A fixed dollar retirement income does not open every door. Each country's retirement-visa income minimum is measured against the average US Social Security retired-worker benefit, and a country earns a CLEAR only when the check carries at least ten percent of headroom over the requirement. The table below publishes the destinations verified against primary sources, with the exact coverage ratio for each.
The benchmark is the SSA average retired-worker benefit, which reached $2,085.98 by July 2026 (the January 2026 estimate after the 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment was $2,071). This is an average, not a median, and the metric is stated as such so the index stays reproducible. A single retiree's own benefit, and the exchange rate on the day, move the result, which is why the classification uses a headroom band rather than a bare pass or fail.
RCR = average retired-worker SS benefit ÷ required monthly income
Colombia at a roughly $1,635 threshold gives an RCR of about 1.28, so the average benefit carries about 28 percent headroom: comfortably Tier 1, not merely qualifying. Spain at about $2,772 gives 0.75, and Mexico at roughly $4,400 gives about 0.47: both clearly Tier 3, nowhere near the line.
| Country | Permit and basis | Threshold | RCR | Status | Source and verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua | Pensionado (Ley 694). Fixed foreign pension. | $600 to $1,000USD, sources vary | 2.1 to 3.5 | Clear | Ley 694 (INTUR). Established Sovereo research; confirm the current figure with INTUR. |
| Philippines | SRRV Classic. Lifetime pension floor, plus a $15,000 deposit. | $800/mo+ $15,000 deposit | 2.61 | Clear | PRA program rules. Established Sovereo research. Age 50+. |
| Panama | Pensionado. Fixed lifetime pension. | $1,000/moUSD, fixed | 2.09 | Clear | Decreto-Ley base. USD-official, no FX risk. Established research. |
| Costa Rica | Pensionado. Fixed lifetime pension. | $1,000/moUSD, fixed | 2.09 | Clear | Ley de Migracion 8764. Established research. |
| Portugal | D7 passive income. Driver: 2026 national minimum wage. | €920/mo≈ $1,063 at €1 = $1.155 | 1.96 | Clear | MNE Vistos means-of-subsistence + minimum-wage decree. Verified Aug 2026. Reprices January. |
| Ecuador | Pensioner (Jubilado). Driver: 3× SBU (2026 SBU $482). | $1,446/moUSD-official, + $250/dependent | 1.44 | Clear | gob.ec (MREMH); SBU per MDT-2025-195. Verified Aug 2026. Reprices January. |
| Uruguay | Rentista / Pensionista. Discretionary sufficient-means test. | ~$1,500/mopractice, no fixed statute | 1.39 | Clear | Established research; discretionary, so treat the figure as directional within a verified pass. |
| Colombia | Migrant (M) pensioner. Driver: 3× statutory minimum wage (2026 SMLMV 1,750,905 COP). | ~$1,635/moat 3,213 COP per USD, Aug 2026 | 1.28 | Clear | Cancilleria (Foreign Ministry) visa rules. Verified Aug 2026. Reprices January; FX-sensitive. |
| Spain | Non-lucrative visa. Driver: 400% of IPREM. | €2,400/mo≈ $2,772 at €1 = $1.155 | 0.75 | Does not clear | BOE (Real Decreto 1155/2024) and consular material. Verified Aug 2026. |
| Mexico | Temporary residency (economic solvency). Driver: ~680× daily UMA. | ~$4,400/moconsulate variation applies | ~0.47 | Does not clear | SRE consular pages; each post publishes its own converted figure. Verified direction Aug 2026. Reprices February. |
| Country | Permit | Reported requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Retiree residence permit | ~$590/mo (net minimum wage) | In verification |
| Cyprus | Category F residence | ~$920/mo statutory floor | In verification |
| Chile | Rentista | ~$1,000 to $1,500/mo (discretionary) | In verification |
| Paraguay | Independent means | ~$1,300 to $1,500/mo | In verification |
| Dominican Republic | Pensionado / Rentista | $1,500 / $2,000/mo | In verification |
| Nepal | Retiree residence | ~$1,667/mo (or deposit) | In verification |
| France | Long-stay visitor | ~$1,706/mo (SMIC benchmark, discretionary) | In verification |
| Thailand | Retirement O-A | ~$2,000/mo, or an 800,000 THB deposit | In verification |
| Mauritius | Retired Non-Citizen permit | $2,000/mo | In verification |
