Hello! My first time post and looking for general advice about our situation.
Me-US Citizen in US. Pre-retiree-Worked 7 months last year. I will work at least 5 months this year. I have military pension and access to US military bases in Japan and can access my US bank on base.
Spouse: Japanese Citizen. US Green card holder. Retired.
We: We've been living in the US since the late 90's. We visit Japan at least annually. Last year we were there for 3 months in the spring. We rented a furnished apartment. Spouse has been there for the last 5 weeks with 6 more weeks to go. We want to spend more time there together but not sure if we should completely move and leave the US or just visit frequently?
Moving seems to be very complicated! Visa, Social Security, Japanese bank accounts, cashing out US accounts, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts (do I need to cash them out??) Japanese taxes, US taxes, buying a home in Japan, losing US permanent resident status....I'm sure the list goes on...
We don't have anything holding us here...family obligations etc... spouse's family are all there.... we do have friends in the US and inertia is hard to overcome (an object at rest tends to stay at rest). It would take some effort to sell property, possessions, cashout(??), and move. However, the quality of life in Japan seems to be vastly superior to that of the US...every time we return from Japan to the US, we question why we just don't move there. We are conflicted. I understand that we are very fortunate to be even considering such a "problem."
What is your advice?? Visit frequently or move??
Thanks for reading!
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Japan- Visit frequently or move there?
Re: Japan- Visit frequently or move there?
It’s a very personal question. I am a way off yet but also considering the possibility of effectively living in two places after retirement. I think it really depends on where all my children settle. If they all remain in Japan I think we’ll spend the majority of our time here.
If any of them end up living in the UK or Hong Kong we could spend a few weeks or months each year over there, especially when grand children come along.
There is quite a lot posted on this forum on the benefits and problems retiring in Japan. One potential issue is language, seems some are concerned about losing their Japanese skills as they age and this might be a deterrent. Financially I guess you’ll likely be worse off in Japan but it really depends on income, assets and healthcare status (I guess for Americans). You likely have options on mitigating this before you move though.
Quality of life - again I think it’s very location specific but I guess Japan beats the US in most head to head comparisons. Tokyo vs New York? Not even a contest for me….
If any of them end up living in the UK or Hong Kong we could spend a few weeks or months each year over there, especially when grand children come along.
There is quite a lot posted on this forum on the benefits and problems retiring in Japan. One potential issue is language, seems some are concerned about losing their Japanese skills as they age and this might be a deterrent. Financially I guess you’ll likely be worse off in Japan but it really depends on income, assets and healthcare status (I guess for Americans). You likely have options on mitigating this before you move though.
Quality of life - again I think it’s very location specific but I guess Japan beats the US in most head to head comparisons. Tokyo vs New York? Not even a contest for me….
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captainspoke
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Re: Japan- Visit frequently or move there?
Accessing a bank on base would be okay, but with a decent card you can withdraw money from 7-11 ATMs. Two cards that work well are Capitol One and Schwab--good exchange rates and refund/waive the small ATM fee.
For a spouse visa, I've read that it helps a lot if your marriage is registered here (smoother/easier). If not already, then something to do on a coming visit.
Cashing out US accounts: Personally, I would not do this, tho the "problem" can be on the US side. A number of banks/brokers will not want to serve customers with a foreign address here. For example, merrill lynch is known to close accounts when someone, even a US citizen, moves abroad (not immediate, they give you something like 60 days). Similar for banks. On the other hand, two brokers that seem to be okay with their clients moving to Japan are Vanguard and Schwab. (They will not open a new acct for someone already here, but pre-existing accts seem to be okay.) So if you have one/both of those two, you can leave your investments as they are and manage those accts as you have been. (Aside: even with those, once your have a foreign address, you cannot buy more mutual funds, only ETFs, and of course any listed stock, reit, CEF, etc. You can continue to hold/sell any mutual fund, just not add to it.)
Retirement accts are a gray area (IRAs). The consensus seems to be that they will not be taxed here until you start withdrawing, and then they will be. I think that during your first five years of residence here you will not be a permanent tax resident, and if you do make an IRA withdrawal, during those years it will only be taxed to the extent that you remit that money to japan. After five years, it will be taxed whether you remit or not. Something like this may affect your decision to fully move here, or just to continue to visit as you now do.
Social security can be paid worldwide, but by maintaining US-based acct(s) I'm sure it could be paid into those (then just withdraw via ATM or bank on base). SS is taxable here, but does qualify as a public pension under the Japan-US tax treaty. I'm not sure about military pension--it'd be taxable, but I don't know if it would qualify as a public pension, or another kind of income.
Banking here is often an issue for newcomers. Japan Post bank is usually the initial option--you can get an account there, but their service (or lack of) is reportedly on the poor side. Most local banks want new arrivals to be here for six months before they'll open an account for you, tho there are some exceptions to that 'rule'. I'm not sure how they'd view a retiree, even with provable income/assets.
