According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute, a married couple without employer-provided health care insurance in retirement can expect to spend between $194,000 and $635,000 on out-of-pocket medical expenses. On average, women can expect to spend more on health care and prescription drugs than men do. The exorbitant cost of health care is causing many Americans to look for alternatives to paring down their retirement lifestyle significantly. One practical alternative is buying real estate in Mexico.

As an investment, the purchase of real estate in Mexico can help support your portfolio. Property values have appreciated here at the rate of about ten percent per year. When it comes to buying real estate in Mexico, a five-year investment could more than double your money.

There’s an even better reason, however: the cost of health care here is 50% to 75% less expensive than it is the US. That translates into reducing the EBRI figures I mentioned earlier to $48,500 to $158,750. That’s far more affordable that the same health care would be in the US, and more in line with many Americans’ retirement savings.

The availability of excellent health care is one of the advantages of building in Mexico. Puerto Vallarta is particularly attractive because it caters to so many tourists from all over the world. Puerto Vallarta’s hospitals and clinics are modern and comfortable. They’re very similar to the hospitals and clinics you find in other parts of North America and Europe. The same is true with dental clinics.

Some retirees use their Mexican residence to winter over, buy discounted prescription medications, or receive treatments for chronic medical conditions. This approach helps to limit the cost of retirement health care. Other retirees choose to live here full-time and enjoy the low cost-of-living here, another advantage of building in Mexico.

The return on investment, combined with the low cost of living and high quality of life make building in Mexico a viable alternative to the high cost of living and the ever-increasing cost of retirement health care in the US.

Photo Credit: Alexander Kalina