Mount Bonnell AdvisorsAustin, TexasCorrespondence in your language
ZeroTax LLC, US LLC formation, Mount Bonnell Advisors, Austin
ConsultationOrder your LLC
Menu
Austin, Texas

LLC guide

A retirement visa without a pension? The smart route through your own Pension Plan LLC

Your own US LLC grants you a company pension: documented, apostilled, drafted by attorneys. The pension income your retirement visa application needs.

Official, documented pension income from your own US LLCFour core documents drafted by attorneys, notarised and apostilledSuitable for retirement visas in Costa Rica, Panama, the Philippines, Thailand, Mauritius and other countriesOne pension, several visa applications: the same documents can be used again and againA 30-minute consultation on your destination country plus one hour of attorney time includedWorks with any US LLC in any state, new or existing

Are you over 50 (or 40!) and planning to move abroad? Or would you like to obtain residence permits in Asia and South America as part of your Plan B, so you are prepared if the worst comes to the worst? In many countries, a retirement visa is the simplest and cheapest way to obtain long-term residence. But what if you do not receive a pension, for example because, as an entrepreneur, you never paid into the state pension system? There is an elegant and entirely legal solution for exactly this: your own American LLC can grant you a pension commitment and pay you a company pension.

The problem: no pension, no visa

Many people moving abroad, especially the self-employed and entrepreneurs, face the same problem. They want to move to Latin America, Asia or an island such as Mauritius and live there on a retirement visa (a pensionado visa). Others want to protect themselves by securing residence permits in these countries as a Plan B. The requirements sound simple: a monthly pension income, usually between 1,000 and 2,000 US dollars, depending on the country. But what if you do not draw a pension because you have been self-employed all your life, or because your pension will only be paid out in years to come? Or what if your pension is simply too low? Then the whole move often fails for lack of proof of pension. Many of these countries expressly require proof of a regular pension, whether state, company or private.

And the alternative costs capital. These programmes almost always give you two routes: you prove a regular pension income, or you tie up money in the country. Without proof of pension, only the second remains, and that means buying property, a fixed-term deposit or a securities portfolio, five or six figures depending on the country, and often locked in for years. So this page is not about a document. It is about the far cheaper of two doors into the same country.

The solution: a pension commitment and company pension through your own LLC

This is exactly where our solution comes in. Through us, you form an American LLC (limited liability company) that grants you, as its member and manager, a company pension of its own, that is, it transfers a fixed monthly pension payment to you. This is nothing exotic and nothing illegal. It is a company pension, set up in an American LLC with all the advantages that brings: no bookkeeping obligation, no US tax liability (in the absence of a permanent establishment) and minimal administration.

How it works in practice

Forming the LLC. We form a US LLC for you in Connecticut, the "Insurance Capital of the World", and set it up so that it is legally permitted to grant a pension.

Paying in starting capital. You transfer starting capital to the LLC or grant it a shareholder loan, typically between 10,000 and 30,000 US dollars (there are no legal requirements: pay in what you like).

Pension commitment, pension award and first payment. The LLC gives you a written pension commitment that sets the monthly payment (for example USD 1,500). As soon as the pension payments are due to start, you receive a pension award letter from the LLC. Your LLC then transfers this amount every month to your personal account, with a reference that is customary in the US, such as PENSION PAYMENT, RETIREMENT BENEFIT or MONTHLY PENSION.

Proof for the authorities. After 3 to 6 months of regular payments, you can show the immigration authority of your choice: the company's pension commitment; the pension award letter confirming that you receive a monthly pension from that date; and bank statements showing the monthly payments.

As a rule, these documents are enough to apply for a retirement visa, for example in Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Thailand, the Philippines, Mauritius or even the United Arab Emirates.

Important: the formal documents

For the model to work with legal certainty, it needs four key documents, which the attorneys on the firm's team prepare for you as part of our service:

  1. Operating Agreement: the LLC's constitution, with the pension plan built in.
  2. Pension Policy: an internal policy that sets the pension terms.
  3. Board Resolution: a formal resolution of the LLC approving your pension (the pension commitment).
  4. Pension Award Letter: your LLC's pension award, confirming that the pension payments are now starting.