Another thing that often surprises people is that Japan has no recognition of joint accounts (joint ownership of land/property is okay). Some folks who come from the US have joint bank (brokerage?) accounts, and this can be thorny when such people come here. They can't get a joint account of any kind, and are challenged to then divvy up their assets, with an eye to gift taxes, moving money between partners, etc. It may be that you'd transfer a large amount of money to your wife's account here to buy property--this should be okay, but due to the way things are here this could easily be flagged as a gift, and the two of you may have to account for how the money was actually hers. This can be a can of worms for people with joint US assets moving here.
For a spouse visa, I've read that it helps a lot if your marriage is registered here (smoother/easier). If not already, then something to do on a coming visit.
Cashing out US accounts: Personally, I would not do this, tho the "problem" can be on the US side. A number of banks/brokers will not want to serve customers with a foreign address here. For example, merrill lynch is known to close accounts when someone, even a US citizen, moves abroad (not immediate, they give you something like 60 days). Similar for banks. On the other hand, two brokers that seem to be okay with their clients moving to Japan are Vanguard and Schwab. (They will not open a new acct for someone already here, but pre-existing accts seem to be okay.) So if you have one/both of those two, you can leave your investments as they are and manage those accts as you have been. (Aside: even with those, once your have a foreign address, you cannot buy more mutual funds, only ETFs, and of course any listed stock, reit, CEF, etc. You can continue to hold/sell any mutual fund, just not add to it.)
Retirement accts are a gray area (IRAs). The consensus seems to be that they will not be taxed here until you start withdrawing, and then they will be. I think that during your first five years of residence here you will not be a permanent tax resident, and if you do make an IRA withdrawal, during those years it will only be taxed to the extent that you remit that money to japan. After five years, it will be taxed whether you remit or not. Something like this may affect your decision to fully move here, or just to continue to visit as you now do.
Social security can be paid worldwide, but by maintaining US-based acct(s) I'm sure it could be paid into those (then just withdraw via ATM or bank on base). SS is taxable here, but does qualify as a public pension under the Japan-US tax treaty. I'm not sure about military pension--it'd be taxable, but I don't know if it would qualify as a public pension, or another kind of income.
Banking here is often an issue for newcomers. Japan Post bank is usually the initial option--you can get an account there, but their service (or lack of) is reportedly on the poor side. Most local banks want new arrivals to be here for six months before they'll open an account for you, tho there are some exceptions to that 'rule'. I'm not sure how they'd view a retiree, even with provable income/assets.
Another thing that often surprises people is that Japan has no recognition of joint accounts (joint ownership of land/property is okay). Some folks who come from the US have joint bank (brokerage?) accounts, and this can be thorny when such people come here. They can't get a joint account of any kind, and are challenged to then divvy up their assets, with an eye to gift taxes, moving money between partners, etc. It may be that you'd transfer a large amount of money to your wife's account here to buy property--this should be okay, but due to the way things are here this could easily be flagged as a gift, and the two of you may have to account for how the money was actually hers. This can be a can of worms for people with joint US assets moving here.
Re: Japan- Visit frequently or move there?
It is far better to sort all this out before arriving in Japan. His wife has been residing outside Japan long enough to currently be outside of the scope of Japanese gift tax. So assets like cash and property and stocks can currently be gifted between husband and wife with zero gift tax liability. Once she moves back to Japan, this option is eliminated and any transfers are immediately within the scope of gift tax...captainspoke wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2025 1:29 am
It may be that you'd transfer a large amount of money to your wife's account here to buy property--this should be okay, but due to the way things are here this could easily be flagged as a gift, and the two of you may have to account for how the money was actually hers. This can be a can of worms for people with joint US assets moving here.
I'd have an eye to setting things up to minimize Japanese IHT too.
Re: Japan- Visit frequently or move there?
Sorry if this may sound quite insensitive, but an important point to consider - in my eyes at least: What would your plans be in case your wife dies before you or her health declines?
Would you be able to help her or live here by yourself, speak/read enough Japanese so you could handle administrative and other tasks? And network wise, is there family around that can and would be willing to help?
Or would you have the option to go back = keep property you can go back to or could rent or buy?
Some foreigners here depend on their Japanese partners for all mattes Japanese and do not bother to educate themselves about much nor learn the language (and it does not have to be perfect). Maybe they have children that are willing and able to help them? If not Japan for those foreigners should be quite hard to navigate.
Just to give input from a very different angle and good luck with your decision.
Would you be able to help her or live here by yourself, speak/read enough Japanese so you could handle administrative and other tasks? And network wise, is there family around that can and would be willing to help?
Or would you have the option to go back = keep property you can go back to or could rent or buy?
Some foreigners here depend on their Japanese partners for all mattes Japanese and do not bother to educate themselves about much nor learn the language (and it does not have to be perfect). Maybe they have children that are willing and able to help them? If not Japan for those foreigners should be quite hard to navigate.
Just to give input from a very different angle and good luck with your decision.
Re: Japan- Visit frequently or move there?
That's an important. If the answer is "if my wife were to pass away today, I would not move to Japan" then don't move.
Based on how the question is phrased, I'd definitely say: don't move. The older you get, the more annoying the weather here gets. Also, I suspect that over time, flights/airplanes are getting more comfortable. Just being in Japan over an either long spring or long autumn (or both) is very nice.