Retiring In Buenos Aires

[TomAtAlki]

We live in BsAs most of the year, but still own property in Seattle and go back and forth. We are retired and love our life in BsAs. When we were just out of college T and me were Peace Corps Volunteers, so probably more adaptable then most people.
N

 

[dennisr]

Retire in Argentina? Kind of humorous for this retiree. If you plan on doing the permanent move and jump through all the hoops to obtain residency to obtain property, subtract five years off your life expectancy. The bureaucratic BS will kill you. Become a commuter or perma-tourist. Just my thoughts and mine only.

 

[Matiasba]

keep in mind this forum is very negative. There are lots of retired people here who love it here. Also Uruguay is a destination for retirees, but its a lot more expensive.

 

[cruizes]

Got my residency 1 - 2 - 3 !!!!!

 

[ghost]

Oh, getting your stuff into Argentina is fairly easy [expensive as hell, but fairly easy] Getting you belongings out is HELL. Especially if you brought in any art and or antiques. When you enter you should always have an exit plan.

 

[chris]

I agree with the poster who said that whatever the law is now regarding importing personal possessions, this could change and is going to be up to the person in charge at the moment. There are going to be port charges and all sorts of surprises and "tips" will be necessary.

This country is not used to retirees from places like the US. It's not like Panama or Mexico which encourage US retirees and make it relatively easy to make the transition. Here you will be on your own and there will be no provisions made to accommodate you. Getting your pension money etc will be complicated.

If you are SERIOUS, I;d suggest spending at least a year here renting and see for yourself. I think you'll go elsewhere.

 

[toongeorges]

Another thing to consider is that if you are a resident in Argentina, you have to pay a wealth tax, not just on Argentine assets, but on all worldwide assets.

The first link about the wealth tax I found (http://argentina.ang...tax/wealth-tax/) says that you should pay (annually) 0,5% tax on each asset value over [font=Helvetica Neue']AR$305,000 and the tax increases to 1,25% for the value of your assets over [/font][font=Helvetica Neue']AR$5,000,000. If you are planning to retire, I assume you have more than [/font][font=Helvetica Neue']AR$305,000.[/font]

Interestingly, "Deposits in Argentine institutions are exempted from the tax base."
​Who the hell would want to deposit anything with an Argentine financial institution, knowing the reputation...

 

[ElQueso]

I know a couple of guys who have retired here from the US. They did it about 8-9 years ago and are a bit unhappy due to the inflation in the last few years and what their retirement benefits buy now compared to what it bought when they moved here. Fortunately, the own their apartments which helps significantly for them.

Things are a bit uncertain here at the moment (feels like a lot of people are waiting for a cliff to come up - the working class Argentines and foreigners are struggling mightily, middle class maybe not so much but still not real happy) and no one really knows exactly what's in store for the economy, but good things are less likely than bad. However, at some point things will probably calm down again. When things are stable and if you're happy with prices how they are now (come a stabilizing here, I doubt it will stabilize more expensive than it is now, although there may be worse inflation in the shorter term) then you would probably be alright pension-wise.

As far as getting your personal things in the country, yes, as a legal resident you have a window during which you are supposed to be able to bring in your personal belongings duty-free. The reality, however, may not be so simple, given the import restrictions that have been imposed. I'm sure everyone here probably remembers the recent Olympic games and how the Argentina teams themselves couldn't get their sports gear in to start practicing. It's been a while since that, of course and some things may have gotten better.

I know a US couple who moved down here a few years ago, before the import restrictions were in place. They moved their belongings down here via container and the container sat for a week in customs. They were charged $5000 USD in duty, even though the law says otherwise. They were welcome to fight it, but the storage fee was $200 USD per day. They came to a settlement with the customs agents (i.e., paid coima/bribe, through their shipping agent they were using down here) to pay $2500 USD, but they also had to pay the storage fees.

Importation and the economy - two of the most uncertain things about Argentina.

 

[ElQueso]

...
​Who the hell would want to deposit anything with an Argentine financial institution, knowing the reputation...

I think as a permanent resident with a retirement visa, you are required to bring the money in to an Argentina bank. At least for a time. I could be wrong. A friend of mine has a retirement visa that required he have a bank account for the money to be deposited in. I think eventually he quit getting his money down here like that and no one said anything yet.

 

[sergio]

Zimbabwe might be easier - and a better climate. The bottom line is that you would be going against the tide here as opposed to a place like Mexico where there are huge expat communities in San Miguel d'Allende and Ajijic. In these places you can live an easy expat life with lots of support services. This is not so in Argentina where you will have to assimilate far more. It may sound alluring to really become part of a new culture but the reality will be that you will always be looked at as a foreigner with money to spend, charged more and taken advantage of without the benefits you'd find in Mexico or some of the other destinations mentioned here -- Panama, Costa Rica. Stability? That is a joke. There is no telling what could happen. When I first came here the peso was worth one dollar and you could freely move money in and out. There were tons of imports, no restrictions etc. It's been a roller coaster since and this is going to continue. If you come here you will have to be prepared for all sorts of problems.