Where should I retire?
Discussion
Looking for advice or direction of any sort. Currently late 50s and enjoying my role but probably hope to retire in about 5 years time. I currently work in Luxembourg for a very large multinational and could potentially work almost anywhere in the world. I've moved a lot in my career, mostly in the UK and various parts of Europe but also briefly further afield. I have a comfortable amount of savings and will pay off my mortgage next year.
My question is where I should choose to be when I stop working and retire (and rest assured I'll take some professional advice somewhere before taking any really significant decisions). I'll probably go elsewhere again to live when I retire but AIUI my pension would be paid by the country where I last worked. I understand that anywhere in the EU would consider the years that I paid into the UK in calculating my years worked but I can't find anywhere a tool that compares between countries. Pretty sure that the UK doesn't make much sense as i don't have enough to build a large pension pot that might compensate for whatever else I could get in the EU somewhere. Left field option would just to go work a few years somewhere that pays a lot and just invest the cash as most national retirement options aren't really that amazing.
My question is where I should choose to be when I stop working and retire (and rest assured I'll take some professional advice somewhere before taking any really significant decisions). I'll probably go elsewhere again to live when I retire but AIUI my pension would be paid by the country where I last worked. I understand that anywhere in the EU would consider the years that I paid into the UK in calculating my years worked but I can't find anywhere a tool that compares between countries. Pretty sure that the UK doesn't make much sense as i don't have enough to build a large pension pot that might compensate for whatever else I could get in the EU somewhere. Left field option would just to go work a few years somewhere that pays a lot and just invest the cash as most national retirement options aren't really that amazing.
zbc said:
Looking for advice or direction of any sort. Currently late 50s and enjoying my role but probably hope to retire in about 5 years time. I currently work in Luxembourg for a very large multinational and could potentially work almost anywhere in the world. I've moved a lot in my career, mostly in the UK and various parts of Europe but also briefly further afield. I have a comfortable amount of savings and will pay off my mortgage next year.
My question is where I should choose to be when I stop working and retire (and rest assured I'll take some professional advice somewhere before taking any really significant decisions). I'll probably go elsewhere again to live when I retire but AIUI my pension would be paid by the country where I last worked. I understand that anywhere in the EU would consider the years that I paid into the UK in calculating my years worked but I can't find anywhere a tool that compares between countries. Pretty sure that the UK doesn't make much sense as i don't have enough to build a large pension pot that might compensate for whatever else I could get in the EU somewhere. Left field option would just to go work a few years somewhere that pays a lot and just invest the cash as most national retirement options aren't really that amazing.
I'm a bit confused - you say savings, but not pension pot, but also large multinational (that presumably comes with a pension component) My question is where I should choose to be when I stop working and retire (and rest assured I'll take some professional advice somewhere before taking any really significant decisions). I'll probably go elsewhere again to live when I retire but AIUI my pension would be paid by the country where I last worked. I understand that anywhere in the EU would consider the years that I paid into the UK in calculating my years worked but I can't find anywhere a tool that compares between countries. Pretty sure that the UK doesn't make much sense as i don't have enough to build a large pension pot that might compensate for whatever else I could get in the EU somewhere. Left field option would just to go work a few years somewhere that pays a lot and just invest the cash as most national retirement options aren't really that amazing.
- Have you any UK DC or DB pensions that you are going to take?
- And have you any non UK pension-like provision?
- And do you have the 35 years UK NI contributions required to get the UK state pension
It would help if you told us what nationality status you have - UK citizen?
If UK citizen and want to enjoy the benefits of NHS healthcare and decent weather then Gibraltar would be my call albeit you don't get much for your money property wise. Also I believe they've just put a hold on automatic residency permits.
If UK citizen and want to enjoy the benefits of NHS healthcare and decent weather then Gibraltar would be my call albeit you don't get much for your money property wise. Also I believe they've just put a hold on automatic residency permits.
I think the OP is referring to this:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/retire-...
Likely there are a large amount of variables to consider, not just the pension amount itself. Healthcare, tax, property costs etc. It sounds like it might be a bit of a headache to calculate, so agree that you might want to draw up a shortlist of countries you'd like to live in based on other factors first such as climate, culture, food, language, tax, etc.
I'd have a good search on youtube, it is great for stuff like this e.g. start here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8tgnp4v5IY
But once you watch a couple the algorithm will suggest loads more.
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/retire-...
Likely there are a large amount of variables to consider, not just the pension amount itself. Healthcare, tax, property costs etc. It sounds like it might be a bit of a headache to calculate, so agree that you might want to draw up a shortlist of countries you'd like to live in based on other factors first such as climate, culture, food, language, tax, etc.
I'd have a good search on youtube, it is great for stuff like this e.g. start here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8tgnp4v5IY
But once you watch a couple the algorithm will suggest loads more.
You are in a great situation to make a decision without restrictions - the mortgage is virtually paid off, you have some reasonable savings and you are free to live literally anywhere. Your pension will be payable from each of the countries where you paid into a pension, not necessarily the country where you retire. And, your UK + EU years of service can be counted together for eligibility, which is advantageous.
Because there is not exactly a comparison tool, most people in your circumstance gravitate towards making a lifestyle, tax efficiency and health care access decisions. To be honest, if you like the work you do, undertaking one last high-earning time somewhere will give you even more flexibility.
Because there is not exactly a comparison tool, most people in your circumstance gravitate towards making a lifestyle, tax efficiency and health care access decisions. To be honest, if you like the work you do, undertaking one last high-earning time somewhere will give you even more flexibility.
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