In The News
Research Shows That An Increasing Number of U.S. Workers Are Retiring To Mexico
A recent study concludes that many Baby Boomers leaving the workforce will retire in Mexico. According to the US Department of State, over four million Americans now live in Mexico with tens of thousands of Americans crossing the boarder each year. Statistics show that the primary reason for Americans retiring in Mexico is the current recession and loss of investment income.
With a down economy, layoffs and a bleak economic future for employees, many companies are providing “retirement counseling” in order to assist employees leaving the workforce with positive change of life options, and these include information on retiring in Mexico.
Mexico cost of living allows retirees to stretch their pension and investment money. Additional reasons include better climate, a higher standard of living and access to health services that cost up to 12 times less than those in the United States.
The health Insurance Industry is acting upon this significant trend. Already, the four largest commercial U.S. health insurers—with enrollments totaling nearly 100 million people—have either launched pilot programs exploring or offering overseas travel to countries like Mexico for health services. Some smaller health insurers and brokers also have introduced travel options for hundreds of employers around the country.
It also makes sense that Americans should be able to use insurance benefits from Medicare and Medicaid in Mexico. And that ability may become reality very soon, says Bruno Ferrari, the chief executive officer of Promexico, Mexico’s foreign investment agency.
And he believes that within one year, the governments of Mexico and the U.S. may have an agreement to let Americans use their Medicare and Medicaid insurance at Mexican health care facilities.
Already, 10 U.S. and Canadian companies have expressed an interest in building facilities to cater to Americans seeking to take advantage of low medical expenses, he says. This is all good news for those who live in Mexico and for anyone thinking about relocating or retiring there.
The biggest boom will be the development of “green communities”. Already one U.S. based developer, (Rancho Costa Verde www.ranchocostaverde.com) located in San Diego, California, is in there second phase of developing a “green community” that is located just two hours south of the U.S., Mexican border on the Sea of Cortez.
Frank Ingrande, President of Rancho Coasta Verde, shared with us a few facts about the community.
- 350-acre master planned community that offers breathtaking 180-degree sea and mountain views from every home site.
- 1/4-acre home sites start as low as $17,500.00. Rancho Costa Verde offers secure ownership with title insurance provided by Stewart Title.
- All properties are either ocean front or have full ocean views
- 80 percent of home construction material is made from recycled material
- Homes are powered by renewable energy solar and/or wind
- Homes have waste water treatment systems that recycle all water for irrigation
- Homes use an atmospheric water maker that produces purified drinking water from the humidity in the air with power produced by the sun.
- Homes sell for a fraction of what they cost in the United States and Canada.
When asked if you can own property in Mexico, Frank responded, “Yes, you can legally own property in Mexico — including beachfront. Foreigners can legally own property in Mexico, and the Mexican legal system protects the rights of foreign property owners. That means you can enjoy owning the kinds of property in Mexico that might be priced out of your budget in the US – including beachfront and beach view property. Mexico’s Foreign Investment Act, allowing foreigners to own beachfront property, was passed in 1994 with the North America Free Trade Agreement.
Some additional facts that Frank shared with us are:
- According to U.S. government figures, Mexico's economy moved ahead of Canada's last year, making it the 12th largest economy in the world.
- Unlike the U.S., Mexico is one of the world's largest oil exporters and sells 1.7 billion barrels of oil to the U.S. each day. As a result, Mexico's economy is actually strengthened by today's rising oil prices.
- Mexico's stock market has also taken off. In fact, over the past five years, Mexican markets have outperformed U.S. stocks (as measured by the S&P500) by 10 to 1.
- Mexico's government has launched a 5-year, $250 billion program to build new highways, railways, airports and ports throughout the country, much of that in Baja.
- And today, there are countless state-of-the-art hospitals and care homes being built specifically to service the aging baby boomers arriving from north of the border.