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Sweikert
since your information is topical
participating in the CAJA may sound good on the surface
but I know just as many people that would never deal with the Caja here at all because of their personal experiences. They pay into this because its the law. and they buy private insurance for private hospital.
you are making it sound like its a gift that expats here are receiving.
some people would not feel comfortable recovering from a major operation in a large room with 15 or more people and chances are that no one would be speaking english
some people may not feel comfortable with alot of things
while some people feel more at home using the clinica biblica, or catholica, or cima.. etc
imploring is 100% correctamundo!!!
the benefits of relocating here are diminishing.
bit by bit the cost of living here is rising from all fronts
add to the mix the specific catagory’s that are already overpriced here like
cars
gas
appliances
etcyou reach a level that its just not that good of a bargain here.
you may be better off in chicago :D:D:D:D:D:D:D sorry I had to throw that back in there :):D:D:D:D
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”imxploring”]
The $1000 number is way too low to honestly live in CR unless you’re going to adopt a Tico/Campesino lifestyle. So that’s not really a plus for those believing they can make it in CR with that level of income unless they are also drawing down on a nice nestegg as well. [/quote]Whether it is [b]wise[/b] to try to live on $1000/month wasn’t the point, you asked me for an example of how Costa Rica was offering inducements to retirees and I gave you one. But since you raise the subject it is certainly easier to live on $1000/month in CR than it would be in the US.
CR does offer special consideration to high income residents through the inversionista program. You may not think they offer enough under that to induce very many high income expatriates but you can’t deny that they do have some type of program in place to lure them.
[/quote]One mustn’t forget to take with you in a CAJA hospital, your own pillow, linens, PJ’s, soap, and towels…and make sure you have someone to take them home to be laundered.
Also one must arrange for a ‘visitor’ to be there, covering a 24 hour period, to help you to the washroom, feed you as there is[u] never enough staff[/u] nor ‘volunteer groups’ who step up to help the nursing staff.[quote=”costaricafinca”]One mustn’t forget to take with you in a CAJA hospital, your own pillow, linens, PJ’s, soap, and towels…and make sure you have someone to take them home to be laundered.
Also one must arrange for a ‘visitor’ to be there, covering a 24 hour period, to help you to the washroom, feed you as there is[u] never enough staff[/u] nor ‘volunteer groups’ who step up to help the nursing staff.[/quote]Sweikert
the above items is a perfect example of the details that are omitted when your doing your diligence.
now I don’t know what your personal tolerances are but you may or may not find these acceptable in the short or long term.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]One mustn’t forget to take with you in a CAJA hospital, your own pillow, linens, PJ’s, soap, and towels…and make sure you have someone to take them home to be laundered.
Also one must arrange for a ‘visitor’ to be there, covering a 24 hour period, to help you to the washroom, feed you as there is[u] never enough staff[/u] nor ‘volunteer groups’ who step up to help the nursing staff.[/quote]Basic care at the local clinics (out patient) is not bad. Sort of like the urgent care centers (we call them Doc in a box in the states) common in the US. That is if they’re open and have staff. The area hospital, in the case of folks in our area, in Canas is good for care beyond what is available at the clinic and many emergencies that don’t require ongoing treatment or hospitalization. Several folks I know have had very good experiences with the care but none was facing anything that serious or something that required hospitalization. The availabilty of medical advice and medications (some only available thru a doctor visit in the US) at the local pharmacy is wonderful.
Thankfully between the care at the pharmacy and clinic 95% of most needs can be addressed.
But once again, nothing overall that one should be forced into paying $500/ month for out of their retirement income for.
[quote=”ratus”]Greetings all, we have been searching the net and this site for a definitive answer as to how much does CAJA cost? I have read that it is based on income, but I CAN’T seem to find the percentage that is used. I saw 13% but that seems high ….if for example you have a 3000 a month pension do you pay $390 a month? Is that for a couple?
TIA[/quote]
Wife and I both receive monthly SSA totaling near US$3000. We pay CAJA about $122 or 4%.
[quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”ratus”]Greetings all, we have been searching the net and this site for a definitive answer as to how much does CAJA cost? I have read that it is based on income, but I CAN’T seem to find the percentage that is used. I saw 13% but that seems high ….if for example you have a 3000 a month pension do you pay $390 a month? Is that for a couple?
TIA[/quote]
Wife and I both receive monthly SSA totaling near US$3000. We pay CAJA about $122 or 4%.[/quote]
A few questions to clarify your numbers.
1. When did you process your residency application, was it before the new rule requiring mandatory participation and the apparent change in the way the residency applications where being written showing the income amount not just a statement that you met the minimum requirement?
2. How much income did you show on your application, did you include both SSA incomes (for you and your wife) or just one which was enough to satisfy the $1000/month income requirement?
