Location-Independence Is the New 401(k)

Gen Xers fear outliving their money more than death itself. Something has to change, and it’s up to us to make a move.

Once upon a time, Americans retired into their “golden years” on pensions, paid-off houses, and reasonable healthcare costs.

You, on the other hand, are staring at a 401(k) balance that won’t last a decade, Social Security income that might cover your grocery bill, and medical expenses that could wipe you out with a single diagnosis.

The math doesn’t work. And everyone knows it.

For decades, we’ve been sold the same retirement planning script: Max out your 401(k), pay down your mortgage, stay healthy, and hope it all holds together until you’re too old to care.

But that script was written for a different economy, with different assumptions, and aimed at a generation that had different options.

Generation X got the worst of all worlds: We arrived too late for pensions, just in time for the 401(k) experiment, and early enough to watch it fail spectacularly for most of us.

We’re now expected to fund 30+ years of retirement on savings mechanisms designed for 15-years of post-employment (tops), in a country with accelerating costs and deteriorating services.

The only rational response is to change the equation entirely.

Yes, you should try to save more… but that’s not enough. No, you shouldn’t put your head down and vow to simply work longer, because that’s not up to you if you’re traditionally employed.

Instead, fundamentally rethink where you deploy the assets you’ve managed to accumulate.

Location-independence isn’t (just) a lifestyle upgrade. It’s the new financial planning mechanism that makes retirement math actually work.

The 401(k) Was Never Going to Be Enough

Let’s be honest about the numbers, because the financial industry certainly won’t be. We know the 401(k) was never intended to be a primary retirement savings vehicle, but it was sold to us that way, regardless.

As a result, the median 401(k) balance for Americans aged 55-64 is approximately $185,000. The average is higher (around $250,000), but that’s inflated by high earners who skew the data. That means most Gen Xers will be looking at a balance closer to the $150,000 - $250,000 range when they hit their early 60s.

Financial advisors tell you that you need 80% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your lifestyle. Using the 4% withdrawal rule a $200,000 balance generates $8,000 per year. Add in Social Security — let’s say $2,000 per month or $24,000 annually — and you’re looking at $32,000 total annual income.

Can you live on $32,000 a year in the United States?

Maybe, if you:

• Own your home outright (no mortgage, but property taxes and maintenance remain)

• Never get seriously ill (Medicare has gaps, and supplemental insurance is expensive)

• Don’t have to help your kids financially (good luck with that)

• Don’t travel or pursue hobbies that cost money (gee, what fun)

• Accept a significantly diminished quality of life (these are the “golden years”?)

And that’s assuming:

• Social Security doesn’t get cut (a cut is scheduled for 2034)

• Healthcare costs don’t continue to accelerate (they will)

• Your 401(k) doesn’t get hammered by a market downturn in the next decade (it will)

• You die ahead of schedule (not exactly desirable)

This isn’t a golden-years retirement. This is a barely-managed decline with a ticking clock.

Seven out of ten Gen Xers are more afraid of running out of money in old age than dying. Something has to change, and it’s up to us to make that change.

The Geographic Optionality Solution

Here’s what changes when you deploy those same assets in a different jurisdiction:

That $200,000 in savings goes 3-5x further in Portugal, Mexico, Panama, Thailand, or dozens of other countries that actively court foreign residents.

Your $32,000 annual income becomes the equivalent of $100,000-$160,000 in purchasing power because:

• Housing costs are 50-70% lower, whether your rent or buy

• Healthcare is 80-90% cheaper and often higher quality

• Food, transportation, and daily expenses are a fraction of U.S. prices

• Many countries offer tax incentives for foreign residents

• Your money stretches more due to favorable exchange rates

You’re not living in poverty. You’re living comfortably, often better than you did during your working years in the United States.

This is about strategic deployment of limited resources to maximize quality of life, rather than “just getting by.”

The same savings that force austerity in Ohio fund abundance in Oaxaca. The same income that means downsizing in California means upgrading in Portugal. The same healthcare budget that buys inadequate coverage in Texas buys world-class care in Costa Rica.

Why This Wasn’t an Option Before (But Is Now)

In a way, what I’m suggesting isn’t new. Retirees have been moving to lower-cost areas forever, from New York to Florida and California to Arizona. Now the destinations include Mexico, Costa Rica, Thailand, and scores of other inviting international destinations, as traditional retirement havens have ballooned in cost.

But international relocation before retirement has never been a mass-market option, mainly because most people couldn’t take their income with them. Three important things have changed:

1. Remote work became normalized. The geographic constraint has dissolved. The pandemic proved that knowledge work doesn’t require physical presence. Clients don’t care where you are as long as you deliver value. (Some) employers have accepted distributed teams, although you can’t control if and when they call you back to the office.

2. Digital infrastructure matured. High-speed internet is everywhere. Banking is borderless (Wise, Revolut, international accounts). Communication is free (Zoom, WhatsApp, Slack). You can run a lucrative business from a laptop anywhere.

3. Countries started competing for digital nomads and retirees. Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand, and dozens of others now offer streamlined visa programs specifically designed to attract foreign residents with portable income. They want your dollars, and they’re making it easier than ever for you to come.

