Yet another survey finds Spain remains the top choice for U.K. pensioners, but their attention is wandering.
Of the U.K. adults who said they would retire overseas, 50 per cent said they were planning to retire outside Europe, with the U.S. the top choice, according to MGM Advantage, the financial planning company that released the survey. In total, more than 6 million U.K. adults are planning to retire outside their home country, with 3.2 million eager to spend their golden years somewhere other than Europe.
Of those who want to stay on the continent, 26 per cent are targeting Spain, with France the second choice with 17 per cent, followed by Italy at 10 percent.
While none of that is even remotely surprising, the number of respondents who say they are looking to retire outside Europe is certainly interesting. If nothing else, it suggests the world is growing smaller and the competition is increasing to woo pensioners.
The U.S. was the third choice overall by the respondents, followed by Australia, the Far East and Canada.
MGM’s report is based on a survey of 2,028 UK adults over 18, conducted online by Research Plus Ltd. That may not be a great sample size for such a broad issue. And MGM is obviously using the survey to pitch retirement planning services.
But the company did use the release to raise issues that retirees often overlook in their pre-retirement planning. Country variations in cost of living, currency exchange rates and the handling of U.K. pensions can make a huge difference in the financials of retiring abroad.
“If you retired to Canada 10 years ago, your U.K. state pension would now be worth 42 per cent less than if you had retired across the border in the U.S.,” MGM Advantage notes. “Or put another way, your pension would be worth £1742 more a year by simply choosing the US as a retirement destination rather than Canada.”
Neil D says:
Retirement to the USA, unless you are an American citizen, or have immediate American family that can sponsor you is pretty much impossible. And healthcare is fantastically high… and you would be ineligible for Obamacare. America is expensive to retire to, even if you are American. I can’t imagine either Austraila or Canada rolling out the red carpet to retirees either, both countries have increasingly strict immigration rules, even if you have family already there.
Phil says:
Neil is absolutely correct, why this company even talks of retirement to the USA for Brits is pie in the sky. Even if you own a home in the US, I believe you can only stay for a max. of 90 days, and then you can’t keep leaving and going back in any one year. High home ownership costs too in the US.
Of the Brits we know considering retiring abroad, most seem to be heading for France now, but then we’re not a million miles away from ferries to France. It seems a lot less hassle loading the car up and driving to France, Spain then seems an awful long way to drive as we’ve experienced several times.
katy says:
Yes, the fact that the USA came high demonstrates the survey is useless and just a tool to get some PR for the company. The fact is that the majority of people don’t retire anywhere, preferring to live close to friends and family.
Bryan Jackson says:
Totally agree ……what a pointless piece of ‘journalism’ …unless as said it’s so tool to get PR