Best / cheapest / most tax efficient country to retire to?

Newnoel

Hello

I am currently in my mid-40s and looking to retire in 10-12 years time. My pension pot by then will be in excess of LTA - estimating £2m total pot. Couple of BTL properties, which will be paid off in the next 5 years.

I dont particularly fancy spending the next 40 years in a cold and grey post-Brexit UK, and dont want something chavvy like the south of Spain

Portugal offers some good tax incentives to retirees, and a great cost of living while its only 2 hours flight to the UK. Some lovely inland areas north of Lisbon

Are there any other southern European destinations that are worth considering?

dunstonh

Best / cheapest / most tax efficient country to retire to?

I'm not sure those three things work together. Everything is always a compromise based on objectives.

Johnnyboy11

Look to Asia: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philipines.


Great weather, rapidly growing economies, excellent healthcare, and incredibly cheap all round.

Spreadsheetman

See Retirement Investing Today's blog at http://www.retirementinvestingtoday.com/ - lots of discussion of where to move to (I think it came down to Cypress vs. Spain and Cypress won).

cfw1994

dunstonh wrote: »

I'm not sure those three things work together. Everything is always a compromise based on objectives.

I'd agree with this: one priority I have is to be able to spend time with good friends: they will likely be in cold & grey post-Brexit Britain, so likely I will remain based here...
..but with a fund as decent as yours, I think I'd be able to skip the greyest of the weather with some decent long-term travel trips too!

You make it sound like the weather is the worst thing about Britain: I can't think of anything massively more depressing than planning to up sticks entirely and move 'permanently' to some distant land, away from family & friends!
I actually like the UK seasons. Crisp winter days, bright spring mornings & balmy summer afternoons are great. I guess I would perhaps head abroad to skip the wettest ones, but I wouldn't feel the need to emigrate for them

kidmugsy

Newnoel wrote: »

I dont particularly fancy spending the next 40 years in a cold and grey post-Brexit UK

The only reason that a post-Brexit UK will be colder and greyer is that we shall all shortly be entering a Little Ice Age. On the other hand the country will feel sunnier by virtue of your departure.

Thrugelmir

Johnnyboy11 wrote: »

Look to Asia: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philipines.

Still plenty of grey skies in the course of the year. The humidity isn't to everybody's liking either.

qwert_yuiop

Spreadsheetman wrote: »

See Retirement Investing Today's blog at http://www.retirementinvestingtoday.com/ - lots of discussion of where to move to (I think it came down to Cypress vs. Spain and Cypress won).

My neighbour has a big cypress. I don’t like the way it shades my garden. I’d like to see it come down.

qwert_yuiop

cfw1994 wrote: »

I'd agree with this: one priority I have is to be able to spend time with good friends: they will likely be in cold & grey post-Brexit Britain, so likely I will remain based here...
..but with a fund as decent as yours, I think I'd be able to skip the greyest of the weather with some decent long-term travel trips too!

You make it sound like the weather is the worst thing about Britain: I can't think of anything massively more depressing than planning to up sticks entirely and move 'permanently' to some distant land, away from family & friends!
I actually like the UK seasons. Crisp winter days, bright spring mornings & balmy summer afternoons are great. I guess I would perhaps head abroad to skip the wettest ones, but I wouldn't feel the need to emigrate for them

I often find these supposedly gorgeous countries are just too hot. As do the locals - everyone in Madrid who can tries to get to the north coast for the summer, for instance.

Mutton_Geoff

Newnoel wrote: »

I am currently in my mid-40s and looking to retire in 10-12 years time. My pension pot by then will be in excess of LTA - estimating £2m total pot. Couple of BTL properties, which will be paid off in the next 5 years.

I dont particularly fancy spending the next 40 years in a cold and grey post-Brexit UK, and dont want something chavvy like the south of Spain

Portugal offers some good tax incentives to retirees, and a great cost of living while its only 2 hours flight to the UK. Some lovely inland areas north of Lisbon

Are there any other southern European destinations that are worth considering?

I think you are a decade away from making that decision. And if you don't fancy the UK that much, why retire so close to it?

Johnnyboy11 wrote: »

Look to Asia: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philipines. Great weather, rapidly growing economies, excellent healthcare, and incredibly cheap all round.

Healthcare comes at a price. Decent hospitals are few and far between. Malaysia has a "My Second Home" programme for retirees but having travelled extensively around almost all of these countries, they are not the places I'd want to retire to. Plenty of You Tube videos on why not and how the moneyed expat will be taken advantage of in these places.