More Good News For Retirement In Costa Rica

"The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias is expected to sign an Executive Decree which will make


the attraction of foreign retirees to Costa Rica a National Priority.



By implementing this policy the government can then provide incentives to the baby boomers that

want to retire in Costa Rica. The government will also be able to provide incentives and

streamline the permitting process for companies that build retirement communities for the Baby

Boomers.



In 1971 Costa Rica was at the forefront in legislation attracting foreign retirees. In that year

Costa Rica passed the Pensionado-Rentista program which at the time was administered by the Costa

Rican Tourism Board. The program was very successful and instrumental in attracting retirees and

investors to Costa Rica for many years.



The program provided several tax incentives to retirees that would settle in Costa Rica including

duty free importation of an automobile and tax exemption on household furnishings brought into

the country by the retiree.



Decisions of previous governmental administrations eliminated all the tax exemptions making the

program just another immigration category with no incentives at all.



The personalized treatment previously offered to applicants by the Costa Rican Tourism Board was

eliminated and the processing was turned over to the general processing window at the Department

of Immigration.



While Costa Rica minimized the Retiree program other countries in Latin America such as Panama,

Nicaragua, Ecuador, Uruguay, Belize and Mexico implemented and strengthened retiree programs of

their own. By signing this decree it now appears that Costa Rica wants to once again take the

lead in attracting retirees. After all it is estimated that in the United States alone there are

more than 70 million "baby boomers".



For Baby Boomers interested in Costa Rica this means that you will be offered tax breaks and

incentives for settling in Costa Rica. Another benefit which is surely welcome is that Retirees

will have a special processing window at the Department of Immigration to handle their

immigration applications.



We won't know the extent of those incentives until the Executive Decree is signed and published."

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The Costa Rican Baby Boomer Retirement Plan

COSTA RICA HAS GREAT PLANS FOR YOUR RETIREMENT

Costa Rica has a solution for the United States' aging baby boomer population.


Send them south where they can enjoy a sunny climate, top medical services, a lower cost of living and a stunning natural landscape.

Seven government agencies are collaborating in an effort to develop retirement communities in the so-called Switzerland of the Americas. Launching a promotional campaign and partnering with private developers, they hope to make their country the next “retiree-friendly” Sunshine State.

“This represents a bigger potential for Costa Rica than recreational tourism represented 25 years ago,” said developer Lou Aguilera, who has spearheaded the initiative from the private sector. “The greying of America is irreversible and Costa Rica is in a position to service this population.”

Aguilera expects to break ground on his own retirement community, a joint project with CIMA hospital, in Guanacaste in May. It would be the first community to include extensive medical services and one of the few of its kind existing to date.

Jorge Woodbridge, competitivity minister, estimates the country can attract 10,000 retirees a year from countries like the United States, Canada and Spain, a population which could contribute more than $340 million annually to the local economy and generate 40,000 jobs.

He said promoting Costa Rica as a retirement destination would be building on a pre-existing niche.

Already the country has three internationally-recognized private hospitals; it's a top destination for medical tourism; the climate is cool and favorable along the country's spine and it's a short plane ride away from many destinations in the United States.

“Costa Rica poses significant competitive advantages in positioning itself as a retirement destination,” Woodbridge said.

The consortium of government agencies, which is calling itself Clúster Retirados, is promoting destinations in the interior of the country for further development, such as Lake Arenal, Miramar, Parque de la Amistad and the volcanoes of Guanacaste.

“The great majority of people (who we hope to attract) are active people that look for things to do,” said Marco Vinicio Ruiz, foreign trade minister. “We want to offer them a better environment than what they have … We want to include them in countrywide initiatives, in issues of research and development and ways in which they can collaborate with small or medium-sized businesses.”

He added, “I see this as an enormous opportunity to collaborate.”

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