American Expats – Yes, We Can Administer Your Self-Directed IRA!

Published on April 29, 2024

Americans who live out of the U.S. are often turned away from retirement plan administrators and custodians who balk at working with someone with a foreign address. Whether they live overseas, in Canada, Mexico, Central America, or South America, the team at Next Generation Trust Company works with American expats as long as they have domestic (U.S.) retirement plans and funds.

Anyone living out of the country who wants to self-direct their IRA, or whose existing custodian has declined their account or has asked them to find a new custodian, is welcome to work with us. We follow all the Know Your Customer guidelines as proscribed by FINRA before we take on a client with an international address. Investors anywhere can build tax-advantaged retirement wealth through alternative assets they know and understand by including them in a self-directed IRA. We’re here to help.

You only need U.S. funds to invest, regardless of your country of residence. Like those of us living stateside, you may have both a Traditional and Roth IRA.

Worldwide clientele, worldwide investments

Your self-directed investments need not be only on U.S. soil. We work with clients who live all over the world and whose investments are overseas (often real estate). Rest assured, if you wish to use alternative assets within a U.S.-based self-directed IRA to build a more diverse retirement portfolio—regardless of where you live—Next Generation will work with you as the self-directed retirement plan administrator and custodian.

For example, let’s say you have decided to move to Costa Rica, one of the most popular destinations for American expats. You have a self-directed IRA that we administer and through which you invest in precious metals, real estate, private equity funding, royalties, or other nontraditional investments—here or abroad. Next Generation executes the transactions upon your instructions (after thoroughly reviewing the transaction), holds the assets, and handles all the required paperwork associated with your account.

Contributing to your self-directed IRA when living abroad

If you have earned U.S. taxable income or have met other eligibility requirements, you can make contributions to your self-directed retirement plan. There are some stipulations about foreign income you earn and deductions you claim, which you can discuss with your trusted advisors. There are also income limitations on Roth IRAs.

We recommend you consult a tax advisor who is knowledgeable about foreign taxes and the different foreign tax credits to ensure you can contribute to the IRA if you wish—and do so in a way that does not trigger unexpected tax liabilities.

American expats: open a self-directed IRA with Next Generation

No matter where you are living, Next Generation can assist you with opening a self-directed IRA here in the States. Our starter kits have step-by-step instructions for all types of retirement accounts. Or you can reach us by phone (Eastern time zone) at 888.857.8058 or by email at NewAccounts@NextGenerationTrust.com.

We also have a text chat on our website homepage. If you launch a chat after our normal business hours, we will see your message as soon as we return and respond to your inquiry.. We look forward to assisting you with your self-directed retirement plan, wherever you are. All we ask is that you send us a postcard now and then!