figuring out retirement

[wowzelcat]

hello everyone. I'm an American living in the UK, and retired recently due to a buyout scheme. My British husband still works (he is 60). We've just received quite a windfall due to his mum's passing, and now we have seven figures in cash, another paid off house, investments and our house which is mortgage free. It is quite a change.

I've recently applied for British citizenship. Whilst awaiting the outcome, I started thinking about our retirement. Basically for the couple decades I've lived and worked in the UK, I've only been back to the States twice; DH has been once for my dad's funeral. His family here had the priority, and we live where he grew up which is pretty countryside but extremely rurally isolated (no bus or train service...nearest village 5 miles away). We have no children. I've pretty much accommodated myself to his life plans, and was an equal partner economically...we both paid for the house, expenses, holidays. I always worked, and worked very hard.

If Kamala Harris wins the election, I've been thinking a bit about spending more time in the USA. I didn't before because it is expensive, and DH did not seem very keen to spend the money, and he doesn't like flying. I've even thought about retiring there...I know things have changed a lot since I was there, and probably not for the better. But, I am homesick and have been for a very long time. I'm also not really seeing the UK as economically as viable anymore, and well, I am weary of the anti-immigrant rhetoric. I've felt like an outsider for a very long time who has had to accommodate herself. DH really does not get this, as he has never had to deal with it. He did say he would consider it though, as he is curious about the States, and money is not a problem.

Has anyone moved from the UK to the USA to retire, and if so, what did you think of it?

I'm already in the US, moved from the U.K. years ago, and we are starting to try and get our heads around what our retirement will look like well in advance. So, this won't be completely relevant to you, but since you've had no replies, maybe it will be of a little help?

It's great that you've got lots of cash, because you'll probably need it! I think that the USA is far more expensive to live in,day to day,than people imagine. Everything costs a lot now.

I think it depends on where you expect to be actually fully resident for tax purposes.

We have both US and UK state and occupational pensions and while there are agreements between the two countries to enable you to combine your pension accrual years to be able to get a state pension if you don't have enough qualifying years in either country, it also works against you in the US as they have this thing called Windfall elimination provision which will deduct an amount from US social security paid to you (it doesn't make any difference if your pensions are consecutive).

I'd be mainly worried about healthcare, though, especially if I was planning to live between the two countries. I know that the NHS is free, and that you can buy travel insurance, but get past 70 and it seems, from my relatives' experiences, that the cost can be really high or if you're unlucky, unavailable. When I travel now, I can just buy a bolt-on international medical package to my existing health insurance which means that I wouldn't have to declare pre-existing conditions if I had any. Would you be entitled to Medicare at 65?

I think I'd be really reluctant to move out here specifically for retirement if I didn't have a concrete plan on what my health insurance was going to be.