Moving your money abroad

• US Social Security can be paid by direct deposit to a bank in any country with a US international direct deposit agreement, which includes all 20 of our destinations, or to a US account wherever you live. Benefits stay in US dollars, whatever the exchange rate ¹. See the guide for Americans.
• Other public pensions (UK State Pension, CPP/OAS, French and German pensions) can generally be paid abroad too; ask your pension service which countries it pays into directly, in which currency, and what proof of life it needs each year.
• Private pensions and annuities: many only pay into an account in their home country. Check before you close it.

Keep at least one account at home. It receives payments that cannot go abroad, pays bills you keep at home, and avoids reopening an account (which is hard once you live abroad) if you come back.

A local account pays rent, utilities and local taxes, and some visas ask for one (Portugal's D7 to show your funds, MM2H's fixed deposit in Malaysia, the SRRV deposit in the Philippines, Indonesia's Silver Hair deposit in a state-owned bank). Expect to show:

• your passport and residence permit (some banks open non-resident accounts before you move);
• a local tax number (Portugal NIF, Spain NIE, Italy codice fiscale, Greece AFM): get it early, it unlocks the account, the lease and the visa (see our country settling steps);
• proof of address and of the origin of your funds.

Sending relatively small amounts abroad costs 6.36% of the amount on average worldwide (World Bank, data published in 2025, measured on transfers of a few hundred dollars) ². On a $3,000 monthly pension, 6% is $180 a month, more than $2,000 a year. The cost has two parts:

1. The fee you see.
2. The exchange margin you do not see: the gap between the rate you get and the mid-market rate published by central banks and financial sites. It is often larger than the fee.

How to pay less:

• compare the total cost (how much arrives for a given amount sent), not the fee;
• compare banks with specialised transfer services, which publish their margins;
• send larger amounts less often if fixed fees dominate, and avoid exchanging at airports or hotels;
• if your pension can be paid directly in the local currency at a good rate, compare that too.

A US pension spent in euros, baht or pesos loses value when the dollar falls, and the pension is not adjusted for it (US Social Security is calculated in dollars and is not changed by exchange rates) ¹.

• Keep a buffer of several months of expenses, or budget with a margin (our budget check shows how much is left each month).
• Countries that use the US dollar remove the risk for Americans: Panama and Ecuador.
• Big purchases (a home) are worth planning: the timing of the exchange can change the price by thousands.
• Rules on bringing money in exist in some countries: in Colombia, money brought from abroad to buy a home must go through the exchange market and be registered with the central bank; in Thailand, a condo purchase needs a bank foreign-exchange certificate.

• US citizens: the FBAR when foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year, and Form 8938 above $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time when you live abroad ($400,000 / $600,000 for a joint return) ³.
• Your new country may ask for its own declarations: Spain requires a yearly declaration of foreign assets over €50,000 (Modelo 720), Italy taxes foreign financial assets and property (IVAFE, IVIE) and requires them to be declared each year.
• Tax on interest and investments follows the residence rules of our pension tax guide: Uruguay, for example, taxes foreign interest and dividends at 12% after a tax holiday.

1. Ask each pension payer where and in which currency it can pay you.
2. Keep an account at home; open the local account early (tax number first).
3. Compare the total cost of transfers on your real monthly amount.
4. Budget with a currency margin, or a buffer of several months.
5. Put the declarations of both countries in your yearly calendar.