º£½ÇÂÒÂ×

Thanks for asking Cheryl. Mine is simple. My father at 99 asked me and my younger brother to take care of our native-born Brazilian mother, (now 98) if he passed first. When he passed my younger brother, financial wiz and Trustee had made all the arrangements. I stayed behind and sold our parents' house and my wife brought my mother to her house in a small village in CEARA.

My retirement is basically using some of the money to build my house (about $20k USA) and get appliances as well as a car for my wife. The rest is my Emergency Fund and with the exceptional exchange rate in Brazil, I live my life off of my modest Social Security.

Roddie in Retirement😎

P.S. If you do retire from the USA to Brazil, remember that you need to be concerned

        about more than health. I worked with my late Uncle, surveying

        buildings for compliance, when the "ADA Americans with Disabilities Act" came out.

       ALL our houses (we have 3 on the property) are one floor and handicapped accessible.

       Please do not move into a skyscraper when you are over 50.

29 August 2025

Good question Cheryl.

I am not retired and I do not think that I will ever be.  I might as well behave like I am already retired now.

Rule 1- be financially independent.  This includes having savings for the rainy day etc…. The days of considering children as the retirement fund are over.

Rule 2 - live below your means.  This means balance your expense to match your income.  The good news is that the exchange rate in Brazil tend to be favorable.

Rule 3 - make sure to have adequate health coverage.  Brazil has free health care but you can also get private insurance.  Make sure that you prepare for that eventuality and make plans to match your expectations with your needs.

Rule 4 - obey the laws.  Brazilian laws and rules are complex and there may be things that the authorities are lax about and others very strict.  Get a competent lawyer to help.

Rule 5 - learn the language.  Portuguese is not too difficult to learn and Brazilians are eager to help.  You cannot trust 100% of what they say but that’s a great reason to ask for more opinions.

Rule 6 - take advantage of the benefits of being old.  People above 60 are called idosos and they get preferential treatment like - getting in front of the line, discount tickets etc...

Rule 7 - very important - have a local Brazilian bank account AND another bank account that you can do FOREX bank transfers.  You can do everything using a local bank account but it’s slow and can be costly.   Using an online bank such as Wise helps with transfers in and out of the country.  This helps moving money when you need it from your outside bank to a bank within the country.

Rule 8 - also very important - know the tax rules and requirements.  Know if and when to file.  Cannot advise here - but make sure to contact your tax advisor.

Rule 9 - Enjoy your stay there.  Most people retire in Brazil because the people are friendly, the environment laid back, the cost of living lower than in most developed countries, and your retirement money can go further.  Most expats from the US can live comfortably on the decreasing value of the US social security payments.  It’s almost impossible to do that in the US.

Hope that this helps.

@Pablo888 Rule#9 - Family - I moved to our small village in Northeastern Brazil because this was my Brazilian wife's hometown and she contracted with our Trustee to bring her here and care for my 98 yr. old mother. My wife's sister who lives in MD. is coming here in two months to a HUGE Mansion she built while in the USA living in a condo which she is about to sell. My wife is now completing a Property Wall for our 3houses, pool and land that would make Trump jealous. (our wall is almost finished) So, Family and the 5-1 Exchange Rate get my vote.

Roddie in Retirement😎