Bristlecone Blog

Retiring abroad is an accelerating trend among Americans, as nearly 800,000 now receive Social Security benefits internationally. Lower living costs, unique lifestyle choices, and favorable family circumstances drive this movement. However, expat retirement brings complex banking, currency, tax, and healthcare challenges—especially under laws like FATCA and amid currency risk. Proper financial planning is essential. This is the 2nd part of our previous piece.

Retiring abroad is an accelerating trend among Americans, as nearly 800,000 now receive Social Security benefits internationally. Lower living costs, unique lifestyle choices, and favorable family circumstances drive this movement. However, expat retirement brings complex banking, currency, tax, and healthcare challenges—especially under laws like FATCA and amid currency risk. Proper financial planning is essential.

The third quarter of 2025 delivered strong returns across global markets as AI-driven optimism and renewed international strength reshaped investor sentiment, prompting a cautious reflection on how far this rally can run.

Medicare’s open enrollment period occurs each year between October 15 and December 7. This is the best opportunity for current Medicare participants to modify their coverage, if their healthcare needs have changed.

2025 highlights a key lesson: while U.S. markets have often taken the spotlight over the last decade or so, valuable global opportunities to enhance portfolio returns remain.

In late January, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup called DeepSeek launched a powerful, low-cost AI tool. This challenged the belief that only the most prominent U.S. tech firms could lead in AI.