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[quote=”debhill01″]Is retirement in CR really affordable for a couple living on Social Security?
How hard is it to find transportation if you are living in the central part of the area?[/quote]
It depends on how much you get in Social Security and how much you spend, just like everywhere else.
Transportation by bus is as near as the nearest bus stop. That could bevright outside your front door or quite a ways away. It depends on where you live.
We were referred to Lic. Romulo Pacheco by ARCR whose (relatively inexpensive) fee schedule he adheres to. For us, and for everyone we’ve referred to him over the past seven years, the experiences have been just fine.
He or his assistant will take you to be fingerprinted, meet you at Immigration when necessary, etc. We were sufficiently pleased with Sr. Pacheco’s work that we had him process our application for permanent residency when we became eligible.
You can reach Romulo Pacheco at:
(or)
2255-1592 (voice)
(or)
2255-0061 (fax)
Just be sure to put “Costa Rica Residency” in the Subject line of your e-mail so he doesn’t mistake it for spam.
And tell him Dave Murray sent you.
Victoria, there’s no question that the SS Trust Fund needs to be strengthened, but that’s not the matter under discussion here.
The law, as written, requires that income to the SS Trust Fund in excess of current requirements be invested in Treasury securities. To suggest that some Congressional pay increase was funded from the Social Security Trust Fund is ludicrous. Those funds cannot be diverted for any such purpose.
The Congressional retirement system, like other governmental retirement systems, is separate from the Social Security system. It’s hardly unique in that respect.
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[b]Interesting sidenote:[/b] The law that requires that income to the Social Security Trust Fund in excess of current needs be invested in U.S. Treasury securities, actually distorts the magnitude of the national debt. And as the economy continues to improve and folks go back to work, the national debt will actually increase as contributions to the Social Security Trust Fund increase and are invested in those Treasury obligations.
When the national debt is computed, those obligations (Treasury securities) which are held by the Social Security Trust Fund are counted as liabilities, as I suppose they should be. But when the government’s balance sheet is prepared, the assets of the Social Security Trust Fund are not included to offset Treasury’s liabilities. So the deficit appears to be much greater than it is. The liabilities are shown but not the assets.
No other country keeps its accounts this way.
Imagine if you were somehow required to keep a bank account balance of $100 and that you also had a credit card balance of (say) $5,000. If you prepared a financial statement, wouldn’t you show the $100 in the bank as an asset to offset, in part, your credit card liability? If you owe $5,000 and have $100 isn’t your net worth actually -$4,900 and not -$5,000?
camby, you’ve not said where you live now, but every place has its hazards. If it’s not earthquakes all along the Pacific rim, it’s wildfires all over the west, it’s tornadoes in the midwest, or it’s hurricanes in the entire eastern seaboard.
Yesterday’s earthquake injured and killed fewer folks than most such tragedies in the U.S. True, the one located near Poas three years ago was much worse but, as compared to the losses occasioned by Hurricane Katrina, it was small potatoes.
So c’mon down and see what the good life is all about.
Please do cite a credible source for this, Bill. Remember, coincidence and causation are entirely different.
What you say is very curious since Social Security payments are made from the Social Security Trust Fund and Congressional compensation comes from the entirely separate general fund which pays for most federal government activity. Those are two totally different sources of revenue and two entirely separate accounts.
What’s more, the Social Security Cost of Living adjustment and Congressional pay raises bear no relationship to each other. One can go up while the other goes down (or goes up more).
I’d like to see the legal language that even permits Social Security Trust Fund assets to be used for anything but beneficiary payments and the associated administrative expenses (maybe).
Absent some proof, I think somebody is greatly misrepresenting something.
Enquiring Minds and all that . . .
Les, I think you’ve misrepresented the 2009-10 Social Security payment amount. SS payments are recalculated each year based upon the computed change in the cost of living. For the previous year, the cost of living did not increase. That’s why there was no increase in 2009, not because it was “frozen”.
Anyone is, of course, welcome to dispute the actual change in the cost of living, but there is a computation built into the law and that’s what Social Security must be based upon.
Rates offered by Costa Rican banks on CDs expressed in colones are much higher than rates on CDs expressed in dollars whether those rates are offered by Costa Rican or U.S. banks. Yes, that interest is taxable income in Costa Rica and in the U.S. if you are subject to U.S. taxation under the IRS Code.
CDs issued by public banks in Costa Rica enjoy the same protection as ones issued in the U.S. There may be a tax offset in te IRS Code for taxes paid to Costa Rica. I dunno . . .
[quote=”johnnyh”]You do keep the cat inside, right Dave?[/quote]
Long-time participants in this Forum know that Dave [i]is[/i] the cat. The nameless bearded dude is just there to give Dave a place to sit . . . and to scoop the litter box.Well, as long as we’re fantasizing about things that no responsible person has even imagined, much less suggested, how about . . .
If you retire outside the U.S. after a certain date, you must spend half your Social Security benefit each month on badminton birdies and half the rest on hairnets?
Or how about if you retire outside the U.S., you can keep your Social Security benefit, but your grandchildren may not attend any public school or university?
Anybody else trippin’?
It sounds to me like you need to consult a knowledgeable Costa Rican attorney. Your [i]Registro Civil[/i] document may confer Costa Rican citizenship on you, but I certainly don’t know.
Seems like that’s the first question to resolve.
Our original cedulas, issued in November of 2005, were typewritten tan cards onto which a copy of the picture we submitted with our application was glued. Immigration’s plastic lamination device was on the fritz thatvday sonwevhad to have them laminated ourselves.
Welp, maravilla, you’ve got me there. No, we have not renewed our driver’s licenses at BCR and we won’t this month either.
Our licenses have our old cedula numbers (5 digits) on them. They need to be updated to our permanent 12 digit numbers. Last time, we renewed at the driver’s license office in San Ramon and they changed the numbers from our passport numbers to those old cedula numbers. That made a trip to COSEVI somewhere in the bowels of San Jose unnecessary. We’re hoping they’ll do it again.
Johnny, you’ve intertwined several issues that need to be addressed in an orderly fashion.
First, are you actually a citizen of Costa Rica? Do you have some proof of that? Or are you merely presuming that you “. . . qualify for dual citizenship . . .” based on having been born in Puerto Limon? It’s an important question because I think I know that your birth and citizenship in Costa Rica must be established by a certain age cutoff date (maybe your age 25, but I’m not sure).
If you are, indeed, a legal Costa Rican citizen who holds a Costa Rican passport, then you are free to enter Costa Rica at your will. If you are not a legal Costa Rican citizen and do not hold a Costa Rican passport (or cannot obtain one), then you’ll either have to assume the status of an American citizen or go through whatever legal process is available to you to establish your Costa Rican citizenship.
If your only citizenship is American, then you will be subject to the same restrictions and have available the same benefits as any other American citizen. If, in fact, you only qualify to enter Costa Rica as an American (as a tourist and perhaps later as a legal temporary resident), then you cannot legally work in competition with any Costa Rican citizen.
Your Social Security benefit (if it equals $1,000 per month or more) and the other necessary documentation would qualify you for [i]pensionado[/i] temporary residency status. After three years in that status, you could apply for permanent residency.
