Seriously Thinking Of Retiring In Ba

[sergio]

There are a couple of decent retirement homes such as BABS in Devoto but expensive. I believe around $35,000 pesos a month.

 

[RichardP]

deleted

 

[steveinbsas]

There are a couple of decent retirement homes such as BABS in Devoto but expensive. I believe around $35,000 pesos a month.

YIKES!!! Retiring doesn't mean you're ready for "the home."

My dad retired when he was fifty-five and didn't move into a retirement home until four months prior to his eighty-fifth birthday.

He died two months later.

I "retired" at fifty, moved to Mexico and built a house.

I moved to Buenos Aires when I was fifty-five and then to my present location at the age of sixty.

For the past six years I've done all of all of the maintenance work at my property, including cutting over 8,000 meters with a lawn mover (the kind you push) at least once every ten days, nine months of the year.

Neither aging or getting older necessarily means needing to live in a retirement home.

I just came inside from trimming trees with a machete.

It aways gives me a peaceful easy feeling.

I remember the first time I heard this song (the year I graduated from college): https://www.youtube....h?v=4bXupeslbjU

PS: The last sixteen years have been the best years of my life....and I'm looking forward to at least sixteen more...before heading for the home.

 

[sergio]

Steve, You misunderstood. Someone here commented that if the original poster moves to BA with his Argentine wife it is likely that they will be expected to care for the wife's aged parents. The poster observed that retirement homes here are viewed very negatively, implying that the parents would have to be taken care of by the American and his wife. I commented that not all local retirement homes are bad, that there is a respectable one in Devoto known as BABS, British-American Benevolent Society, long supported by the Anglo-Argentine community. It is not cheap, however.

 

[steveinbsas]

Steve, You misunderstood. Someone here commented that if the original poster moves to BA with his Argentine wife it is likely that they will be expected to care for the wife's aged parents. The poster observed that retirement homes here are viewed very negatively, implying that the parents would have to be taken care of by the American and his wife. I commented that not all local retirement homes are bad, that there is a respectable one in Devoto known as BABS, British-American Benevolent Society, long supported by the Anglo-Argentine community. It is not cheap, however.

While I can "agree" with everything RichardP wrote in this post:

Don't forget about the elderly mother that you will be expected to care for since nursing homes are almost universally equated with torture chambers in Argentina. Most of the other members of the family will be too busy with their lives and a "yanqui jubilado" is viewed with $ signs for eyes.

In your thinking that a family can offer support to you and your wife, much will be expected of you as well.

You can go from being a "divino" when you are helping others here to an "hijo de p#*ta" in the speed of light when you get weary of being taken advantage of and quit being so giving.

Make sure you are clear how things will be from the beginning since family can be a blessing as well as a nightmare.

The OP never mentioned that his wife's parents were still living, only that she had family in Argentina.

If she does, then RichardP's advice is certainly something to consider and even if she doesn't, the rest of his post about the difficulties of dealing with family in Argentina is something to take seriously. So are El Queso's, Serafina's, and yours.

 

[Noesdeayer]

As a single 74 year old retiree presently on a home visit to NYC I am pleased to say after talking with a single younger sister (66) and a brother married with children (62) that I made a smart decision by staying permanently in Argentina to live out my retirement.As other posters have mentioned above there are Argentine cultural and family mores that are sometimes difficult to fully accept for those from an English speaking social mind set.
Although I am completely bilingual after 37 years and being self employed.There are certain beliefs and attitudes concerning family envolvement in one-s life that I would find hard to accept.I was in a live in relationship for 10 years and saw some of those things coming.Quite naturally,these are personal decisions based on love and dedication to a life partner which are key to a relationship.However,for a single person retirement in Argentina is definitely less expensive and in many ways superior to NYC at least.
As Sergio mentioned ,as a participant in the British Hospital Contributory scheme I would probably move to the BABS home later on ,if need be.
Soltero y sin compromiso (con U$D) is decidedly better than the same situation in NYC.

 

[sergio]

Noesdeayer, Does having a British Hospital medical plan help one pay for BABS (British-American Benevolent Society retirement home in Devoto)? I have been looking into BABS for someone I know who needs such care. He is Anglo-Argentine and has British Hospital coverage. He was told that costs are about about $35,000-$40,000 pesos a month irrespective of his British Hospital coverage.

Thirty-five thousand pesos may be more than a lot of retired American expats can afford, especially as BABS residents must pay for their own health insurance. In deciding to retire in Argentina, a US citizen must consider the added expense of health insurance which is substantially higher for those who enter at age sixty-six. For those who have been in a health care plan for ten years or more, rates cannot soar at age sixty-six as they used to (Cristina Kirchner is responsible for a law that banned this practice). In the US a retired person is covered by Medicare, so having to pay for health insurance here is a significant added expense, especially if you are entering a plan at a late age without the benefit of ten years in the system which keeps costs down.

