-at-home lifestyle runs about $1,815, plus $202.90 for Part B: roughly $2,020 before insurance and flights. In Spain the floor wins: you need to show about $2,680 a month whatever you plan to spend.
How much in savings?
People often mean a lump sum. The honest answer is what your income doesn’t cover, times the years, plus a first-year cushion.
The visas give two concrete markers. Spain’s consulate states the requirement as €28,800 a year, about $32,200, for one applicant, and savings can stand in for income. Mexico’s savings route asks for an average balance of $75,950 over the last 12 months. Neither is spending money. It has to be there, visible, while you also pay for the move. Those one-time costs are on how much it costs to move abroad.
The downside of planning by averages
The price level is a national average. A capital costs more than the country, and the first year costs more than the rest, while you’re still paying tourist prices and buying furniture. Use the table to cut a shortlist. Then price an actual flat on an actual street.
And floors move. Spain’s follows IPREM, Portugal’s follows the minimum wage, and Mexican consulates reissue their sheets each year. Costa Rica’s $1,000 sits in the migration law itself, so it only changes when the law does. Check the consulate page the month you apply, not the year before.
If your budget is close to the average check, retiring abroad on $2,000 a month goes through nine countries line by line. If you’re counting on Social Security, see whether you can collect it abroad and who taxes it. Visa files by country: Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama.