General information, not legal, tax, immigration or medical advice. Rules change; confirm with the official source. Full note
Key takeaways
- SSA can pay current benefits to U.S. citizens living in Vietnam, and Vietnam is on SSA's International Direct Deposit list. 1 2
- For one person aged 66 to 70, the calculator's comfortable budget comes to $795–$1,246 a month in the seven cities, using crowd-sourced rent and food prices and a company's published insurance premiums. 3
- The premium budget (a 3-bed flat in the centre, a higher insurance plan and meals out) comes to $1,674–$2,503 a month. 4
- Pensions paid from abroad to people living in Vietnam are free of Vietnamese income tax under Decree 253/2026 (Art. 27), which does not name U.S. Social Security, so whether it applies to your benefit isn't spelled out. 25
Each point is from this page, with its source number; details and the full list of sources are below.
Short answer: for one person, the calculator on this site says a Social Security check of $1,500 a month covers a comfortable budget in all seven cities we track. The numbers below come straight from that calculator. Rent and food are crowd-sourced Numbeo prices, and health insurance is a company's published premium, so treat every total as an estimate, not a promise.
First: can Social Security be paid in Vietnam?
SSA can pay current benefits to U.S. citizens living in Vietnam. 1 Vietnamese citizens who are not U.S. citizens cannot receive benefits after being outside the U.S. for more than 6 calendar months in a row, unless they meet another exception. 1
Vietnam is on SSA's International Direct Deposit list, so benefits can be paid straight into an account at a bank in Vietnam. 2 Our banking guide explains how to open the account and what to report.
What the calculator counts
- Rent: a 1-bed flat outside the centre (budget), a 1-bed flat in the centre (comfortable) or a 3-bed flat in the centre (premium). These are Numbeo's crowd-sourced averages; each city's source is in the table below.
- Food: Numbeo's recommended minimum food money per person, Asian-style food for the budget level and Western-style food for the other two.
- Health insurance: Pacific Cross Vietnam's published annual premiums for your age band, converted to dollars at Vietcombank's rate. 3 4 5 These are company prices, not official ones. Medicare usually does not pay for care outside the U.S., so plan for local or international health insurance. 6
- Visa: four multiple-entry e-visas a year at US$50 each. 7 The calculator also adds its own estimate of US$70 for each trip out of the country (bus Ho Chi Minh City–Phnom Penh and back plus a Cambodian e-visa; no hotel). That's an assumption, not a quoted price. Together that is about US$40 a month; from cities far from the border, expect to pay more.
- The rest: utilities, internet, one phone plan and 8, 16 or 30 short taxi rides a month (budget, comfortable, premium); the premium level also adds four mid-range restaurant meals a month. All from the same Numbeo city pages.
If you keep Medicare Part B, its premium ($202.90 a month in 2026) 8 usually comes out of your Social Security payment, 9 so compare these totals with what actually reaches your account.
Monthly cost by city
| City (Numbeo sources) | Budget | Comfortable | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Da Nang 10 11 | $745 | $1,130 | $2,362 |
| Nha Trang 12 13 | $635 | $941 | $1,877 |
| Hoi An 14 15 | $778 | $992 | $1,674 |
| Ho Chi Minh City 16 17 | $715 | $1,246 | $2,503 |
| Hanoi 18 19 | $671 | $995 | $2,026 |
| Da Lat 20 21 | $656 | $852 | $1,794 |
| Vung Tau 22 23 | $547 | $795 | $1,800 |
One person aged 66 to 70 on an e-visa, from the calculator on Oct 30, 2026 (prices retrieved Oct 27, 2026). Run the calculator for a couple, a different age or your own rent.
Hoi An, Vung Tau and Da Lat have few Numbeo contributors, so their figures are less reliable. 14 22 20
On $1,500 a month
At the comfortable level, every city fits: totals run from $795 to $1,246 a month. The money left over has to cover what the calculator does not count, such as flights home, a deposit on a flat and care that insurance does not pay for.
On $2,000 a month
The premium level fits in Hoi An, Da Lat, Vung Tau and Nha Trang. It does not fit in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.
On $2,500 a month
The premium level fits in Hoi An, Da Lat, Vung Tau, Nha Trang, Hanoi and Da Nang. Ho Chi Minh City sits right at the line, about $2,500.
Tax on your benefit in Vietnam
Pensions paid by the Social Insurance Fund are tax-free, 24 and the decree says this includes pensions paid from abroad to people living in Vietnam. 25 It does not name U.S. Social Security, so keep your SSA benefit letters as proof. Our Vietnam taxes guide covers Vietnamese tax residency. U.S. tax on your benefit is a separate question: see The U.S. side on our Vietnam taxes page.
Before you count on it
Start with step 1 of the plan: run your own numbers, then spend a month in your top city before you sign a lease. Compare the cities side by side on Choose a city.
