Thread: Some US Immigrant Retirees are Yearning to Go Back to their Homelands

US Immigrant Retirees are Yearning to Go Back to their Homelands

19 May, 2015
By: Michael

The

US is called the 'land where dreams come true'. It did come true for many immigrants who arrived to the country in droves in the fourth wave of immigration that began in 1965. However, now they are hearing the call of their homeland and many want to go back. Many of these immigrants are already retired or are nearing their age ofretirement.

There are no accurate statistics for older immigrants who are returning back to their roots, but real estate agents, consultants and other people who help such travelers say that the number have increased.

Emotion not the only reason why immigrants want to go back home

However, the call of their homelands is just one of the reasons. Many of these immigrants are divorced, which means they have no reason to stay back or they have elderly parents and relatives back home or they are not able to cope with the high costs of living in the US.

Many of these immigrants could not find good work when they came to the US and were forced to settle for less-paying jobs. Now that they are close to their retirement age or are retired, they find that they cannot afford their earlier style of living. If they had paid into the US social security system when they were working, they are now eligible to receive social security benefits that can also be transferred to another country. They can live comfortably on the money in their home country, where the standard of living is not as high as the US.

Many of the former countries where immigrants came from earlier, have also become more politically and economically mature. A case in question is Colombia.

Immigrants who go back to their home country are eligible for social security benefits, but not Medicare

While social security payments are portable, Medicare is not.

So if an immigrant with an American passport decides to go back to his home country, he would be eligible for social security, but not for Medicare benefits.

Many immigrants in the US are from Canada. These immigrants don't have a problem moving back to Canada because medical care is almost free there. If they stay in the US, they will have to pay medical insurance, which is expensive. Some immigrants are also doubtful about the future of the US social security system. It is another reasons why they are willing to consider going back.

Some of these immigrants are in a bind, they love staying in the US (for all its facilities) but they also feel obliged to go back home. Take the case of Laurel Montecel, 68 for instance. She is a citizen of the US, but she has a 91-year old mother in Ecuador, who needs her help. Ms. Montecel loves the US, which has put her in a bind - about whether to go back to Ecuador or not.

http://www.financialbuzz.com/us-immi...melands-272693

Oh, Boo Hoo.

They want to go home let 'em go.
Hell. Buy them a ticket home.
It would be cheaper to buy them a ticket home
and not have to pay for Medicare for them in their old age.

"Immigrants who go back to their home country are eligible for social security benefits, but not Medicare."

They can live pretty well in some counties on their Social Security.