How can International School teachers living abroad save for retirement in the US?
If you don't have a typical retirement plan offered by your employer and you are exempt from things like Roth IRAs because you live abroad, how can you invest without getting hurt tax-wise?
Public Comments
- invest and lose.
- General advice is that we first "pay ourselves." That means, just as we pay credit cards, rent, etc, we also -- every pay check -- take a specific portion, like 10% if you can make it work, and set it aside as an investment. Then I would recommend a no-load mutual fund. Once you start, then it becomes routine and your investment will grow. I find that my investment doubles about every 7 years now. The fact that you are THINKING about this now is especially great, because you have time to make a difference for your retirement time in the future.
- I just spoke to the principal of an international school about this last week. His school has worked out a Roth with an office that is in a U.S. territory nearby. The tax is prepaid so there's no tax or penalty paid at retirement. Email a investor in the Mainland to see what they can offer. Some offices are just ignorant of the law, as most folks are for most things like voting, taxes, shipping things to people who are abroad. You may want to email an investment group someplace like the Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico... They're more familiar with policies and retirement programs for Americans living outside the Mainland.
