Earlier this month, one of my fellow bloggers, Derek Hambly from Scotiatrust, wrote about the necessity of an international estate plan and the strategy of using separate wills for property or assets in another country. As part of a holistic Estate Plan, if you spend considerable time outside Canada, it’s equally important to consider your lifestyle and care plans.

From a smart ageing perspective, an Estate Plan is much more than managing wealth across generations and geography. Wealth accumulation is built on a person’s ability to see ahead, plan, and effectively manage resources. This skill equally applies to creating a post-retirement lifestyle plan, which I wrote about in the 2022 book, The Wealth of Wisdom.

In the same way that your family’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or family office manager takes a coordinated approach to your family’s wealth, a smart aging advisor takes an integrated approach to your life, health, and well-being. How will your financial resources be used to support your plan? ^[1]

Consider the scenario where a couple in their late 70s own an oceanside condo at Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia and a villa on the island of Menorca off the south coast of Spain, in addition to their home in Toronto. These are beautiful places to escape a Canadian winter, and they wish to alternate their time in these locations throughout the year. However, as they approach their 80s, the husband has started to have mobility issues due to arthritis and sometimes requires the use of a cane. The wife was recently diagnosed with diabetes. As a result of these health changes, they are now looking at a detailed lifestyle plan to support their health and well-being in each location. For this couple, a well-thought-out plan gives them peace of mind.

Developing an International Lifestyle Plan

These are the top priority considerations when developing an international lifestyle plan.

1. Create a separate lifestyle plan for each location by reviewing each person’s health, well-being, care, and medical needs. For example, if the client plans to spend three months in Australia, prescription or over-the-counter medications may differ from those in Ontario. Check to see if medications can be organized in advance before leaving Ontario, or can the same medication be obtained in the visiting country?
2. Review the health insurance coverage for each location. An Ontario resident can leave the country for up to 212 days each year without losing their coverage under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). If specific conditions are met, OHIP will pay for out-of-country health services for emergency medical services or previously approved out-of-country services. For example, to be eligible for reimbursement for emergency medical services, the condition must be acute, unexpected, and not pre-existing before you leave Canada. Different rules apply if you plan to be away for more than seven months.^[2]

Given the restrictions on out-of-country coverage, it is wise to investigate medical insurance coverage, especially for specific needs and conditions. Read carefully, as the devil is in the details.

3. Consider medications and cost coverage. Most medications for Ontarian residents over the age of 65 years are covered under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan (ODBP). For travelling outside the country, a pharmacist can issue a 3-month supply for certain chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. For other medications, if you have less than a 30-day supply you can request up to 200 days of medication once per year between August 1st and July 31st. ODBP does not cover prescriptions filled outside Canada.^[3]
4. Find out if your Power of Attorney documents for Personal Care are valid in the country where you stay. With the couple in the previous scenario, they are each other’s attorney. However, what happens if they are both in a car accident, severely injured and cannot speak for themselves? Who are their alternate attorneys, and are their documents valid in Australia or Spain?

These are just some of the priority considerations for building an International Lifestyle Plan.

The annual migration of Canadian ‘snowbirds’ to warmer climates in the US, Mexico, and other countries continues to grow as our population ages. With electronic health records, technology-supported monitoring, and adequate advance planning, older people should be able to continue their travels to their homes in other countries. From a smart ageing perspective, we recommend that people consider developing an International Lifestyle Plan in conjunction with their International Estate Plan.

[1] McCullough, T. and Whitaker, K. (2022). Wealth of Wisdom. Top Practices for Wealthy Families and Their Advisors. (1^st ed.). Wiley. p173.

[2] https://www.ontario.ca/page/ohip-coverage-while-outside-canada#section-5

[3] https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-coverage-prescription-drugs#section-8