We sign all documents as your LLC's US pension administrator, so you do not have to sign them yourself (which would look odd).

Use it again and again: one pension, many visas

One particular advantage of this solution: with one and the same company pension, you can apply for a retirement visa in several countries at once. Once it is set up, you can use the same documents for Costa Rica, Argentina, Thailand or Dubai. This is entirely legal, and many of our clients use it to secure several residences, or even second passports, as part of their Plan B.

Tax-neutral and flexible

Because the LLC pays no US taxes (as long as there is no US permanent establishment), the model stays tax-free. In most of the countries we often mention that grant retirement visas, foreign pensions are tax-free anyway. So the payments can go round in a circle: if you need to, you can transfer them back into your LLC. The only thing that matters is that the documents and the proof of payment are in order.

Ideal for people moving abroad at any age

The Pension Plan LLC itself has no minimum age: you can set up the corporate pension at any age. If there is a minimum age at all, it comes from individual retirement visa programmes, such as the Philippines' SRRV (since the 2025 reform: from age 40). Many other programmes, above all the pensionado visas of Latin America such as Panama's, require no minimum age at all, only proof of a lifelong pension income, in Panama for example 1,000 US dollars a month. That is exactly the proof the documented corporate pension provides. If you are an entrepreneur, freelancer or investor with no state pension entitlement, this solution is the simplest, cleanest and most cost-effective way to obtain residence abroad, without buying property, forming a local company or proving large amounts of capital.

Who is this package ideal for?

Examples: retirement visas and minimum requirements worldwide

Our international network

We work with experienced attorneys in all of these countries: in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Our partner firms know exactly which wording and which evidence the local authorities accept. Typically, the authorities ask for 1 to 6 bank statements showing that your pension arrives regularly. Our team makes sure your documents match the visa requirements exactly (you may still need to have them translated).

No commitment, full flexibility

This pension commitment is not legally binding. You can stop the payments at any time and dissolve the LLC. If you already hold a visa on this basis, get legal advice first on what that would mean for your residence permit. This does not contradict the value of the documents: what you submit is a genuine resolution of a genuine US company, formally executed, signed and apostilled. That you can wind the structure up later is your freedom, not a flaw in the documents.

Tax notes

The pension may be taxable in your country of residence. We assume that you live in a country where such income is tax-free, but we always recommend individual tax advice. In the US itself there is no tax liability as long as you have no permanent establishment and are not subject to US tax.

Why we form your Pension Plan LLC in Connecticut

For newly formed pension LLCs, we recommend Connecticut, and for good reason. (The Pension Plan package itself works with any US LLC in any state; see the ordering section below.) When you form your American LLC with a pension commitment, it is not only about low taxes or easy administration, but also about credibility, legal certainty and recognition abroad. And this is where Connecticut is unbeatable.

1. The cradle of the American insurance and pension industry. Connecticut, and more precisely its capital Hartford, has been called the "Insurance Capital of the World" for more than 150 years. Some of the world's biggest insurance companies were founded here: Aetna Life Insurance Company (founded in 1853), The Hartford, Travelers, Cigna and MassMutual. That has consequences. In Connecticut, pensions, retirement plans and corporate benefits are familiar ground like almost nowhere else in the US. If you form your LLC there, it automatically sits in an environment where company pension plans are completely normal rather than some exotic special case. That makes a huge difference when you later submit documents to banks, notaries or immigration authorities. A pension commitment from Connecticut comes across as serious, familiar and plausible, because the state stands for exactly these kinds of structures.

2. A clear legal framework and an established structure. Connecticut's company law is modern, but conservative in the best sense. The legal basis can be found in the Connecticut General Statutes, Title 31, Chapter 574, which deals expressly with retirement programs and retirement security arrangements. It provides that companies based in Connecticut may offer their employees or owners retirement and benefit programmes of their own, and that such programmes are recognised as legitimate business practice. For you, that means: if your LLC is formed in Connecticut and pays you a pension, it is entirely within the framework of local law. You are not operating in a grey area, but within an established, recognised system. Connecticut even has a state programme that encourages companies to set up their own pension arrangements (see the Connecticut Retirement Security Program, § 31-422 et seq.). This attitude runs through every level of the administration, from the chamber of commerce to the apostille office.