3. Are you utilizing or did you join under the group rate that ARCR was able to offer for participation in CAJA?
Thanks
Unfortunately, no matter what anyone else has to pay, it will depend on the person [u]you[/u] deal with and the CAJA/CCSS office in the area that you live, that will decide what [u]you[/u] are required to pay.
[quote=”imxploring”][quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”ratus”]Greetings all, we have been searching the net and this site for a definitive answer as to how much does CAJA cost? I have read that it is based on income, but I CAN’T seem to find the percentage that is used. I saw 13% but that seems high ….if for example you have a 3000 a month pension do you pay $390 a month? Is that for a couple?
TIA[/quote]
Wife and I both receive monthly SSA totaling near US$3000. We pay CAJA about $122 or 4%.[/quote]
A few questions to clarify your numbers.
1. When did you process your residency application, was it before the new rule requiring mandatory participation and the apparent change in the way the residency applications where being written showing the income amount not just a statement that you met the minimum requirement?
2. How much income did you show on your application, did you include both SSA incomes (for you and your wife) or just one which was enough to satisfy the $1000/month income requirement?
3. Are you utilizing or did you join under the group rate that ARCR was able to offer for participation in CAJA?
Thanks[/quote]
Each of us declared our income individually, my wife in 2008 and myself in April 2009 when we were allowed to join without our residency being approved.
She pays 19,250 colones and I pay 42,250 colones. Our SSA incomes are not that disparate.
[quote=”imxploring”][quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”ratus”]Greetings all, we have been searching the net and this site for a definitive answer as to how much does CAJA cost? I have read that it is based on income, but I CAN’T seem to find the percentage that is used. I saw 13% but that seems high ….if for example you have a 3000 a month pension do you pay $390 a month? Is that for a couple?
TIA[/quote]
Wife and I both receive monthly SSA totaling near US$3000. We pay CAJA about $122 or 4%.[/quote]
A few questions to clarify your numbers.
1. When did you process your residency application, was it before the new rule requiring mandatory participation and the apparent change in the way the residency applications where being written showing the income amount not just a statement that you met the minimum requirement?
2. How much income did you show on your application, did you include both SSA incomes (for you and your wife) or just one which was enough to satisfy the $1000/month income requirement?
3. Are you utilizing or did you join under the group rate that ARCR was able to offer for participation in CAJA?
[i]#1 Answer =[/i] It was after.
[i]#2 Answer = [/i]We are Canadian and 8 years away from our government pensions, the only pension, for now, is my wife’s, in the amount of ~$4000,00 / month.( gross)
[i]#3 Answer =[/i] ARCR so longer offers group rates.
But we do qualify for investor residency and are in the process of getting quotes on the CAJA costs, applying via the investor route.
[quote=”ratus”][quote=”imxploring”][quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”ratus”]Greetings all, we have been searching the net and this site for a definitive answer as to how much does CAJA cost? I have read that it is based on income, but I CAN’T seem to find the percentage that is used. I saw 13% but that seems high ….if for example you have a 3000 a month pension do you pay $390 a month? Is that for a couple?
TIA[/quote]
Wife and I both receive monthly SSA totaling near US$3000. We pay CAJA about $122 or 4%.[/quote]
A few questions to clarify your numbers.
1. When did you process your residency application, was it before the new rule requiring mandatory participation and the apparent change in the way the residency applications where being written showing the income amount not just a statement that you met the minimum requirement?
2. How much income did you show on your application, did you include both SSA incomes (for you and your wife) or just one which was enough to satisfy the $1000/month income requirement?
3. Are you utilizing or did you join under the group rate that ARCR was able to offer for participation in CAJA?
[i]#1 Answer =[/i] It was after.
[i]#2 Answer = [/i]We are Canadian and 8 years away from our government pensions, the only pension, for now, is my wife’s, in the amount of ~$4000,00 / month.( gross)
[i]#3 Answer =[/i] ARCR so longer offers group rates.
But we do qualify for investor residency and are in the process of getting quotes on the CAJA costs, applying via the investor route.
[/quote]Thanks for the info. Please share with us the quotes you get since using the pension route for residency might not be as desirable if your gross pension is being hit with a 13% charge for mandatory CAJA participation.
[quote=”imxploring”][quote=”sweikert925″]It seems to me that even at 13% of your retirement check, the ability to join CAJA is a fantastic bargain. The care by all accounts is excellent and it covers everything. The availability of joining the Costa Rican healthcare system is one of the major reasons I have decided to move to CR. My only fear is that they will remove the ability for expats to join it entirely in the coming years.
For those who paid into Medicare for 40 or 50 years and then leave the US just as you reach the age when you can start benefiting from it is certainly a bit galling, but remember that Medicare doesn’t cover all your costs – which is why the healthcare insurance company I work for makes a tidy profit selling Medicare Advantage policies to the over 65 market.
