sb_boise wrote:
Gotcha, ok.. I think the underlying basis of my question stemmed from my suspicion that the U.S. gov't would find out if the retiree is no longer in the U.S., and thus they would decide to renege on their promise to continue to offer SS. I never underestimate what they would do.
However, that's probably oversuspicious of me when it comes to something as fundamental as money you've earned through many years of earning income.
No, ex-pats receiving social security live all over the world, you retain your USA citizenship and just claim residency in the country of your choice, inform the embassy and that's all you need.
Costa Rica is pretty stable -for now- but their economy is teetering, their officials and union goons are beyond corrupt, anything can happen, so you want to always be ready upon a moment's notice to be able to head back to the USA (or Colombia) if sh*t hits the fan, remember, Nicaragua was once reasonably stable as was Venezuela and wayyyy back when, Cuba.
Even Iran, Lebanon and Afghanistan were civilized stable countries once back in the early 70's and prior...