3. Apostilles and international recognition. A further advantage: Connecticut issues apostilles extremely quickly, usually within a few days. Your LLC's formation documents can be certified so that they are immediately valid internationally. For you, that means: when you apply for your retirement visa in a country such as Costa Rica, Panama or the Philippines, the authorities see the "State of Connecticut" seal on your documents, and that simply comes across as more serious than a small, unknown US state. Many of our clients report that visa applications with Connecticut documents are accepted much more smoothly. The reason is simple: Connecticut stands worldwide for financial and insurance law, which is exactly what you are documenting with your pension LLC.

4. Discretion, honestly assessed. One point where we want to be more precise than before: Connecticut is not an anonymity state. The LLC's owners are named in the annual report to the state; anyone who searches specifically can find them. What still ensures discretion in practice: your pension documents themselves only circulate where YOU submit them, with the immigration authority of your choice, not on the internet. And if register anonymity really matters to you, you can also combine the Pension Plan package with an LLC in New Mexico or Wyoming; for pension purposes, though, in our view the credibility of the Connecticut seal outweighs the register question.

5. Advantages from the owner's point of view. As the owner of the LLC, Connecticut gives you a range of tangible advantages:

So you benefit from the highest degree of legitimacy without entering a complicated or expensive system. Your pension LLC looks like what it is: a genuine US company in a respected finance and insurance state that pays you a company pension.

6. The psychological effect: perception counts. Many people moving abroad underestimate how much the perception of their documents matters abroad. If your pension commitment comes from a "Wyoming LLC", some officials or consulates ask what that even is. But when they read "Hartford, CT" or "State of Connecticut", they recognise it immediately: this is American finance, pure and simple. That is exactly why Connecticut is our clear recommendation if you are forming a new pension LLC. This location delivers the perfect mix of legal substance, international acceptance and tax neutrality.

How large US corporations organise their pensions

Almost all large US companies use dedicated entities for their company pensions. Here are some well-known examples to inspire you:

This structure, a separate entity for the pension plan, is the standard American model. So when you form your own pension LLC, you are standing on classic American ground: a genuine US corporate pension, but without US tax liability.

What to call your pension LLC

Choose a neutral, serious name with "Pension Plan" or "Retirement Plan", but without terms that require a licence, such as Bank, Insurance or Trust. Suitable examples:

These names sound reassuringly American and are accepted worldwide.

Why you should not use your existing LLC

The pension should be clearly separated from your other business. A dedicated LLC is more credible and can easily be wound up later without touching your other activities. That gives you your own American pension company: a corporate pension without any US tax liability. Would you still rather run the pension through your existing LLC? That works too: the Pension Plan package is available as a standalone version for any existing US LLC in any state (see below). Our recommendation remains a dedicated, clean pension LLC, but the decision is yours.

We sign all documents for you

We act as your LLC's US pension administrator and sign all documents (Operating Agreement, Pension Policy, Board Resolution and Pension Award Letter), so that you are not signing your own pension over to yourself. That makes a serious impression on authorities and banks.

No bookkeeping, no tax return, no US taxes

Another big advantage of this structure: your pension LLC in Connecticut has no ongoing bookkeeping or tax obligations of any kind in the US.

1. No bookkeeping obligation. As long as your LLC has no permanent establishment in the US and all its income comes from abroad, you do not have to keep US books or prepare annual accounts. So you can manage entirely without an American bookkeeper or tax adviser.

2. No tax liability in the US. The pension LLC is tax-transparent in the US, which means it owes no corporate income tax itself. Because you, as the owner, are not resident in the US and earn no income there, there is no income tax liability in the United States, neither at company level nor at your personal level. That means: no corporate income tax, no income tax, no sales tax, no franchise tax (as in Delaware or Texas, for example).

3. No US tax return. You do not have to file a tax return in the US, neither for yourself nor for your LLC. There is only a technical information obligation that has to be met electronically every year, and that is exactly what we take care of for you.

4. We handle all IRS filings. As part of our package, we take care of all annual filings with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), in particular:

These forms are purely formal, contain no financial data and serve only statistical purposes. You do not have to do anything: we file these documents with the IRS on time and correctly.