It needs to be pointed out that for Costa Ricans the cost of participating in CAJA is nearly 36% – 9% deducted from their paychecks and another 27% paid by their employers. I wonder what they would feel about gringos griping about paying only about 1/3 of that on their much larger incomes and still have full benefits almost as soon as they take up residence in CR.
Imagine what Americans would say if the US government offered Costa Rican retirees taking up residence in the US full benefits from Medicare for less than what they were required to pay into it their whole lives.[/quote]
Good points but there are a few issues you need to consider. First off many retirees with sizable retirement income will be forced into a public healthcare program in CR that will cost more and provide less than if they took that same monthly charge and purchased private coverage or went on a pay as you go basis for medical care. The argument that insurance is for the “just in case” major expense of catastrophic illness really doesn’t fit here since, as good as the medical in CR CAN be… it’s not always nor is it anywhere near that provided in the US. Most US expats when confronted with a serious condition such as cancer will return to the US for care.
If you recall recent history we’ve had some of the wealthiest and important people in the world (none US citizens) come to the US for treatment of serious conditions.
So what CR has in effect is a “stop loss” when it comes to the medical care provided to expats forced into CAJA. Sure they’ll be providing basic medical care and maintenance, they’re quite good at that and the cost is minimal as anyone that has needed such care and paid cash can confirm. However, when more serious treatment is required where the availabilty and cost become a concern, expats will return to the US thus relieving CR of the obligation or cost of such care. Not a bad deal for CR…. not so much for those forced into CAJA and made to pay more in a short period than many Ticos have in a lifetime.
The cost and level of care for a retiree getting a sizable pension is therefore not very reasonable when being FORCED into a plan as a requirement of obtaining residency in CR. The issue of also being forced into a plan in the US should one not meet the exemptions for remaining outside the US make it a double edged sword.
I’m still awaiting a clear confirmed answer on how the other two methods of obtaining residency are billed for their participation in CAJA.[/quote]
I have a matrimonial residencia, and CAJA charges me an “Estranjero”s fine” of 18.000 colons a month, out side of my 15.000 colon fee
We have been in our new home for 3 weeks now, so we are pretty much experts on everything…….. NOT..<:
We are applying for residency via the investor program
( Inversionista )We have submitted our Canadian documents to our CR immigration lawyers and all was going well….until we found out that because our house purchase was barely over the 200k minimum, and we both held 50% of the shares…no one person, owned a property over 200k. So back to our lawyer, and re-assign 100% of the shares into my name, to show a purchase of over 200k. I will apply, and my wife can apply as my beneficiary. Now we are waiting for word on how that’s going…our documents are dated valid until Dec 6th, so we have time. They just need to be fully submitted by that time.
Our immigration lawyer told us, that CAJA now will determine that all investors are making a minimum of $2000 a month,and they will now take 10% for SS in CR. So $200 a month and we are covered for insurance…BUT, our lawyer said they are appealing that decision and CAJA can not arbitrarily decide how much a corporation makes…so still fightin on that part. But 10% of 2000 is a hell of alot better than 13% of 1 of our pensions.
On a side note…spoke with an US expat, and he was pissed because now Immigration may require a full FBI background check, along with a police report, His documents expire next month, so he may need to start all over again…
…..just sayin what i heard.
Will keep posting our progress, as we are informed…[quote=”ratus”]We have been in our new home for 3 weeks now, so we are pretty much experts on everything…….. NOT..<:
We are applying for residency via the investor program
( Inversionista )We have submitted our Canadian documents to our CR immigration lawyers and all was going well….until we found out that because our house purchase was barely over the 200k minimum, and we both held 50% of the shares…no one person, owned a property over 200k. So back to our lawyer, and re-assign 100% of the shares into my name, to show a purchase of over 200k. I will apply, and my wife can apply as my beneficiary. Now we are waiting for word on how that’s going…our documents are dated valid until Dec 6th, so we have time. They just need to be fully submitted by that time.
Our immigration lawyer told us, that CAJA now will determine that all investors are making a minimum of $2000 a month,and they will now take 10% for SS in CR. So $200 a month and we are covered for insurance…BUT, our lawyer said they are appealing that decision and CAJA can not arbitrarily decide how much a corporation makes…so still fightin on that part. But 10% of 2000 is a hell of alot better than 13% of 1 of our pensions.
On a side note…spoke with an US expat, and he was pissed because now Immigration may require a full FBI background check, along with a police report, His documents expire next month, so he may need to start all over again…
…..just sayin what i heard.
Will keep posting our progress, as we are informed…[/quote]That’s just The Great Satan giving CR orders or putting them under the threat of receiving some FreeDumb and DemoNcracy, special delivery !
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