Technical article
What a Fixed Foreign Pension Meets in Morocco, Egypt and Ghana
If the local money moves, what happens to us?
Picture a couple named Paul and Denise, both 63. Their pension is US$3,000 a month, and it will not change. They want to spend part of each year somewhere warmer. They ask one thing. If the local money moves, what happens to us?
The honest answer starts with how each country manages its currency. I looked for official pages. Some loaded and some did not.
What I could confirm
| Country | What an official page says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Morocco | The dirham follows a basket of euro and US dollar, "up to 60 percent and 40 percent respectively". The daily limit rates are set 5 percent either side of a reference rate. | Bank Al-Maghrib |
| Egypt | The IMF on 6 March 2024: the authorities will "move toward a credible flexible exchange rate regime", having "started with unification of the exchange rate between the official and parallel markets". | IMF |
| Ghana | On 9 October 2026 the Bank of Ghana interbank mid rate was 11.7900 cedis (GHS) to the US dollar. | Bank of Ghana |
Morocco. The central bank publishes a band, so the dirham can move, but only within limits set each day. The page does not give a date. Foreign banknotes have a wider band, plus or minus 7.5 percent. A band is one way a government slows down change. It does not remove it.
Egypt. The IMF text describes a country choosing to let its currency float more freely. A pension in US dollars could buy more or less in Egyptian pounds over time. The Central Bank of Egypt's rate page could not be read, so none is given.
Ghana. One day's rate tells you the level, not the movement. By my arithmetic, US$3,000 on that day would be about GHS 35,370. No history on the page I read was found.
What is left open
- Tunisia: the central bank page would not open for me. I say nothing about the dinar.
- Today's dirham and pound rates.
- Whether any of these countries limit or tax the transfer of a foreign pension.
- Mozambique and Zimbabwe are not covered here.
You could…
- Check the central bank rate yourself on the day you plan to move money.
- Ask your bank what rate and fee it applies to a transfer.
- Keep a few months of spending in the currency you are paid in.
An accountant or lawyer who works with Americans abroad could confirm how a foreign pension is treated in each country.
If your pension could not change at all, how much would a 10 percent move in the local currency matter to your month?
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: 10 October 2026.
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