Case Study: Parents 70 and 68 Move to Norway With $1 Million. Home, Rental Unit or Deferred Annuities?
Written by Hans Goldstein, EA, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Admitted to practice before the IRS
Short answer: a $1 million home with a small rental unit pencils best for this couple in both cases: 4.5% a year if they come back to the US after 10 years, 5.3% if they stay for life. Three deferred annuities that start after they leave catch up only if they return to the US and one of them reaches the mid-90s (5.0% at 95). If they stay for life the annuities lose, because Norway taxes the checks and the nursing home takes most of the rest. Payouts are modeled, not quotes.
This is the case I run most often in my head: a couple, he is 70 and she is 68, US citizens, with $3 million of savings. They are moving to Norway. I look at one $1 million slice. What should it be?
The four choices, side by side
| Same $1 million in… | Back in the US: yearly return if the second parent dies at 90 / 95 | Stay in Norway for life: dies at 90 / 95 | Norway wealth tax, first 10 years | Left to heirs at 90 | Nursing-home clawback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home with a rental unit | 4.5% / 4.3% | 5.3% / 5.3% | $30,000 | about $1.9M to $2.0M | Small: only the rent counts, not the house |
| Home, no unit | 3.9% / 3.8% | 4.1% / 4.2% | $30,000 | about $1.9M to $2.0M | None: the house is not charged |
| 3 DIAs, life only | 2.9% / 5.0% | 0.9% / 3.7% | $0 | $0 | High: checks count as income, up to about $68,000 a year |
| Bank or bonds | 3.0% / 3.1% | 2.1% / 2.2% | $116,000 | $1.6M to $1.9M | Medium: the interest counts |
Returns are yearly, after Norwegian and US tax, counting what the heirs get; ages are hers, since the DIA checks run until the second death. The home figures use 3% price growth, $2,600 a month of rent saved, 1% a year for upkeep, 2.5% stamp duty and a 2% selling cost. The DIAs are three equal pieces starting in years 11, 14 and 17, joint life, 100% to the survivor, life only: modeled checks of about $52,000, $73,000 and $108,000 a year, about $233,000 once all three pay.
Return by the age the second parent dies
| Dies at | Back in the US: home with unit | Back in the US: 3 DIAs | Stay for life: home with unit | Stay for life: 3 DIAs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | 4.8% | -2.6% | 5.1% | -7.4% |
| 90 | 4.5% | 2.9% | 5.3% | 0.9% |
| 92 | 4.4% | 4.0% | 5.3% | 2.3% |
| 95 | 4.3% | 5.0% | 5.3% | 3.7% |
| 100 | 4.2% | 6.0% | 5.4% | 5.1% |
The odds that at least one of them is alive are about 52% at her age 90 and about 25% at 95 (modeled). So the DIAs are a bet on the long tail.
What drives it
- Back in the US: the DIAs start after they leave, so Norway taxes nothing. They match the home with a unit around age 93 and beat it after that. Earlier deaths favor the house.
- Stay for life: Norway taxes every check at 22% on the gross amount while they live there, and the survivor’s last years in a sykehjem take up to 75% to 85% of income, capped at the real cost (about NOK 660,000, roughly $68,000, a year). Capital is not charged, so the house is not. That cost 1.4 points a year on the DIAs in this case (the rules are in the article).
- Wealth tax, first 10 years: $0 on the DIAs, about $30,000 on the home (25% of its value, rental unit included), about $116,000 in the bank and about $118,000 on a separate rental apartment.
- Heirs: Norway has no inheritance tax. The home or bank balance passes at full value; a life-only DIA leaves $0, and a cash refund (checks about 10% lower, modeled) leaves nothing past age 88 because the checks already paid exceed the premium.
What I would still check
- Real DIA quotes. The payout rates are modeled and long deferrals are the likeliest to come in lower.
- Whether a US annuity counts in the nursing-home base (I assume yes) and whether tax-exempt rent counts (I assume yes). Ask the municipality in writing.
- The US tax on the rental unit: Norway exempts it, the IRS does not.
- House price, exchange rate and the 25% valuation can all move.
I am a US-licensed insurance agent and do not give Norwegian tax or legal advice. This is a case study on modeled numbers, not a quote. Run it on your own ages in the calculator.
Married? Make the income outlive either of you. In Norway only the sponsoring spouse’s income counts, so the annuity is owned by and pays the sponsor. A joint and survivor payout then keeps paying the other spouse after the sponsor dies. If a single-life annuity is on one spouse and that spouse dies first, the payments stop, and the surviving spouse may have to show income of their own at the next renewal. A joint and survivor annuity, which keeps paying until the second death, or a separate annuity on each spouse closes that gap. Joint and survivor pays less per dollar than single life, so ask for both quotes and compare.
Frequently asked questions
Related reading
- Moving to Norway from the US: the hub
- DIA ladder vs real estate calculator
- Home, rental unit or DIAs: what pencils
- Moving to Norway for 5 years: wealth tax and annuities
- Norway wealth tax and real estate: why real estate is king
- Norway wealth tax for Americans and the US annuity exception
Sources
- Lovdata: Forskrift om egenandel for kommunale helse- og omsorgstjenester, section 3 (long-stay nursing home charge)
- NAV: Grunnbeløpet (G) from 1 May 2026, NOK 136,549
- Skatteetaten: Inheritance tax is abolished (2014)
- Lovdata: Skatteloven section 7-2 (rent from your own home)
- Skatteetaten, Skatte-ABC B-11: primary and secondary home
- Skatteetaten: Wealth tax rates 2026
- Skatteetaten, Skatte-ABC 2025/2026 F-24 Livrenteforsikring (F-24-2.1 wealth, F-24-5.1 income)
- IRS: United States and Norway income tax convention (Articles 18, 22, 23)
- 26 U.S.C. 72 (exclusion ratio; 72(q)(2)(I) and 72(u)(4) immediate annuity; 72(q)(2)(D) life payments)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.