42% of Brits want to live abroad in retirement

Around a third of our clients plan to spend several months abroad during retirement. This will either be living in a property they currently own or are planning to buy, or opting for a long-term rental. The most popular countries are still France and Spain. We tend not to see many clients wanting to relocate abroad full-time. One of the key reasons for this is the desire to stay closer to family, particularly if they have children and grandchildren who they help with childcare, which is becoming increasingly common.

With the limits of regulation, naturally, only a small percentage of our active members live abroad fully. We have seen a growing wish to seriously explore overseas property ownership within retirement and financial plans, spreading time between the UK and overseas and a small percentage, around 10% to 20% currently do that. Before 2022 we had seen a spike in interest to fully move overseas and the most popular destination by far is still Spain, with a few members holding part residency or homes in Portugal too. Of the few that have completely moved, they initially retained a UK base but that eventually went, too, as they realised that they don't want the hassle and the whole point was to move away in the first place.

While some of our clients own holiday homes abroad, with Spain by far the most popular choice, only a small proportion spend extended periods there or fully retire abroad. Whilst the cost of living crisis is felt by everyone, our clients are typically wealthier. Consequently, this has not had a major impact on their retirement plans and certainly not to the extent of forcing them to retire overseas. However, Brexit has had an impact.One client was buying a home in Spain as the referendum result went through and the fall in the pound cost them around £15,000. Also, the Brexit 90 days visiting rules have forced them to become official Spanish residents rather than utilising the previous Freedom of Movement rules.

We have a lot of clients who aspire to live abroad in retirement. Their reasons range from the better weather and more relaxed pace of life, to the lowest cost of living. Without doubt, the rate of inflation over the last 18 months has cemented their ideas and they are now even more rooted in those objectives. Spain is the number one destination for our clients, and although Brexit has put some people off, we are seeing the numbers increase and are told prudent planning is all you need. A lot of our clients also have EU passports, with family links to Ireland, Italy and Poland. Some of our clients move, lock stock, to another country on retirement whilst others opt to let out their UK residence to supplement their income. This will, likely, become less popular, as interest rates are high and money in the bank might be a better option.