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Cyprus' shores lure retiring Brits

25th July 2008 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

The credit crunch is a unyielding term striking fear into the hearts of many Brits who are struggling with the rising cost of living in the UK, not least those people who are in their twilight years and (supposed to be) enjoying those carefree days of life after work. In fact, the economic situation could certainly be helping the fortunes of overseas property investors as there is now another big attraction to life by a foreign beach - apart from the glistening sands and sultry sun - it's cheaper than living anywhere in Blighty.

This attraction has not been missed by property expert Rhiannon Davies. Ms Davies is the director of Shelter Offshore and has observed the growing trend of Britain's retirees leaving their homeland and jetting off to warmer climes. According to Ms Davies "fiscal fundamentals" are certainly a reason why many European countries are becoming increasingly attractive to those keen to enjoy their autumnal years. "Yes, the rising cost of living in the UK is a massive contributory factor - but it is really only becoming a significant factor now," she said.

Ms Davies pointed out that Cyprus, the beautiful Mediterranean haven, is a popular destination for older expatriates - and the reason is fairly simple. Pensioners living in Cyprus are taxed "far less" than those in the UK, she remarked, adding: "Now that inflation is spiralling and the very real cost of existing day to day has reached levels at which working people are finding things difficult to deal with, just imagine how tough things are for pensioners living on a fixed income."

Any initial misgivings that the grey pound may not offer overseas property investors a growing market should be dismissed, although pensioners may not live as long as other Brits buying property abroad they are certainly increasing in number. The Quality of Life Report from NatWest International Personal Banking recently predicted that the number of people who will retire abroad is set to rise from 1.8 million in 2025 to 3.3 million in 2050.

And these figures are hardly surprising when you add them to the other results of this survey. A fairly comprehensive vote of confidence was given to the concept of retiring abroad by those questioned by NatWest as 91 per cent said they are happier abroad than when they were in the UK, while 87 per cent explained that their new start in a foreign country has turned out better than they expected. In fact, 99 per cent of respondents to the bank's poll admitted that they had no regrets about the move. Clearly, it seems that pensioners are ditching the UK for countries that offer year-round sunshine and cheaper living costs - and they're not looking back.

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