World’s best retirement spots in 2013

**The 2013 Global Retirement Index has been released. You can read that article here.**

In the States today, the discussion about retirement orbits around how much less of it we’re all going to have. While the cost of everything from healthcare to food swells… incomes, pensions and nest eggs erode, leaving baby boomers fewer and fewer options for retirement at home.

Cheaper and more convenient air travel has made the world smaller – so you no longer need to say farewell to your family forever if you relocate overseas. But taxes do not end at Dover and pensioners on a fixed income need to be sure that all the financial aspects of becoming an expatriate have been taken into consideration.

With these pros and cons in mind, Castle Cover – insurance specialists for the over-fifties – researched retirement prospects in 23 countries to identify the 10 top places to retire overseas. Factors taken into account included house prices, health care costs, average temperature, rainfall and hours of sunshine – as well as grocery bills, crime rates and taxation.
Obviously, personal preference and family ties will affect which location appeals most, but here are Castle’s top 10 countries to retire overseas.

Malta
As one of the smallest states in the world, Malta is also one of the most densely populated countries on earth – for good reason, too. With more than 3,100 hours of sunshine a year, an average temperature of 19C and English as a first language for most people, it’s no surprise that many Britons flock to the Mediterranean archipelago. An interest in history would help residents here, but its small size could become a problem over the longer term

Portugal
Forming one quarter of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal is famed for its rich history, good health care and wonderful weather. Sharing time zones with the UK, pensioners will also find it remarkably cheap to live here. For example, it’s around three times cheaper to buy property in Portugal than in France. It also has the third largest European expat community after Spain and France.

Spain
Despite rising numbers of Britons returning from Spain because of falling house prices, planning permission disputes and currency fluctuations, this country has the largest expat community in Europe as well as the lowest crime rate of all countries surveyed. With beautiful cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, the rolling countryside of Catalonia, historic Unesco-protected areas like Toledo and islands including Tenerife, Ibiza and Menorca, there’s plenty of choice – but also plenty of places to avoid; such as half-empty coastal developments which may never sell.