HELPPPPP..I need some advice

donrael,
1. by "securing a pension," do you mean to say when will you be fully vested? You can find that out by asking your company's HR or Personnel person -- you don't need to reveal why you're asking -- people often what to know when they'll be fully vested.
Fully vested or not, unless your pension plan is terrific and rock-solid, I would not stay in it if I were you once you leave the company. Roll over the amount into a low-fee 401(k), Keogh or IRA and let it handle itself while you are abroad.

2. If you've really had the cell that long, you doubtless have in its address list all the numbers of the people that really matter to you. Call them all before you relinquish your US plan, and give them your new number(s) in SD. You may have to get a new phone once in the DR (depends on type and model you have), but that's not a biggie. DR1 has several threads comparing the cell phone services in the DR -- use the search function to see discussions of their pros and cons.

3. Do you own or rent your housing? If former, then why not rent it out while you are abroad, for an amount that covers your monthly mortgage & escrow (tax, insurance, etc) payment & at least a little extra that accumulates to take care of any repair or replacement costs that might come up in the years you're in the DR. That's what we did with our house while living for four years in the DR, so in effect someone else paid all our bills for the property while we did not burn our bridge back to the US in case we decided to return (which we did eventually).
As for taking a car with you vs selling it and getting transport once in the DR, opinions differ on this, but I went the import route when I moved and if I had to to do it over again, I wouldn't. Cost, even with the tax break I got (married to a "returning" Dominicana), was not really worth it and hassle was certainly not worth it.

4. As for the misc. stuff, how about getting some boxes or a couple of those large plastic storage bins and putting it all in those and asking your father (or mom or sibling) to leave it in his attic? We did this for things we might need to access easily on visits back to the US (such as winter clothes), while storing our nice furniture and small valuables in a paid storage facility.

5. Hook up with Business Mail [www.businessmailweb.com] or one of its competitors, such as EPS (there are several threads comparing the two -- check the search function). This will give you a PO box in Miami people can send mail to. You receive mail in the DR (even magazines and freight), paying a small fee by weight and/or number of pieces. Then send everyone -- not just friends and family, but also all the Post Office, banks, credit cards cos., etc. -- your Miami PO box address, perhaps using those change of address kits that the Post Office provides...

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Keith

You have to many concerns and some uncertainty about your move

It seems like you are venturing out in a country you know nothing about...and as far as pension is concerned..you never leave a pension nor social security benefits...what the hell will you live off of...look that Island has a boat load of internel issue's and problem's the likes you have never experienced, if you don't know it's issues stay put and visit the island more often.

Pension

donrael said:

Daddy, first of all; I do know the country (am Dominican, born there); I havent lived there in a long time, but I know what I am going to get. second, I dont plan to live off my pension; in fact it'll be a long time before I could receive those checks. I am only 26, I am planning to save a few thousand american dollars and hopefully find some job just to balance me off.


Keith, as per the pension question; thanks for the rolling over idea. BUt what I wanted to know is about this 10 yrs thing. supposely you are to work for ten years before your pension is secure. not necessarily in the same place, but have 10 yrs of work in the US. If I go to DR for 1 or 2 yrs, will this affect the securing of my pension?


thank you both

Click to expand...

I'm having trouble determining if your talking about a company pension or social security.

A company pension plan will be vested in the number of years determined by your company some are 5 years others are 10 etc, when vested if leaving, as was said above roll it over to an IRA of some kind.

If your talking about social security, this requires a certain number of segments. each year you should receive a summary from the Social Security Administration, Shows how many you have and how many left. and what amount you have contributed by year