Plan the trip. Come home with an answer.
A printable workbook for retirees from the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Plan a scouting trip, then decide in writing: Go, Not yet or No.
PDF and Excel · US Letter and A4 · 30-day refund · Secure checkout through Gumroad
See a sample pageThe Visa Decision Tree: answer each step and land on your likely route and what to confirm.
Thinking about retiring in the Philippines? This printable workbook takes you from your kitchen table, through a scouting trip of two to four weeks, to a written answer: Go, Not yet or No. All three are good answers.
You work through it in order, with a pencil. Each chapter leaves you with something on paper: a budget, a visa route, a shortlist, a signed decision. Every fee and figure sits in one dated Snapshot, and updates to it are free for two years.
Who it's for
- You're seriously considering retiring in the Philippines, and you want to scout before you commit.
- You're from the US, the UK, Canada or Australia.
- You like to work on paper and to check things for yourself.
- You're planning as a couple, or alone with someone you trust to read your answers.
- You'd rather hear "not yet" for a clear reason than "go" on a hunch.
Who it's not for
- If you want someone to decide for you. The Pack isn't legal, tax, medical or immigration advice. It helps you ask better questions and tells you who can give you a binding answer.
- If you'll live on local income. The Pack assumes your money comes from home.
- If you want a brochure. Four chapters test whether any town is worth the flight before you look at a single beach.
- If you're from another country. The questions still work, but the country points cover only the US, the UK, Canada and Australia.
- If you're moving a pet. The Pack doesn't cover pet rules.
See inside
What's inside
The route has five stops: get honest at home, shortlist and plan, the scout trip, decide, and land well.
- 00 · How to Use This Pack. The five stops, what to print and how many copies, how to read the Snapshot, and how couples should work.
- 01 · Reality Check. The Fit Quiz, what you'd give up (in writing), your Dealbreaker List, a Partner Worksheet, social life and money requests, safety without the panic, and an honest look at other countries.
- 02 · Money Math. Your state pension from abroad, country by country. An Income Flow map, a 3-Tier Budget, the setup year against a normal year, the costs that don't come monthly, an exchange-rate cushion, moving money, tax questions for a professional, and stress tests.
- 03 · Visa Pathways. Getting in for the scout trip, the routes that fit retirees, the Visa Decision Tree, traps that can ruin a trip, yearly upkeep, getting a deposit back, and a PRA / Immigration Question Script.
- 04 · Healthcare & Insurance. The three layers of cover, how age and existing conditions shape your options, an Insurance Comparison Grid, the Medicare choice for US readers, what happens to home cover for UK, Canadian and Australian readers, tropical health basics, your medicines, and what to check at a hospital.
- 05 · Shortlisting Towns. A map of the islands, 12 criteria you weight yourself, and seven Town Profiles in the same layout: Dumaguete / Valencia / Dauin, Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo, Baguio, Subic, and Makati with BGC next door. Then how to add a town of your own, and how to score from your desk and cut to two or three.
- 06 · Planning the Scout Trip. Trip length, three Itinerary Templates, the visits worth booking ahead, health before you fly, paperwork, phone and money, an Advisory & Alerts card, a Trip Budget, a Pre-Trip Checklist and a Packing List.
- 07 · Field Kit. The Daily Field Log, the Rental Viewing Checklist, who you're really renting from, the hospital visit, six Question Scripts, the Normal Tuesday Test, safety habits, and scoring a town while it's fresh.
- 08 · The Decision. Scorecard Totals, the money re-run with the prices you saw, the hard three re-checked (visa, insurance, your doctor's view), the partner conversation, what each answer means, a guard against the honeymoon glow, the Decision Record and the Not Yet Plan.
- 09 · Your First 90 Days. Who to Tell When You Leave (a page for each country), Landing Checklists, Lease Red Flags, shipping, ongoing admin, a Document Vault, an "If something happens to me" sheet for family, Lawyer Questions and a Day 90 check.
- 10 · Resources & Glossary. Official sources for both sides, a contact sheet, the site guides behind each chapter, a glossary, and how to keep your copy current.
- Sources. Every fact tag in the chapters, with the official page it came from, so you can check any of them yourself.