| Belize | Qualified Retirement Program | $2,000/mo | In verification |
| South Africa | Retired Person visa | ~$2,055/mo (37,000 ZAR) | In verification |
| Costa Rica | Rentista | $2,500/mo | In verification |
| Italy | Elective residence | ~$2,600 to $3,000/mo | In verification |
| Namibia | Retirement permit | ~$2,778/mo (50,000 NAD) | In verification |
| Indonesia | Retirement KITAS | $3,000/mo (or $50,000 deposit) | In verification |
| Greece | Financially Independent Person | ~$4,041/mo (€3,500) | In verification |
| Croatia | Digital nomad (no retiree visa; excludes pensions) | ~$4,183/mo | In verification |
| Thailand | LTR Wealthy Pensioner | ~$6,667/mo ($80,000/yr passive) | In verification |
| New Zealand | Temporary Retirement | ~$3,000/mo income + NZD 750,000 investment | In verification |
Malaysia MM2H (a fixed deposit of $150,000 to $1,000,000 plus a property purchase), Indonesia Second Home (a deposit near $130,000), Seychelles (deposit or asset based), and Malta's Retirement Programme (no income floor; gated by a 7,500 euro minimum tax and a property outlay). A Social Security check is not the relevant test for any of these.
Georgia (a 365-day visa-free stay for US citizens; residence otherwise needs a $150,000 property purchase), Vietnam, and Australia, where the investor-retirement subclasses 405 and 410 are both repealed to new applicants. A retiree has no income-based route to any of these.
Morocco, Egypt, Botswana, and Montenegro assess a discretionary sufficient-means test with no gazetted monthly minimum located. Treat any circulating number as unverified until the mission confirms it.
The check is the US Social Security Administration's average retired-worker benefit, $2,085.98 as of July 2026. This is an average and is labelled as such; SSA does not publish a monthly median. Each country's figure is its retirement, pensioner, rentista, or independent-means route's stated income minimum. Indexed thresholds are stored as a formula and a driver (for example, Colombia as three times the statutory minimum wage, Ecuador as three times the SBU, Portugal as the national minimum wage) so the number recomputes when the driver reprices, rather than sitting as a stale dollar value.
Each verified row carries RCR = 2,085.98 ÷ required monthly income. A country is published CLEAR only at an RCR of 1.10 or higher, so classification depends on a real ten-percent margin rather than on which side of the benchmark the figure happens to land after a currency wobble. MARGINAL (0.90 to 1.099) flags the rows where exchange rates, annual indexation, or a below-average individual benefit could change the answer.
Only the ten rows in the first table are anchored to a statute or an official program and carry a coverage ratio. The complete country table is not yet reproducible from confirmed primary sources, so no total count (for instance "sixteen clear") is published. An indexed row is published only when both its statutory formula and its current driver are verified; everything else sits in the in-verification list, uncounted, until it clears that bar. Foreign-exchange conversions use spot rates as of August 12, 2026 (euro at $1.155, Colombian peso at 3,213 per dollar) and are dated for that reason.
Thresholds tied to a local wage floor, Portugal, Colombia, and Ecuador among the verified set, reprice every January, so a check that clears today can slip below next year with nothing else changing. Thresholds in a floating currency, Colombia most of all here, move with the exchange rate week to week. And even where the check clears, local inflation erodes what it buys. The income gate is the first question, not the whole one.
This is educational decision analysis compiled August 2026, not legal, tax, or immigration advice, and not a substitute for the consulate's own determination. Verify the current minimum with the official mission before you act on it.
The income gate is one read. The free daily SITREP tracks the residency thresholds, currency moves, and rule changes that reprice a retirement plan, each traced to a named primary source.
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