 

[Noesdeayer]

Sergio;
I agree that AR$ 35K may be more than a lot of American expats can afford.However,I have begun to make provision to be able to.I really don,t know if having a British Hospital medical plan helps pay for BABS.I am hoping that it does.
Luckily,I joined the plan 25 years ago at age 49 and don't have that problem. At the risk of sounding a little self-centered,I am pleased that after having lived thru a lot of good times but also a lot of hassles which life in Argentina affords all of us,I can have almost a care free retirement in a country into which I have deeply aculturated and fell at home.

 

[steveinbsas]

In deciding to retire in Argentina, a US citizen must consider the added expense of health insurance which is substantially higher for those who enter at age sixty-six....In the US a retired person is covered by Medicare, so having to pay for health insurance here is a significant added expense, especially if you are entering a plan at a late age without the benefit of ten years in the system which keeps costs down.

As far as I know, Medicare in the USA does not pay for nursing home care, though hospitalization is covered under part A. Doctor visits are covered only of you are paying for part B. I opted out of part B coverage, but if I ever return to the USA and want part B coverage I'll have to pay for all of the years I didn't have it since "enrolling" in Medicare (and perhaps a substantial "penalty as well).

As I previously noted in this thread, there is "free health care" for all residents of the city of Buenos Aires, at least according to jantango, and I have no reason to doubt her...so no one has to pay for insurance in Buenos Aires. I don't think anyone has to pay for health insurance in the country of Argentina, either. Depending on the quality of the public health care facilities where one lives, that could be less desirable than most (if not all) of the private insurers, but it is an option for everyone.

PS: Public health care is not (quite) free to everyone in Argentina. The closest public hospital uses three income thresholds by which they determine who must pay, if anything, and how much they should pay for health care services. Nonetheless the charges are not very high. I don't know the exact limits for each of the categories. There is no charge for any services or prescription drugs in category A. I only know that those in category B pay about $50 pesos for a doctor visit and $200 pesos for a simple electro-sound exam and must buy all medicines in a pharmacy. One of my friends here is a surgeon. He is on the OSDE list of local doctors who accept patients with OSDE coverage...and he also works at the public hospital.

 

[sergio]

Noesdeayer, Agreed that retiring in BA is a very personal decision that can not necessarily be quantified in material terms. For someone in the United States thinking about retirement here, there are some financial considerations that should be taken into consideration however. One is the cost of health care and provisions for advanced old age when home care may be Impossible. Regarding BABS and the British Hospital, they are separate entities. There is no discount at BABS for being a British Hospital subscriber. At BABS you MUST however continue to pay your pre-paga so that is a cost in addition to the monthly rates which are now over $35,000 pesos a month. I think $40,000 + pesos is more like it but that can be verified by checking with BABS. It depends too on whether you want a private or shared room.

I have to repeat my comment about the cost of Medicina Pre Paga in Argentina for those who are sixty-six or over. If you enroll in a plan at that age you pay a very high premium unlike those who have been in the plan for a decade or longer. Prior to the admirable law initiated by Cristina Kirchner, those in such plans for a decade or more are no longer subject to sixty percent or higher increases at age sixty-six as in the past. A new enrollee, however, would have to pay a very high price. This is good news for you and me but not good for a prospective retiree from the US or elsewhere.

Steveinbsas, Medicare Part A pays for all hospitalization. It is an extraordinary benefit for Senior Citizens in the US. I have relatives who have run up bills of hundreds of thousands of dollars at some of the best hospitals in the world and their costs have been almost entirely paid by Medicare. All that remained were a few hundred dollars. Part B covers outpatient care. The premium used to be $105 a month however it recently jumped to about $122 for a single person. In general it covers eighty percent of outpatient care however there are a myriad of affordable supplemental plans from AARP. In general the costs of medical care for Seniors in the US are very manageable under the Medicare system which, in the end is a kind of socialized medicine. As for nursing home care, the normal procedure is for the individual to enter a nursing home and pay all fees out of pocket until all funds have been exhausted. At that point Medicaid takes over. Most nursing homes take some Medicaid patients. Families who are well informed will look for a good nursing home and get some assurance that once the funds dry up, the nursing home will keep the patient on at government expense. If they decide not to, the patient must go elsewhere where Medicaid is accepted. Medicaid, incidentally, is a medical plan for people who have limited financial resources. If they cannot manage the costs of Medicare, they go on Medicaid, receive the same care in the same hospitals as Medicare patients, with 100% of costs covered. If they are in a nursing home, 100% of costs are covered under Medicaid. For some individuals who entered top quality nursing homes as paying patients but later ran out of money, Medicaid is an extraordinary benefit as it will pay for care that costs many families well over $300 a day. All prices here in USD of course.

Given these benefits available for citizens in the US, along with the many social welfare benefits available in the US (free or reduced rate public transport in many cities, numerous discounts,etc.) it seems to me that retirement in Argentina is convenient for those who are relatively well off but would be a strain for anyone on a limited budget. In addition to the benefits that I have cited above, there are many other forms of assistance for low income individuals in the US that would not be available here.