Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Island retirement brief with your must-haves
Before comparing islands, write down what this retirement is actually for: being near a mother in Mandeville, a sea bath every morning, living for less than in Toronto, or a church community you already know. A one-page brief with your must-haves, deal-breakers and budget ceiling stops the choice being made by whichever holiday you enjoyed most recently.
First tasks
- List the five things that would make island retirement worth the move
- Write three deal-breakers you would not accept on any island
- Note every regular health need that limits where you can live
- Set the most you can spend each month once retired
- Ask the agent to tidy your notes into a one-page brief
Retirement income map in local currency
Most retirees heading south have income from three or four places: a state pension, a workplace pension, perhaps an annuity, savings and rent from a house abroad. Mapping each one, when it pays, in which currency and whether it can be paid overseas, then converting the total into Barbados dollars, Jamaican dollars or whichever currency you will spend, shows what life you can really afford.
First tasks
- Gather the latest statement for every pension, annuity and savings account
- List each source with its amount, payment date and currency
- Ask each pension provider in writing whether they pay to overseas accounts
- Convert the monthly total into local currency at a cautious rate
- Update the income map when any pension rate changes @recurring(yearly)
State pension uprating check for each island
Where you retire can decide whether your state pension rises each year or stays frozen at the rate when you left. The UK State Pension, for example, is uprated in countries with a qualifying reciprocal agreement, Jamaica and Barbados among them at the time of writing, and frozen in many others, so after twenty years the same pension can be worth far less.
First tasks
- Find the official page on paying your state pension abroad
- Check each shortlisted island against the uprating rules
- Estimate the fifteen-year cost of a frozen pension at today's rate
- Write to the pension authority about any island that is unclear