Sources (25)
Show the list
Vietnam government (3)
- 7. Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC fee schedule (PDF, in Vietnamese): visa exemption certificate… Official Gazette of Vietnam as of 2026-04-01 (Article 7: in force 1 April 2026; PDF re-opened Oct 29, 2026 (byte-identical to the Oct 28 copy): fees collected in Vietnam: visa exemption certificate US$10; stay extension US$10 each time; fee table Part II item 1: single-entry visa US$25; item 2a: multiple-entry visa up to 90 days US$50) · checked 2026-10-30
- 24. Law 109/2025/QH15 on Personal Income Tax (PDF, in Vietnamese) Official Gazette No. 37, 22 Jan 2026 (passed 10 Dec 2025) as of 2026-01-22 (Gazette No. 37, 22 Jan 2026; passed 10 Dec 2025; in force 1 Jul 2026; wage and business rules apply from tax year 2026 (Art. 29); read Art. 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 18; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: Art. 13(2) securities 0.1% of the sale price each time) · checked 2026-10-29
- 25. Decree 253/2026/ND-CP guiding the Personal Income Tax Law (PDF, in Vietnamese) Official Gazette as of 2026-06-30 (Gazette No. 402, 16 Jul 2026; in force 1 Jul 2026; read Art. 4 (residents), 19 (only home), 24 (deposit interest), 25 (remittances), 27 (pensions); preamble: Law 109/2025 as amended by Law 09/2026/QH16; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: Art. 19 only-home exemption needs one home only, owned at least 183 days, whole home sold; homes still being built excluded) · checked 2026-10-30
U.S. government (5)
- 1. Payments to Beneficiaries in Vietnam SSA POMS RS 02650.021 as of 2024-01-08 (POMS section date; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: "We can pay current benefits to people in Vietnam who are: U.S. citizens or ..."; citizens of Vietnam: "benefits after July 1996 for the first 6 calendar months the beneficiary was outside the United States; and ... if the beneficiary meets another exception") · checked 2026-10-30
- 2. SSA International Direct Deposit country list as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no date; re-opened Oct 28, 2026: Vietnam is on the International Direct Deposit list) · checked 2026-10-30
- 6. Travel outside the U.S. Medicare.gov as of 2026-10-27 (re-opened Oct 29, 2026: "Medicare usually doesn’t cover health care while you’re traveling outside the U.S.") · checked 2026-10-29
- 8. Avoid late enrollment penalties (2026 Part B standard premium) Medicare.gov as of 2026-10-30 (page shows no update date; says "the standard Part B monthly premium ($202.90 in 2026)") · checked 2026-10-30
- 9. How to pay Part A & Part B premiums Medicare.gov as of 2026-10-30 (page shows no update date; says "Most people get their Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) premium deducted automatically from their Social Security benefit payment") · checked 2026-10-30
Other sources (17)
- 3. Foundation Series premiums (annual, VND thousands; ages 0–75) Pacific Cross Vietnam as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no date; re-opened Oct 28, 2026, all premiums used here unchanged) · checked 2026-10-30
- 4. Master Series premiums (annual, VND thousands; ages 0–85; residents of Vietnam) Pacific Cross Vietnam as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no date; re-opened Oct 28, 2026, all premiums used here unchanged) · checked 2026-10-30
- 5. Vietcombank exchange rate feed (USD transfer buying rate) as of 2026-10-27 (rate used: 25,640 (feed time 2026-10-28 07:40 ICT = Oct 27, 2026, 5:40 PM PT); feed re-opened Oct 28, 2026, 6:24 PM PT (feed time 10/29 8:24 AM ICT) showed 25,660, a 0.08% change, so the dollar figures are kept at the Oct 27 rate) · checked 2026-10-28
- 10. Cost of Living in Da Nang Numbeo as of 2026-10-26 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · checked 2026-10-27
- 11. Food Prices in Da Nang (recommended minimum food money, 2,400 kcal/day) Numbeo as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day retrieved) · checked 2026-10-27
- 12. Cost of Living in Nha Trang Numbeo as of 2026-10-02 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · checked 2026-10-27
- 13. Food Prices in Nha Trang (recommended minimum food money, 2,400 kcal/day) Numbeo as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day retrieved) · checked 2026-10-27
- 14. Cost of Living in Hoi An Numbeo as of 2026-10-02 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · checked 2026-10-27
- 15. Food Prices in Hoi An (recommended minimum food money, 2,400 kcal/day) Numbeo as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day retrieved) · checked 2026-10-27
- 16. Cost of Living in Ho Chi Minh City Numbeo as of 2026-10-26 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · checked 2026-10-27
- 17. Food Prices in Ho Chi Minh City (recommended minimum food money, 2,400 kcal/day) Numbeo as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day retrieved) · checked 2026-10-27
- 18. Cost of Living in Hanoi Numbeo as of 2026-10-26 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · checked 2026-10-27
- 19. Food Prices in Hanoi (recommended minimum food money, 2,400 kcal/day) Numbeo as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day retrieved) · checked 2026-10-27
- 20. Cost of Living in Da Lat Numbeo as of 2026-10-02 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · checked 2026-10-27
- 21. Food Prices in Da Lat (recommended minimum food money, 2,400 kcal/day) Numbeo as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day retrieved) · checked 2026-10-27
- 22. Cost of Living in Vung Tau Numbeo as of 2026-04-17 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · checked 2026-10-27
- 23. Food Prices in Vung Tau (recommended minimum food money, 2,400 kcal/day) Numbeo as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day retrieved) · checked 2026-10-27
Every source on the site, by page and topic: All sources.
About this guide
Tam Lieu lives in Long Beach, California, and put this guide together to research retiring in Vietnam. Facts are checked against official sources, with last-checked dates.
How we check facts: every number and rule links to its source: an official or primary source wherever one exists (government sites, the U.S. Embassy, law texts), or the company's own page for company prices, which we label as company prices. Crowd-sourced figures are labelled too. Each source shows the date we last checked it; anything we cannot confirm is cut or marked “needs source”. Found a mistake? Tell us.
Photo and video credits
- Photo: “My Khe Beach 18” by Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (resized and converted to WebP)