Pensionado is for someone who already receives a lifetime pension from a government, a company, or another qualifying source, and can prove it. Age alone does not define the category. The pension does.
Figures you will see repeated in public guides are a pension of about $1,000 per month, reduced to about $750 per month when the applicant also owns Panamanian real estate worth more than $100,000. Those numbers have been stable in recent public descriptions. They are still a decree, not a promise from this website. A licensed attorney checks the letter, the source of the pension, and the current threshold before anyone plans a life around them.
People like this route because approval is aimed at permanent residency rather than a long provisional period, and because Panama has long offered pensionado discounts on some local services. Discounts vary by provider and change. Treat them as a pleasant extra, not the reason to move.
If you are still working full time and have no lifetime pension, this is the wrong page. Look at Friendly Nations, Qualified Investor, or self-economic solvency, and use a relocation tour if you are not sure you want the country yet.
- Often quoted
- Public summaries describe a lifetime pension of about $1,000 a month, or about $750 if you also own Panamanian property above $100,000.
- Where it tends to lead
- Permanent residency is the usual result once approved
- Family
- Dependents are commonly included. Ask counsel who qualifies in your case.
Read this before you rely on a number
- The pension generally needs to be lifetime, not a savings drawdown you control.
- Documents from abroad usually need the formal authentication your attorney specifies.
- A property purchase can change the pension threshold. It does not replace legal advice.
Related reading: Friendly Nations visa , Qualified Investor visa