Parents from Canada to US

[karrots]

Hi,
Just looking for answers! My husband's parents are seriously considering emmigrating. They're 62 & 63, and would be moving from Canada to the U.S.. We (as US citizens) can get them in as family, but I'm trying to find all the ins and outs of getting someone established in a new country. They're only moving from Canada to the U.S., so I didn't think it'd be a big deal, but now I'm concerned we're going to miss some vital step. I have lots of questions, but I'll save that for the appropriate threads. For now, Hello!

[karrots]

Hi, my husband's parents are seriously considering (at over 60 yrs old) emmigrating from Canada to the U.S. It shouldn't be a problem getting them in as we're citizens, but I'm terrified that we'll miss some really important step in getting them reestablished after they've been accepted.

Can you all check out the after-resident-status To-Do list (below) I've made for myself and add things that I'm missing? I'm hoping those of you who have done it or researched it can fill in my gaps! Thanks, K

Health Care - get private health insurance, get supplemental Rx insurance, dental?, long term care insurance?

Vehicle - import vehicle, get it registered, get car insurance, get Driver's license through testing at DMV

Financial - get bank account, get credit card, establish credit, file taxes

???Does anyone know if a Canadian credit history counts in U.S.? They'd like to buy a small house, but I'd hate for them to have to wait years to establish credit first.

Retirement Accounts - can Canadian retirement benefits be sent to U.S.? Or can they be exchanged for U.S. benefits?

Estate - get legal will, durable power of attorney and health care proxy

I've got lots of questions there. . . What am I missing?

[synthia]

Welcome to the forum. One thing to consider when leaving Canada is medical care. They will lose their Canadian health insurance if they are out of the country for over a set limit of time. I think it varies by province.

Private medical insurance, as I'm sure you know, will be quite expensive.

[karrots]

Yes, thanks. I agree that the medical care/insurance is going to be the biggest adjustment (mental and financial) to living here v. Canada.

[Rachel_Heath]

Given the totally ridiculous cost of heath care in the US (and that goes triply so for seniors) I have to ask why?

Given that your parents would probably not be eligible for the US version of Medicare (and possibly not Medicaid either) they would be potentially be looking at upwards of $400 per month for private health insurance.

Would this be a financial burden to them?

As for credit I fear that your parents will have to start from scratch since the two countries do not share credit information.

As for retirement accounts, I'm going to hazard a guess here and say that your parents will continue to receive payments from Canada. However as a result they may find that payments they receive which might be tax-free in Canada might be taxed on here. In addition your parents will be required to report ALL their worldwide income to the IRS, no matter where it is derived from.

I'd answer more but it's getting a tish late for me

[synthia]

From the government Medicare web site:

Generally, you are eligible for Medicare if you or your spouse worked for at least 10 years in Medicare-covered employment and you are 65 years or older and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

So your parents will not be eligible for Medicare. They also will get a reduced government pension if they are residing outside the country. There are two parts, as my Canadian friends have explained it, and the they lose one by moving away.

I've seen very little dental insurance offered privately. Try AARP.

To give you an idea of what private medical insurance will cost, one of my friends, in good health with only slightly raised cholesteral levels, was paying around $300 per month for insurance with a $1200 annual deductible, only $500 of prescription coverage, and, of course office co-pays. This does not include dental coverage or nursing home insurance, and was for one person only. Many things are not covered at all by most insurance policies. When I required a special wheel-chair van to get me home from the hospital, back when I was fully covered, the $50 was not covered by my rather excellent insurance.

Personally, I think medical care is a deal killer unless they are going to be snowbirds.

[Bevdeforges]

Your list of factors looks pretty good - though for these types of situations, it's not a bad idea to just assume something else will pop up that you didn't think of before.

Along with all the caveats regarding medical insurance for the over-60 set with no access to Medicare, you may want to do some preliminary investigation into automobile insurance. Like your credit history, your driving record (actually, your insurance record) doesn't transfer. It's possible your parents will have to pay higher car insurance rates, as though they were first-time drivers - but in any event it's a good idea to know what the insurance companies might require in terms of documentation if they are willing to take their Canadian driving histories into account.
Cheers,
Bev

[karrots]

Thanks to all of you for your great points. This is exactly what I'm looking for! I hadn't considered their driving and credit records might not "transfer". I'll look into that this week.

As to the big "why" that's out there, I've got to say that the biggest draw is the grandkids, but I digress . . . let's talk health insurance and retirement benefits because these two things seem to be the biggest drawbacks to making the move.

I spoke with a representative with the Social Security Department, and although they will have to show their legal status and wait five years after they are naturalized, they will both be eligible for U.S. Medicare benefits (with the Prescription Drug add-on option). Also he told me that Canadian points do transfer (although he couldn't tell me the "exchange rate" so I've got some more digging to do). Also it may not be in their best interests to transfer their employment points if Canadian retirement payments would be more. They will also recieve a stipend from England which would be higher here in the U.S. than in Canada.

As for health care, we've got it worked out where they can be on a group insurance plan, which makes it so that they can be insured at a reasonable rate, verses trying to get good individual insurance at their age (although still healthy). Of course, paying a monthly health insurance premium and then still paying a co-pay each time you visit the doctor is a huge change from paying those costs through taxes. I'm hoping to mentally prepare them for it as well as financially!

Well, I've got some more homework - so thank you all. I let you know what I find if you're interested! Chow for now.

[synthia]

I'm rather amazed that your parents can get Medicare without ever having paid a cent into the system. Of course by the time they qualify (waiting to be naturalized citizens and then waiting five years) the system may well be broke.

Another, and fairly new problem, is that Medicare and some insurance companies have started classifying some drugs as 'high cost' and asking for a percentage as a co-pay, rather than a set amount. If problems develop later, you should know that some people are looking at over $1000 per month for a co-pay for some cancer treatments.
One option would be for them to spend half the year in the US and half back in Canada.