MPI Study of Retirement Migration	January 2006

Invitation to Participate

The Migration Policy Institute would like to invite you to participate in a focus group as part of a study of US retirement migration to Panama. Through our study, we hope to contribute to the small but growing literature on how and why US retirees move abroad and what their retirement experiences are like. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is an independent, non-profit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide.

Scope of the Project

The current study includes focus groups with retirees from the United States who are residing in the Panama City area. In addition to this fieldwork, the research team will also create a Panamanian census-based profile of the US-born and conduct interviews with US and Panamanian officials about policies affecting US retirees in Panama. MPI is conducting research in Mexico, as well. We will publish our findings in Spring 2006 and distribute them to policymakers, researchers, and others interested in international migration and the role of retirement flows.

What do the focus groups entail?

Focus groups usually have about 10 participants. Participation in focus groups is strictly voluntary. The focus groups we are conducting in your area would take place between February 10th and 17th.

The focus group would last no longer than 1½ hours. For your participation, we would provide you with a meal at the time of the discussion and $25 (USD). We would like to discuss the reasons that you chose to relocate, the information sources you relied on to make decisions, and your experiences as retirees in Panama. The research team would also ask how government policies encourage or create challenges for those wishing to retire in Panama.

The focus groups will not include sensitive information; nonetheless your responses to all questions will be kept confidential by our researchers and you will not be identified in any publication. We will ask you to sign a consent form at the time of the focus group, and we would be happy to discuss any confidentiality concerns you might have.

How do I sign up for the focus groups or get more information?

If you’d like to participate in the focus groups, please contact Julia Gelatt at MPI (jgelatt@migrationpolicy.org). Or if you prefer, call 202-266-1940. Note that this would be an international call. Julia will work with you to find a focus group in your area at a convenient time. We request that you let us know of your interest by January 31.

MPI is conducting this study with support from New Global Initiatives (NGI), a private corporation located in Bethesda, Maryland.

If you would like more information about participating in the focus groups or about the study more generally, contact Julie Murray at jmurray@migrationpolicy.org. If you would like to talk by phone, they will be happy to call you internationally if you send your contact information.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Demetrios Papademetriou
President

Julie Murray
Associate Policy Analyst

David Dixon
Associate Policy Analyst