Retired couple
A Visa application website revealed that a third of Brits want to retire abroad when the times comes to pack in work. The top three places to go to are the U.S., Australia and Canada if the visa application process was not a problem.
Global visas investigated 1,521 residents over 40 years of age, all in work and asked about when they intended to retire. 5% wanted to retire as soon as they hit legal retirement age, 24% wanted to retire early and 19% wanted to keep on working indefinitely, or for as long as they were physically able to.
They were then asked, 'Are you looking forward to your retirement?' to which the majority, 49%, said 'yes'. 31% stated that they 'weren't looking forward to it' and 20% said that they were 'indifferent' to their forthcoming retirement.
Some of the participants were not looking forward to their upcoming retirement and the main reason was due to ‘getting older’ which formed a large 44% of the total group. 41% believe that they would lack direction in their lives once they finished work. The 45% that were looking forward to retirement believed that they would embrace the leisure time, as well as the chance to experience new things (34%).
The study then asked 'Would you contemplate retiring abroad?' to which 35% said that 'yes' they would. The remaining 65% maintained that they would be happier retiring in Britain.
For those who were asked about living abroad, they were quizzed on what it was that appealed the most about living away from Britain. The top five were rated as:
1. Sunshine (warmer climate) - 59%
2. Laid back lifestyle - 48%
3. Less populated area - 44%
4. Pleasant surroundings (environment) - 37%
5. Cheaper living standard - 35%
The study then looked at the favourite destinations, asking 'What would be your preferred destination for retiring abroad, if there was no problem obtaining a visa or no restrictions on residency?' which revealed the following top ten. Respondents were allowed to select more than one destination if they would contemplate living in more than one country:
1. U.S - 31%
2. Australia - 27%
3. Canada - 24%
4. Spain - 23%
5. New Zealand - 18%
6. France - 15%
7. Turkey - 12%
8. Portugal - 11%
9. United Arab Emirates - 9%
10. Germany - 8%
Many didn’t want to move abroad simply because they would miss their friends and family too much (61%) and also worried about the culture differences such as language barriers (46%) and 37% didn’t want to have to deal with the upheaval in their lives.
Gary Smith of GlobalVisas.com made the following comment:
“When it comes to retirement, many people want to enjoy sunshine in their sunset years. After years on the hamster wheel of work, it’s time to relax and slow down. This often influences people’s long-term plans."
He continued:
"With the British climate notoriously unpredictable and the economic output seemingly as reliable as the weather, some people see living abroad as the better option. The credit crunch stung a lot of expats living within Europe, which seems to have influenced some people's decisions as the wider world now seems more appealing."