Just playing with ideas here, but hoping you can help.
Im 49, wife 42 lived in the US for 20 and thinking of retiring back to the UK. I dont want to get old and ill here with the state of the medical system.
So how would I do it? Should I buy a flat now and rent it until we go? What about retirement over there? Do I still qualify? I worked there 10 years before I came here? I have a Roth IRA here but I know the exchange rate is bad.
Any other things I should think about?
Thanks all
Rob

I don't think you would want to be old and ill in the UK now either, especially the way things are going. You are best to make sure you have private health and your own pension scheme and not be reliant on anyone but yourself. If you have been away from UK for 20 years, aren't most of your friends there.

didn't think you'd been here that long....

yep although my hubs is a usc he doesn't want to retire here. we have a place in blighty as i go home often....why not look at getting a place in the uk, rent it out whatever.. at least you will have a base for when and if you do return.

guess you have returned to blighty in the last 20yrs? things for sure have changed and after 20yrs here you might feel quite different.

I'm planning on doing the same thing.

If you qualify for US SS it can be paid to you in the UK, you may also qualify for some UK benefits. The ROTH IRA will be tax free in the UK as well as the USA under the current taxation treaty.

What is your citizenship status? Be aware that if you have a green card you'll lose it if you move to the UK. If you are a US citizen there are other issues with taxation and the rules the IRS imposes of US expatriates.

Thanks for that. Im a US citizen since 1991, but still have my British passport.I really want to go back ASAP but have to be mindfull of retirment income.
Rob

There is a special Nat Insurance dept for UK citizens living overseas, they might be able to help and you can ask them for a pension forcast based on any Nat Ins you have paid.
I'm rushing out now but it is easy to find on the website

www.hmrc.gov.uk/nic

There is a special phone number for overseas questions and it is on that website somewhere.

First thing to do is to make a list of all your assets, house, retirement funds etc. Then work out what your domicile/residence status will be once you move back to the UK as this affects how the UK will tax you. FYI the US is going to tax you too as it taxes based on citizenship and not residence. You'll end up paying tax in the US and the UK, but there are credits and allowances that can be used to avoid double taxation. The good thing is that the UK/US tax treaty recongnises qualified retirement funds in either country so your ROTH is tax free in the US and the UK and any money from other US retirement funds will be treated similarly in the US as the UK. Any SS or NI payments you get will only be taxable in the UK.

Be aware that as a US citizen its a bad idea to invest in foreign mutual funds so it'll be best to keep your retirement and any after tax investments you have in the US. This obviously opens you up to currency fluctuations so what I plan to do is move my money into US based International and European index funds, Fidelity etc has lots of these. You can also buy Exchange Traded Funds EFT that track the European markets.

As a dual citizen your taxation position will be complicated and I'd talk to a specialist tax accountant who can file for you in both countries. Here are some links, I'm not recommeneding any one over another but they are a start

http://www.towertax.co.uk/
http://www.stephenasher.com/
http://www.coppergateinternational.com/
http://www.britishamericantax.com/

I don't know what your situation is regarding capital and/or what house prices have done in your neck of the USA woods, but I think a HUGE factor in retiring to the UK from US is the absolutely ridiculous pattern in UK house prices. As much as I love being back here, it has put a serious crimp in my finances to go from paying less than 20% of my monthly salary as mortgage (US) to almost 50% of my salary - and that is for a 25-year mortgage and I'm only 15 years from retirement! Others here (Eurotramp comes to mind) have hit similar problems.

There was a program on just now about "what will house prices do in the UK?" and I think the consensus is that, whatever happens in the next year or two (up/down), in the long run UK house prices will only go up. So if you can afford to buy something now and cover the mortgage by renting it out (harder these days than just 2 years ago), I'd seriously consider it if I were you. You have to be a bit more savvy now - avoid new apartment developments, for example (hard to rent out because so many of them flood the rental market)

I spent a day on a general surgical ward in an nhs hospital recently and was horrified at the way the elderley where treated, it was dreadful, we are seriously considering moving out of this country it is going downhill very fast.

You might not find things much better in any of the alternatives.

I would hate to be dependant on the nhs and worse still to be in hospital here, particularly with MRSA and now there is a new 'superbug' which has been discovered and is is far worse than MRSA We are taking our chances and moving to Spain, better climate, cheaper cost of living and less stress. We are nowhere near retirement age so will have to take out private medical insurance but we would rather that than free hospital treatment with the nhs with the posibility of catching some superbug Also the elderly are not well cared for and only yesterday there was a programme on tv about some medication to prevent blindness in the elderly costing £2000 a month, because the nhs won't foot the bill most of the elderly patients interviewed said they would have to accept blindness as they were running out of money! There is also a drug to delay altzeimers which the nhs won't pay for and then there is the breast cancer drug....postal code lottery...in fact a lot of treatment depends on where you live! Not Good!!

We pay a fortune for medical here (in the US), if you add in the monthly premium, the deductibles, copays etc,etc. The two local hospitals we have used have been filthy, far worse than anything I ever saw at my local NHS.
Our family practitioners office is modern but the staff need a lesson in charm and the doctor is always rushing, obviously the more people she sees the more mega bucks she will earn.
We had some bad experiences with the NHS on occasions but I would much rather have them than the care we have here. Even though we are paying through the nose we still have to wait ages for appointments and I wouldn't dare go to A&E unless I was very seriously ill because the cost is prohibitive.No out of hours GP service here...pay or die.

I get what you are saying, we have a brilliant system with the nhs, such a pity it is being ruined by the government. It will be a sad day if we ever lose it. It amazes me that the USA with all it's "we are" "we can" "we do" doesn't have a similar system and still require people to pay for medical attention. Shocking!!! The land of the free....hardly!!

Amen. Thats what Im worried about. You can work and pay taxes all your life here. BUT, one stroke of bad luck (without sufficient medical insurance) and they will leave you to die (after they have foreclosed on your home)

I can fully understand you wanting to 'go home' before retirement because of medical costs over there but have you considered another country? Could be worth looking at other discussion boards on this site for research purposes before you make the final decision.