Part one · 3 steps
Visa & residency
Start the Pensionado (Retiree) Visa path
Panama's route for retirees. Plan on roughly $1,000/month of provable income — pension, Social Security, dividends — and expect the consulate to want it documented. The current read:
From our Panama City research
As of 2026: requires a verifiable LIFETIME pension of $1,000/mo for a single applicant, plus $250/mo per dependent (so ~$1,250/mo for a couple on one pension). US Social Security and Canadian CPP qualify with a benefit-verification letter. Income drops to $750/mo if you buy property worth $100k+. Grants permanent residency and famous Law 6 discounts (25% off flights, restaurants, utilities, etc.). One of the world's most accessible retiree visas; use a Panamanian immigration attorney as filing is paperwork-heavy.
Read the full Panama City profile →Get key documents apostilled + certified-translated
Birth/marriage certificates, background checks — start early; it's slow, and every residency application wants them.
Our visa paperwork guide →Decide who runs the move — you, or a concierge
Part two · 3 steps
Healthcare
Map your care in Panama City
Know where you'd go before you need it — the hospital for something serious, the specialist, the pharmacy that speaks English. Here's our current read:
From our Panama City research
Best acute care in Central America. Pacifica Salud in Punta Pacifica is JCI-accredited and the only Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital in Latin America; Hospital Paitilla has a Cleveland Clinic affiliation. Both staffed largely by US/Europe-trained, English-speaking doctors, and Pacifica Salud can directly bill some Medicare Advantage plans for emergencies. Numbeo Health Care Index ~60 (Jun 2026). Private care runs roughly 60-75% below US prices; a specialist visit is often $50 or less. Nearest world-class care is in-city — no need to fly out.
Read the full Panama City profile →Know what Medicare does — and doesn't — cover abroad
Original Medicare generally doesn't cover care outside the US. Whatever your plan becomes, it has to answer that gap.
Medicare abroad, explained →Compare international / expat health insurance
See what international health plans actually cover — and what they cost.
Part three · 5 steps
Money & taxes
Pressure-test your Panama City budget
A comfortable month in Panama City runs about $3,400 for a couple, at current exchange rates. Build your own version on top of that base — your rent tier, your healthcare, your flights home — and see what's left over.
Build the real monthly number →Understand US taxes as an expat in Panama
You still file US taxes abroad, and FBAR applies once foreign accounts pass $10,000. The country side matters just as much:
From our Panama City research
Territorial system: Panama taxes only Panama-source income. Foreign pensions, US Social Security, and 401(k)/IRA distributions are NOT taxed (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries). No wealth, estate, inheritance, or gift tax. Panama-source rental or business income IS taxable locally. No comprehensive US income-tax treaty (only a TIEA), so US citizens still file with the IRS on worldwide income; foreign tax credits/FEIE apply. USD is legal tender, so no currency risk.
Read the full Panama City profile →Set up low-fee international money transfers
Bank wires quietly cost 3–5% in bad FX; specialists are far cheaper.
Have someone check the retirement math before you commit
Plan day-to-day cash + card access (and a backup card)
Check your cards' foreign-ATM fees before you go, and carry a backup card on a different network in case one gets swallowed.
Part four · 4 steps
The scouting trip
Book the Panama City reconnaissance trip
Not a vacation — a rehearsal. Rent in an ordinary neighborhood for a few weeks and live a normal week: groceries, buses, a doctor's appointment, a quiet Tuesday. Getting there and back:
From our Panama City research
Tocumen (PTY) is the "Hub of the Americas" and Copa Airlines' home base — arguably the best US connectivity of any Latin American retirement spot. Copa flies nonstop to Miami (~3h, multiple daily), plus JFK, Boston, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, and Washington (IAD/BWI); United serves Houston/Newark. Same time zone as US East Coast (EST, no DST). Easy to get home for family or medical reasons.
Read the full Panama City profile →Compare trip insurance for the scouting trip
Read the safety picture for yourself
Panama City sits under a US State Department Level 2 (“exercise increased caution”) advisory. Check the current one before you book, then weigh it against the on-the-ground picture:
From our Panama City research
US State Dept Level 2 ("Exercise Increased Caution," dated Sep 23, 2024); the Level 4 zones (Darien gap, Mosquito Gulf) are remote and far from the capital. Numbeo Safety Index ~53 (moderate). Panama City is one of the safer Latin American capitals, but petty crime is real — pickpocketing, phone snatching, and residential break-ins. A few neighborhoods (parts of El Chorrillo, Curundu) should be avoided; expat areas like Costa del Este, Punta Pacifica, and tourist Casco Viejo are generally fine with normal precautions.
Read the full Panama City profile →Test the season, not the postcard
Every place has a month the brochures skip. If you can, scout in the worst one:
From our Panama City research
Hot, humid lowland tropics year-round (highs ~88-90F). Humidity sits around 75% in the dry season (Jan-Apr, breezier) and climbs to 90-100% in the rainy season (May-mid Dec), when ~75 in of rain falls — usually a heavy afternoon downpour rather than all-day gray. No cool mountain relief here, unlike Boquete; expect to live in AC.
Read the full Panama City profile →Part five · 6 steps
The move itself
Rent first — live a full season before you even think about buying
The single biggest regret-saver. The market isn't going anywhere.
Book a short-term furnished rental for your landing
Give yourself 1–3 months to find the right neighborhood.
Decide what to ship, store, or sell
Shipping a household is expensive; many movers regret over-shipping.
Re-home your US mail before you go
Banks, the IRS, Medicare — the mail keeps coming after you leave. Keep a US address you check from anywhere, or hand the whole job to a service.
Sort pet import + airline requirements early
Timelines for vaccines and paperwork can be months.
Our pet-move guide →Scan and cloud-back-up every key document
Passports, prescriptions, insurance cards, the marriage certificate — one folder you can open from any phone, anywhere.
Part six · 4 steps
Settling in
Find your people in Panama City
Loneliness is the #1 reason people move home — build the community before you build anything else. What's already there:
From our Panama City research
Large, long-established North American and international expat scene — Panama has marketed itself to US/Canadian retirees for decades. Active InterNations chapters, English-language clubs, golf/yacht clubs, and US chains everywhere. Concentrated in Costa del Este, Punta Pacifica, Marbella/El Cangrejo, and the historic Casco Viejo. Boquete and Coronado are the other big expat magnets if the city feels too intense.
Read the full Panama City profile →Join the expat community before you arrive
Start the conversations months before the flight.
Our community guide →Set up a local SIM + home internet
If your phone's unlocked, an eSIM can cover you from day one; sort home internet once you have an address.
Start the language — even 20 words changes everything
Spanish is what your daily life will run in — the clinic front desk, the market, the neighbors. A head start pays off from day one.
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