The Fernshore Index
The factors retirees look at first.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Retirement
85 of 100Strong
Strong: Decreto Ejecutivo 320 of 2008 lists a permanent permit for pensioners with a lifetime pension of at least B/.1,000 a month (articles 10 and 200). No age minimum or deposit is stated. Later amendments were not checked.
Source: Decreto Ejecutivo No. 320 de 8 de agosto de 2008, articles 10 and 200 to 203 (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 26104, 13 August 2008). Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
73 of 100Strong
WHO UHC service coverage index 82 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Cost of living
74 of 100Strong
Price level 0.451 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Panama. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
42 of 100Mixed
Global Peace Index 2026: 81st of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, A3 map poster with the overall ranking. Checked 15 October 2026.
Community
85 of 100Strong
Expat Insider 2026 Ease of Settling In: 2nd of 31.
Source: Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
0 of 100Weak
Panama City, the main city: 0 comfortable months a year. Mean daily highs are 32.6 to 35.4 °C in every month (WMO World Weather Information Service) and 32.6 to 35.3 °C at Tocumen, 1977 to 2010 (ETESA). Neither source is a 1991 to 2020 table; the result does not change with the period, because no month is at 30 °C or under.
Source: Climate information for Panama City (WMO World Weather Information Service); Caracterización climática para los distritos de Panamá y San Miguelito, según los datos de la estación meteorológica Tocumen. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
Unknown
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for NZ passports is being checked
The country
The rest of the research on Panama.
The country page grades every factor, with its sources.
PanamaQuestions from retirees about Panama.
What does Panama's pensioner permit need?
A lifetime pension (to be safe, more than US$1,100 a month). With property above a set value the checklist asks for less (to be safe, more than US$800 a month with property over US$110,000). Each dependant adds a monthly amount (more than US$300). The permit has no end date.
Does my state pension count toward Panama's pensioner permit?
The checklist asks for a lifetime pension from a foreign government, an international body or a private company. We found no guidance on US Social Security, the Canada Pension Plan, the Australian Age Pension or NZ Super, so ask Migración. The 2008 decree states no age minimum.
Will my home-country health cover pay for care in Panama?
Often not. Medicare.gov says Medicare usually does not cover care outside the US; Services Australia says Medicare does not cover you overseas, and Panama is not a reciprocal country. NZ's agreements are with Australia and the UK only. Canadian provinces differ: BC ends MSP when you leave permanently.
How far do prices go for a retiree in Panama?
Prices overall are about 0.45 of United States prices (World Bank, 2025), an average, not a budget. InterNations, a private source, gives single-room flat rents of US$800 to 1,200 in Panama City, US$500 to 800 in Boquete and US$700 to 1,000 in Coronado. Everyday costs are unknown.
Where do retirees settle, and how settled do expats feel?
InterNations and The Rio Times, both private, describe Boquete as long drawing North American and European retirees and Coronado as a retirement and second-home hub. Expat Insider 2026, a private survey, ranks Panama 2nd of 31 for Ease of Settling In and 6th for Quality of Life.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [R1] Decreto Ejecutivo No. 320 de 8 de agosto de 2008, articles 10 and 200 to 203 (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 26104, 13 August 2008), República de Panamá, Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia (published in the Gaceta Oficial). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 10 lists the permanent permit for jubilado o pensionado. Article 200: a lifetime pension of at least B/.1,000 a month (B/.750 with a property worth more than B/.100,000). Article 201: certification letters and B/.250 per dependent. No age minimum is stated. This is the 2008 text; amendments (for example Decreto Ejecutivo 26 of 2009) were not checked.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Panama: 82 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO GHO API (indicator UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Panama, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 45.08 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026 (data.worldbank.org pages were not used; the API was).
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, A3 map poster with the overall ranking, Institute for Economics and Peace (Vision of Humanity). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama ranks 81st of 163 countries (score 1.976), down 6 places. Read from the poster; the full report PDF was not opened.
- [Q1] Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama ranks 2nd of 31 countries in the Ease of Settling In Index.
- [W1] Climate information for Panama City (WMO World Weather Information Service), World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (data supplied by Panama's national meteorological service). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama City station (9.05 N, 79.37 W). Monthly mean daily highs 32.6 to 35.4 °C (October lowest, April highest); rainfall 10.1 mm (February) to 330.7 mm (October). The service marks the rainfall record as 1971 to 2000 and gives no period for temperatures. These are not 1991 to 2020 normals; no month has a mean daily high of 30 °C or less, so there are 0 comfortable months.
- [W2] Caracterización climática para los distritos de Panamá y San Miguelito, según los datos de la estación meteorológica Tocumen, Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica S.A. (ETESA), Gerencia de Hidrometeorología, Centro del Clima de Panamá (published on the site of the Instituto de Meteorología e Hidrología de Panamá, IMHPA). Checked 15 October 2026. Tocumen station, period 1977 to 2010 (not 1991 to 2020). Average daily maximum 32.6 °C (October) to 35.3 °C (April) in every month; rain 10.0 mm (February) to 329.6 mm (October), 1,917.4 mm a year. No month has a mean daily high of 30 °C or less. IMHPA's own climate pages (imhpa.gob.pa) show current data only, no 1991 to 2020 normals table was found.