About Immigrate to Europe
Last Verified: August 28, 2026 Next Verification: January 2027 Currency Basis: €1 = $1.09 (August 2026)
Does Medicare cover you if you retire in Europe?
No. Original Medicare pays for essentially nothing outside the United States, and that does not change if you keep paying premiums. As of August 2026, Part B costs about $203 per month for coverage you cannot use in Lisbon, Madrid or Athens. Plan on local public healthcare, private insurance, or both.
The real decision is whether to keep paying Part B as an option on coming home. Drop it and re-enroll later and you pay a permanent penalty: 10% of the premium for every 12 months you were eligible and not enrolled.
Keep it if you might return to the US for major treatment. Drop it if you have committed to Europe and would rather spend that $2,400 a year locally. Both work; drifting does not.
Can you still collect Social Security while living in Europe?
Yes. As of August 2026, the Social Security Administration pays benefits to US citizens living in every EU country, by direct deposit to a US or foreign account, with no reduction for living abroad. The money remains subject to US income tax, and 50% to 85% of your benefit is typically taxable.
Social Security also counts as qualifying passive income for retirement visas, and for many retirees the benefit alone clears Portugal's D7 floor of €920 per month ($1,003).
Currency is the catch. Thresholds are set in euros and your income arrives in dollars, so a weaker dollar can push you under a floor you cleared at application. Show €1,200 ($1,308) or more, not the bare minimum.
How much money do you actually need to retire in Europe?
Budget €1,200 to €1,500 per month ($1,308-$1,635) for a comfortable single retirement in Portugal, Spain or Greece, against roughly $2,800 for the same life in the US. The €600 ($654) figure Americans tend to guess is simply wrong. Visa minimums also sit below real living costs.
Realistic monthly totals: Portugal about €1,180 ($1,286), Spain about €1,220 ($1,330), Greece about €870 ($948). Rent drives the gap: a one bedroom is roughly €600 ($654) in Portugal against $1,500 in the US.
Add 20% for what budgets miss, then rent somewhere for a month before committing.
Which visa do you need to retire in Europe as an American?
Most American retirees use a passive income visa. Portugal's D7 is the cheapest entry at €920 per month ($1,003) for the main applicant, plus 50% for a spouse (€460, $501) and 30% per child under 18 (€276, $301). Spain's Non-Lucrative Visa requires €2,400 ($2,616), Italy's Elective Residence Visa €31,000 per year ($33,790).
The D7 carries an advantage the others do not: full-time work is permitted, where Spain's NLV and Italy's ERV prohibit it outright. If you might consult, teach or take a part-time job, that eliminates most alternatives.
The D7 is a passive income visa, not the D8 digital nomad visa. The permit runs 2 years, then renews for 3, reaching the 5 years needed for permanent residency.
Can Americans use public healthcare in Europe as retirees?
Yes, once you hold a residence permit. Public healthcare comes with legal residency in every country covered here, at minimal out of pocket cost. Prescriptions run €5 to €10 ($5.45-$10.90) against $50 or more in the US. Most American retirees add private insurance at €50 to €150 per month ($55-$164).
Portugal's D7 still requires an active private policy at the consulate stage, before you have residency to register, so budget for both in year one.
Registration is the step people skip. In Portugal you sign up at your local health centre with your residence permit, your NIF and proof of address. Do it in month one, not the week you need a doctor.
Will you pay taxes twice on your pension?
Rarely twice in full, but you will always file twice. Every US citizen files Form 1040 on worldwide income regardless of residence, plus an FBAR if foreign accounts top $10,000 at any point in the year. The Foreign Tax Credit offsets what you pay locally, so most retirees owe little extra US tax.
Portugal is where people work from stale information. Its NHR regime, which taxed foreign pensions at a flat 10%, closed to new applicants on 31 December 2023. Its replacement, IFICI or "NHR 2.0", began on 1 January 2024 at 20% for 10 years, but only on qualifying research, technology and innovation employment income, and it explicitly excludes retirees. The 10% pension rate has no successor, and foreign pensions now face progressive rates up to 48%.
Spain taxes foreign income at 19% to 45%, Greece at 9% to 44%.
Which European country is cheapest for American retirees?
Greece, on the raw numbers. Crete runs €800 to €1,100 per month ($872-$1,199) and mainland Greece around €870 ($948). Portugal's Porto and Algarve sit at €900 to €1,300 ($981-$1,417). Bulgaria undercuts both at €700 to €1,000 ($763-$1,090). But Greece asks €3,500 ($3,815) of monthly income to let you in.
That is the tension: the cheapest place to live is often not the one you can qualify for, and the threshold, not the rent, decides most applications. Portugal asks €920 ($1,003), roughly a quarter of Greece's bar.
Cheap buys less elsewhere. Greek bureaucracy is slower, English thinner outside Athens, and long term care harder to arrange than in Portugal or Spain.
Which country actually fits you?
Cost tables tell you where your money stretches furthest. They do not tell you where you would qualify, or where you would still be happy in February.
Take the free quiz. Twelve questions. It rules out the countries your income cannot legally support, then ranks the rest against what you say matters: cost, healthcare, climate, language, community.
→ Pick your own top 5 EU countries → Read the full guide: visas, healthcare, taxes, city-by-city costs, and the mistakes that send Americans home
Want the full picture?
Our Retiring to Europe Guide goes deeper: complete D7, Non-Lucrative and Elective Residence visa workflows, detailed healthcare systems by country with insurance cost breakdowns, Social Security optimisation strategies, pension tax planning for retirees, currency hedging approaches, and city-by-city retirement budgets including seasonal costs you won't find in Q&As alone.
→ Pick your own top 5 EU countries → Read the full guide
Verified against SSA, IRS, AIMA and consulate guidance, August 2026. Visa thresholds and Medicare premiums change annually. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.