Built for your country
Each of the four countries gets its own points, drawn from its own government's pages and at the same depth. Every point ends with who to confirm it with.
Australia
- Claim the Age Pension before you leave. Services Australia says a claim made from a country without a social security agreement is rejected, and the Philippines isn't on its agreement lists.
- Medicare doesn't cover you overseas, and the Philippines isn't on Australia's list of reciprocal health care countries.
- If you get the Age Pension, moving abroad stops the Energy Supplement and Pension Supplement and cancels the Pensioner Concession Card. The Pack has you rebuild the budget without them.
- Keep, suspend or cancel private hospital cover? The Pack explains Lifetime Health Cover and Days of Absence, so you know what to ask your fund.
United Kingdom
- You can claim the State Pension from abroad if you've paid enough National Insurance. The Pack says to get a forecast first.
- The Philippines is on DWP's list for the yearly increase, but the list is old. The Pack tells you to confirm it with the International Pension Centre.
- Pension Credit stops if you leave Great Britain for good, and Winter Fuel Payment isn't paid when you live in the Philippines. A table covers other benefits.
- Free NHS hospital care depends on being ordinarily resident in the UK. The Pack separates what's likely free on a visit home from what may be charged.
Canada
- The Canada–Philippines agreement covers CPP and OAS, but not the Quebec Pension Plan.
- Call Service Canada before you leave, so you don't build up an overpayment you might have to repay.
- Health cover differs by province. The Pack sets out what the Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec pages say, and what to ask your own plan.
- Your tax residency depends on your ties to Canada. You get the questions to take to a cross-border tax professional.
United States
- Social Security can be paid into a Philippine bank, or kept going to a US account. The Pack lists what the Federal Benefits Unit in Manila asks for.
- Original Medicare generally won't pay for care in the Philippines. The Pack sets keeping, dropping and never enrolling in Part B side by side, late penalty included, without telling you which to pick.
- Medicare drug plans don't pay for medicines bought outside the US, so the medicines checklist matters.
- A Who to Tell page covers Social Security, the IRS, your state and voting from abroad.
Tax and legal points are general information. Take them to a professional, and to a lawyer in both countries.
Free on the site vs only in the Pack
The site's free checklists and tools are genuinely useful, and they stay free. Here's what the Pack adds. Its text is written new for this decision, not copied from the site.
View a rental
Free on the site
Apartment viewing checklist: the practical basics, from the full cost in writing to the internet inside the unit
Only in the Pack
Rental Viewing Checklist with retiree checks (stairs and a step-free route, what the backup power runs in a brownout, flood history, timed travel to a clinic without a car), a landlord script and Lease Red Flags
Get ready to fly
Free on the site
Before you book checklist: passports, health cover, medicines and money for a move
Only in the Pack
Pre-Trip Checklist and Packing List for a scouting trip, three Itinerary Templates, a Trip Budget, an Advisory & Alerts card and questions for your doctor
Land and settle
Free on the site
First 72 hours and first 90 days checklists
Only in the Pack
Landing Checklists for week one, month one, and months two and three, a Document Vault index, a family sheet, Lawyer Questions and a Day 90 check
Leave home in order
Free on the site
Before you leave checklists for the US, the UK, Canada and Australia
Only in the Pack
A Who to Tell page for each country, built from that government's own pages, with a done date for every row
Plan the money
Free on the site
Move planner: editable checklists, a moving budget and apartment notes, saved in your browser
Only in the Pack
3-Tier Budget (paper and spreadsheet), setup year against steady state, an exchange-rate cushion, stress tests and an Insurance Comparison Grid
Compare towns
Free on the site
City comparison tool: two or three cities side by side on cost, safety, internet and expat friendliness
Only in the Pack
12-criterion City Scorecard with your weights, hard lines that knock a town out, desk and field columns and a spreadsheet, plus seven Town Profiles
Find a visa route
Free on the site
Visa checker: a few questions, ranked options
Only in the Pack
Visa Decision Tree with each route's yearly upkeep and what to confirm, plus a PRA / Immigration Question Script
Make the decision
Free on the site
Nothing like it
Only in the Pack
Fit Quiz, Dealbreaker List, Partner Worksheet, six Question Scripts, the Normal Tuesday Test, Scorecard Totals, a Decision Record and a Not Yet Plan
What's in the ZIP
Every PDF comes in two paper sizes, US Letter and A4.
