With 4.8 million people, Costa Rica’s problems are comparable to those of a big U.S. city, like Los Angeles or Chicago. Yet the tensions of a large U.S. city seem absent here, as the famously warm and friendly 'Ticos' go about their business. (Photo: Traffic in San Jose)

The house was for sale. Its mystical vibe seduced them into paying $150,000 in cash. Monkeys, sloths, macaws, butterflies and gekkos would be their neighbors as the couple aged. 'It was definitely impulsive,' the musician told RIJ.

How do Costa Ricans pay for retirement? In San Jose, Alvaro Ramos Chaves (above), the pensions regulator, told RIJ how his nation’s mandatory DB and DC plans work. His insights could inform our own debates.

The next wave of automation in retirement plans will be chatbots--intelligent virtual assistants that both teach and learn from participants. Dream Forward, a startup led by Grant Easterbrook, is seizing the opportunity.