Approximately 5.5 million Americans now live abroad, and nearly one in four of them is retired. Retirement migration from the United States has tripled over the past 50 years, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) now sends $7.5 billion in annual benefits to more than 760,000 recipients overseas, roughly $461 million every month.
Those are among the topline findings of The Great American Retirement Exodus 2025–2026, the latest edition of Get Golden Visa‘s American Exodus Series, which combines SSA data, the firm’s proprietary inquiry database, client surveys, and first-person accounts from Americans who have already left.
The report’s central thesis is that the American passport is no longer enough for many, and dual citizenship has become the “new American Dream,” sought as much for the right to leave as for the right to stay.
In 2018, 423,022 Americans collected retirement benefits abroad; by 2024, that figure had climbed to reach 463,480, and demand for residency and citizenship programs spiked further after the 2024 election.
No Longer a Luxury
What distinguishes this wave from earlier generations of sun-seekers is motive. In the 1970s, 4% of American retirees planned to retire abroad; today, the figure is 17%, while 26% of current retirees are considering a move, and 35% of future retirees plan to follow suit.
Retirees and pre-retirees alike now describe a second residency as insurance against political, social, and economic instability rather than a lifestyle upgrade.
Among Americans living abroad in the post-2024 period, 62% are retirees or people nearing retirement, with the 65+ cohort alone accounting for 23% of the expat population, roughly 1.26 million people.
Who Is Leaving, and Where
In fact, the exodus appears to no longer be confined to those already retired. The report identifies two profiles pursuing the same plan: current retirees (61+) seeking stability abroad now, and pre-retirees (45 to 60) still working but building their exit option early.
Where they land may surprise. Canada tops the SSA’s destination list ahead of Japan and Mexico, while Europe’s Mediterranean arc, led by Italy, Greece, and Portugal, draws a fast-growing share; the report ranks the full top 15 and breaks down what pulls Americans to each.
What draws them is straightforward: portable Social Security, healthcare at a fraction of US costs, living expenses 35% to 45% lower, and fast-track residency routes from golden visas to passive-income permits.
Picking the country is the hardest part, and the report dedicates its final chapters to how retirees and pre-retirees actually decide: healthcare systems, tax treaties, residency routes, and the questions most people only think to ask after they’ve moved.
What if healthcare costs double? What if taxes change? What if political unrest escalates? Those are the questions the report’s decision frameworks are built around.
Exit Strategy for Every Generation
Murat Coskun, founder of Get Golden Visa, sees the exodus becoming “increasingly strategic, data-driven, and broad in scope,” arguing that retirement migration today is about protecting dignity, security, and choice for the next generation rather than residency permits or tax benefits alone.
Werner Gruner, the firm’s Portugal office director, points out that it is no longer only retirees making plans: pre-retirees, families, and younger professionals are all building exit strategies, some for today and others for the future.
Half a million Americans have already run this calculation and left. The full report shows their math: the complete destination rankings, what retirement actually costs in each country, the visa routes that got them there, and the unfiltered stories of the people who made the move. Download it at Get Golden Visa.