5. No obligations towards the state of Connecticut. At state level, too, there are no tax returns and no ongoing bookkeeping. Once a year you simply pay the state annual report fee (currently 80 US dollars), which we file for you automatically.

In short: with your pension LLC you run a genuine US company that pays no taxes, keeps no books, files no tax return, and whose mandatory filings are all already included in your package.

What happens in the four weeks

At the end, you receive a set of documents. Several people work on it until it is ready:

  1. Initial review. Your destination country or countries, the pension amount you want, your age, an existing or a new LLC. This determines what the commitment has to look like.
  2. State and formation. For a new LLC, Connecticut as our recommendation, EIN, Registered Agent, business address.
  3. Drafting by attorneys. The attorneys on the firm's team tailor the Operating Agreement with built-in pension plan, the Pension Policy, the Board Resolution and the Pension Award Letter to your case.
  4. Coordination with the partner firm in your destination country. Which wording does the authority there accept, what additional proof does it ask for, and in what order do the apostilles need to be.
  5. Signing by us. We act as your LLC's US pension administrator and sign, so that you are not granting your pension to yourself.
  6. Notarisation.
  7. Apostille from the Secretary of State of your state of formation.
  8. Handover. The complete set, plus a guide to which proof the authority wants to see and when, and how many bank statements you need to collect.
  9. A 30-minute consultation on your destination country, held in English, and one hour of attorney time for fine-tuning, both included in the price.

You then start the monthly payments. After three to six months of regular payments, you have the proof the immigration authority wants to see.

Next steps: two routes to your company pension

What you get, and what to weigh it against. Every one of these programmes asks the same question, just in different currencies: do you prove a regular pension income, or do you tie up capital in the country? If you cannot show a pension, you automatically end up with the second answer, and that means buying property, a fixed-term deposit or a securities portfolio, five or six figures depending on the country and often locked in for years. Your documented company pension answers the first question. Once, for the price of this package, instead of permanently tied-up capital. And it does not answer the question only once: the same documents work in every country on the list above, one after the other or in parallel. A visa application solves one country. This pension solves as many as you will need over the coming years. Weighed against that, the price of the package is not something you need to think about for long.

Route 1: a new pension LLC with the Pension Plan package (our recommendation). You order a new LLC in the state of your choice (our recommendation for pension purposes: Connecticut) and add the Pension Plan package right in the order process. Because formation and pension documents are produced in one go, the package costs you only $6,000 instead of $7,500, on top of your state's regular formation package. As with every one of our LLCs, your formation package includes everything from the EIN and Operating Agreement through the Registered Agent and business address to all US tax returns for the first year (the full list of services). For the following years of your pension LLC, the regular annual price for your state applies, with ongoing support from the firm (prices).

Order an LLC with the Pension Plan package

Route 2: the Pension Plan package for your existing LLC. Your LLC already exists, with us or elsewhere, in any state? Then you order the package standalone for $7,500.

Order the Pension Plan package

Included in both cases: the four core documents of your pension plan (Operating Agreement or amendment with built-in pension plan, Pension Policy, Board Resolution, Pension Award Letter), drafted by the attorneys on the firm's team and signed by us as your US pension administrator; notarisation and apostille from the Secretary of State of your state of formation; a 30-minute consultation on your retirement visa goal (which country, which proof, which pension amount); one hour of attorney time to tailor your documents (pension amount, start date, terms); 12 months' membership of the New Horizons Club (worth around $1,250); and the individual adaptation of your documents to your destination country. Every country has its quirks: one wants the commitment worded differently, the next wants an additional confirmation, the third a particular order of apostilles. Our partner firms on the ground know what each authority accepts, and your documents are drafted accordingly, not copied from a template. That applies to the country you start with. If another one is added later, the structure stays in place and we adapt the documents rather than rebuild them. What that costs for an additional country we will agree with you individually; just ask us.

The complete setup takes around 4 weeks, apostille included. After that, you can start your monthly pension payments and build up the proof for your visa.

Next roadstop

Your LLC. One price. Ongoing professional support.

Choose your state and order directly, or clarify open residence questions first in a consultation.

Order your LLCPlan your next route

Consultations are held in English only.