Three million will Leave Britain to Retire Abroad

June 20th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under


Spanish HouseMore than three million British pensioners will have left the UK and be living abroad by the year 2050. The number of expatriate pensioners is expected to soar to one in five in a phenomenon researchers have named “silver flight”.

In 1981, just a quarter of a million British pensioners lived overseas. Numbers have now swollen to more than one million. Sunshine is the biggest lure, with a third of respondants giving it as their reason for leaving. A new notion of retirement as a beginning in life, rather than an end was also given as a reason for moving.

Brits Abroad, published by the Institute for Public Policy Research, found that Australia is the most popular country among expatriate pensioners, with 245,000 – nearly one in four – living there. Other popular destinations are North America, with 190,000 expatriates of pension age; Ireland, with 105,000; and Spain, with 75,000.

Danny Sriskandarajah, IPPR Director, said, “more people are moving from country to country: to study, to work and increasingly to enjoy their retirement. This ’silver flight’ is the result of more Brits being increasingly willing and able to spend their retirement in Adelaide than Accrington.

“But it’s not fun in the sun for every British pensioner abroad. Our research shows that some find it difficult to adjust to life overseas and struggle to access healthcare or find themselves lonely without local language skills. Not every Brit enjoys their retirement in Benidorm more than they would have if they’d stayed in Bournemouth.”

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