For the first time in history, you can maintain your earning capacity, serve your clients, and access your markets while living in jurisdictions with dramatically lower costs and often a higher quality of life.

Location independence isn’t about lifestyle perks anymore. For many, it’s a financial planning necessity.

The Sovereign Startup Makes This Possible

You can’t have a job or even start a business that sets you free if your income is trapped by the tyranny of geography.

Traditional employment ties you to specific locations. Even “remote” corporate jobs often have geographic restrictions, tax complications, and policies that prohibit international work. Your employer controls where you can be, and they can revoke that permission at any time.

Traditional businesses tie you to physical infrastructure. Restaurants, retail, real estate, and local services all require you to be present. You can’t run them from another country, and you can’t sell them easily if you need to move.

This is why the sovereign startup framework isn’t just aspirational. It’s now a foundational component that makes the math work.

A sovereign startup is specifically designed to be location-independent. It’s the mechanism that turns geographic arbitrage from theory into practice.

Without portable income, relocation is just tourism. With it, you can deploy your new income assets where they work hardest for you.

Cut Costs While Improving Quality of Life

While lifestyle optimization through cost-of-living differentials is compelling, the personal agency dimension matters just as much (or more).

Healthcare that actually works:
Many countries with national healthcare systems provide better outcomes at a fraction of the cost. Portugal, Spain, Costa Rica, and Thailand all have modern facilities, well-trained doctors, and minimal wait times. You can see a specialist without referrals, get an MRI within days instead of months, and pay cash prices that would be considered absurdly low in the U.S.

A routine doctor visit might cost $30. An MRI might cost $200. A major surgery might cost $5,000-$10,000 instead of $50,000-$100,000. And in many cases, the quality is equivalent or superior to what you’d get in American healthcare.

Safety and stability:
Depending on where you’re coming from, many international destinations feel significantly safer. Lower crime rates, walkable cities, functional public transportation, communities where people actually know their neighbors. The constant low-grade anxiety that characterizes American life — the school shootings, the political division, the social fragmentation — often dissipates in places with more social cohesion.

Cultural alignment:
Some jurisdictions simply align better with your values. If you prioritize work-life balance, walkable neighborhoods, public spaces, community connection, and a slower pace of life in general, many European and Latin American countries deliver in ways the U.S. doesn’t. If you’re tired of car-dependent sprawl, strip malls, and franchise uniformity, you have options.

Time autonomy:
When your cost of living drops by 60%, you need less income. When you need less income, you can work less or be more selective about projects. Location independence often leads to time independence, which is the ability to structure your days around what matters to you, not what you need to earn to survive.

You’re deploying your limited time, money, and energy in jurisdictions that offer better returns across multiple dimensions. You’re optimizing, not escaping.

By the time you’re 60, you want to be in a position where you can say, “I can live extremely well in Mexico on $40,000 a year. Therefore, I don’t need corporate employment, I don’t need to drain my 401(k), and I don’t need to be miserable while hoping things get better.”

You may be thinking of this as a backup plan. Truth is, it’s the only plan that gives you true agency.

It’s a Risky Time to Ask Permission

Traditional retirement planning assumes you need permission:

• From your employer, to keep working until you’re ready to retire (they won’t give it)

• From the market, to generate sufficient returns (it might not cooperate)

• From the government, to provide adequate Social Security (increasingly unlikely)

• From the healthcare system, to remain affordable (it won’t)

Location independence eliminates most of those permission requirements.

That said, you don’t need to move to Portugal tomorrow, and you don’t need to quit your job today. But you do need to start working a little each day to learn what you need and plan out a location-independent business that allows you to:

• Develop portable income streams while you’re still employed

• Transition from corporate captivity to customer- and client-based sovereignty

• Design your business to operate from anywhere with quality WiFi

Add in research into one country you’re curious about. Not to move there immediately, but to understand what’s actually possible.

• What does quality healthcare cost?

• What are housing options?

• What visa programs exist?

• What do expats and retirees actually experience?

You’ll likely discover that what you assumed was impossible is not only possible, but also relatively straightforward.

And once you know it’s possible, you can start building toward it. Because the 401(k) alone won’t cut it. Location independence is the new retirement planning.

Start building your agency engine now.

Keep going-

Brian

P.S. Many old school Further followers have told me they miss the health articles. Well, we’re bringing them back starting this week.

If you’re white knuckling Dry January (or didn’t manage to begin in the first place), there’s some brain-based motivation right below in the Further Health section.

further: health

How is it that the same generation that bought us “Mommy’s sippy cup” wine glasses and “Live Laugh Lush” wall hangings is now hashtagging #SoberCurious and documenting Dry January all over the socials?

What makes this more than just another New Year's wellness fad is what actually happens when you take a month off from alcohol. It's a true brain reset.

+ Dry January and Beyond: Reclaim Your Brain

further: flashback

🎶 ABBA - Fernando, Single, 1975 🎶

The question that comes to mind is… why would a Swedish pop group write a song from the perspective of an aging veteran of the Mexican Revolution reflecting with a fellow freedom fighter?

On the other hand, there’s no question about the continued relevance of Fernando, which is now the theme song of The University of Indiana’s Heisman-winning quarterback and the team’s quest to go from historically worst team in college football to national champions next Monday. (YouTube)

further: sharing

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