A new study from Shepherds Friendly has revealed how much it costs to live in the happiest cities around the world throughout your retirement years, as well as the best cities in Europe for retirement overall.
Retirement is an exciting chapter in our lives with many of us planning an escape to a whole new country. But have you ever wondered just how much it costs to retire comfortably abroad?
New research from Shepherds Friendly’s Over 50s Life Insurance team has revealed just how much it costs to live throughout your retirement years around the world, as well as the best cities for retiring in Europe overall, analysing property prices, monthly cost of living, happiness rates, life expectancy and travel time back home to the UK.
Zurich is the most expensive city in the world to retire in where you’d need an estimated £322,565
To determine the average length of retirement, we compared the UK’s retirement age, which is currently 66 for both men and women, against each country’s life expectancy. Looking at average monthly living costs, we’ve then calculated just how much it costs to live in retirement in cities around the world.
Zurich is the most expensive city for retirement in our total ranking, with a high average monthly cost of living rate of £1,473 per person, which totals a staggering £322,565 across a retirement length of just over 18 years. Meanwhile, Reykjavik comes in second place and Brisbane comes in third.
Total is based on current cost of living prices and average life span in the respective country. Provisions should be made for rising prices and a longer than average lifespan. Estimated cost of living during the total years spend in retirement is irrespective of housing costs.
It would cost £175,000 in total to retire in the happiest city in the world
With Helsinki reported to be the happiest city in the world, the research reveals that it would cost around £174,848 to live here throughout the average duration of retirement, with an average monthly living cost of just under £885 per person.
Meanwhile, the most affordable city to retire in out of the top 10 is Wellington, which is also the second happiest city in the world, where it would cost around £167,000 on average. Based on the overall ranking, Bogota in Colombia is the cheapest happy city to retire in with a total retirement cost of £48,173 across a 12 year span on average.
Derence Lee, Shepherds Friendly Chief Finance Officer said, “Whilst retirement can seem like a long way off for some, it’s never too early to start planning ahead. Saving into a pension scheme is important for this, however it’s also beneficial to consider how your personal savings outside of this can be used to achieve a comfortable retirement.
“Making use of your yearly ISA allowance is a great way to help you grow your personal savings for the future without having to pay tax on returns. For example, stocks and shares ISAs are especially useful for helping you to build your savings up over time through investment, so you can retire with an even healthier nest egg.”
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