Key Points
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A recent study found that $1 million in retirement savings can last a whopping 95 years in Cuenca, Ecuador; annual expenses for a single person in Ecuador’s third-largest city were estimated at just $10,548.
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Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as its official currency, offering financial stability and predictability in cities like Cuenca (No. 1) and Quinto (No. 5).
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Managua, Nicaragua, and Asunción, Paraguay, round out the top three places to retire in Latin America, where $1 million would last the longest.
For many Americans, retirement can feel out of reach. According to a 2023 Axios/Ipsos poll, one in five said they think they’ll never be able to retire. However, choosing an affordable place to live could help many people enjoy their senior years worry-free.
Earlier this year, Argentina Expat released a study that uncovered where a $1 million retirement nest egg lasts the longest. The company analyzed the average yearly cost of living and rent for a one-bedroom apartment for a single person in 25 cities across Latin America, which are popular with expats.
Argentina Expat found that a $1 million nest egg could last an “incredible 95 years in Cuenca, Ecuador,” which has a total annual cost for a single person at just $10,548. Cuenca is a city in Ecuador’s southern Andes mountains that’s home to about 600,000 people, making it the country’s third-largest city.
As International Living explains, it’s a temperate weather lover’s dream come true because although it’s near the equator, “Cuenca sits high in the northern Andes at an altitude of 8,300 feet and its residents enjoy year-round spring-like weather. Temperatures rarely go beyond highs in the 70s F and lows in the 50s F, so a sweater or light jacket is sufficient all year long.” International Living noted that expats and retirees in Cuenca never have an excuse to be bored, thanks to the city’s plentiful outdoor activities, festivals, and live music events.
However, Cuenca wasn’t the only Ecuadorian location to make the list.
“Beyond its incredible affordability, Ecuador provides a unique advantage for American retirees: it uses the U.S. dollar as its official currency,” the report stated. “This eliminates the risk of currency fluctuations, offering a level of financial predictability in cities like Cuenca (No. 1) and Quito (No. 5) that is rare in the region.”
Other locations to make it to the top of the list include Managua, Nicaragua, at No. 2, which comes with a total annual cost of just $10,944 for a single person, followed by Asunción, Paraguay, with a total annual cost of $11,064, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, at No. 4 with a total yearly cost of $11,640.
At the bottom of the ranking is Panama City, Panama, where $1 million will last 41 years.
You can see the full ranking at argentinaexpat.com.
Read the original article on Travel & Leisure