- Decision-Pack-v1.0 (Letter and A4). The main guide, about 185 pages, with clickable contents and bookmarks.
- Decision-Pack-Printables-v1.0 (Letter and A4). About 130 pages of worksheets, checklists and cards. Print only the sheets you need.
- Rules-and-Fees-Snapshot-2026-Q4 (Letter and A4). About 45 pages. Every fee, deposit and limit the Pack relies on, each with its official source.
- Scout-Roadmap-Poster-v1.0 (Letter and A4). One landscape page: the five stops beside the map.
- Start-Here-v1.0 (Letter and A4). One page to pin up.
- 3-tier-budget.xlsx. The 3-Tier Budget and the Insurance Comparison Grid, for Excel or Google Sheets.
- city-scorecard.xlsx. The City Scorecard, which adds up your scores. A blank score is left out, not counted as zero.
Two years of Snapshot updates
The chapters print no fees. Every fee, deposit, limit and rate lives in one dated Snapshot, each line beside the official page it came from. The town budgets are the site's own estimates, and the Snapshot says so.
Rules change. For two years from the day you buy, whenever a fee or rule the Snapshot tracks changes, a new dated Snapshot goes into your Gumroad library at no charge, and we send you a short note. There's no fixed schedule.
One habit matters more than any page. Before you pay, book or sign anything, download the latest Snapshot, check its date, and confirm with the office that decides: the Bureau of Immigration, the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), your home government, your doctor or your insurer.
Questions
How do I get the files after I pay?
You check out through Gumroad. Your files, and every Snapshot update for two years, appear in your Gumroad library.
Is it for printing or for the screen?
Both. It's made for a home black-and-white printer, and the sheets work best in pencil. The main guide also has clickable contents and bookmarks for reading on screen, and the budget, the insurance grid and the City Scorecard also come as spreadsheets.
Which paper size do I need?
Every PDF comes in US Letter and A4. Pick the one that matches your printer paper, and print at "actual size".
Is this legal, tax, immigration or medical advice?
No. It's general information that helps you prepare and ask better questions. Each chapter names who to confirm with: the Bureau of Immigration, the PRA, your doctor, your insurer, a tax professional, or a lawyer in both countries.
How current are the rules?
Everything that changes sits in the dated Snapshot, not the chapters. The first one is 2026-Q4. New dated Snapshots are free for two years from your purchase. Always check the date and confirm with the office before you act.
We're a couple. Do we need two copies?
No. One purchase covers your household. Print two copies of the Fit Quiz, the Dealbreaker List, the City Scorecard and the Scorecard Totals sheet, fill them in apart, then compare. The Pack never averages your two scores: a town that fails one partner's hard line is out for both.
I'm planning alone. Does it still work?
Yes. The Pack asks you to choose someone you trust, such as a grown child, a sibling or an old friend, to read your answers and co-sign your Decision Record.
Which countries does it cover?
The US, the UK, Canada and Australia. If you're from somewhere else, the questions still apply. Take them to your own government before you rely on any answer.
Isn't this just the free content from the site?
No. The free checklists and tools are useful, and you're welcome to them. The table on this page shows what only the Pack adds.
Does it recommend insurers, agents or banks?
No. Nobody paid to appear in the Pack. There are no affiliate links and no paid placements.
What if it isn't right for me?
Ask for a refund within 30 days of buying.
I found a mistake. Who do I tell?
Write to frank@beginagaindigital.com. Say which page or Snapshot code it concerns, what you found, and the official page that shows it. Corrections help every reader who comes after you.
30-day refund
If the Pack isn't right for you, ask for a refund within 30 days of buying.
Free Starter Kit
Not ready to buy? Start with the free Scout Trip Starter Kit. It includes Chapter 1, Reality Check, in full, plus three tools to try.
Free Scout Trip Starter Kit
A sample chapter and three printable tools, sent by email.
Who made it
The Pack is by Frank Barros, who runs Expat Guide Philippines. Frank is Filipino-American. He grew up in Manila, lives in New York, and goes back often.
Take your time with it. The Philippines will still be there after a careful Not yet.