Thailand the intended retirement destination of 5 percent of UK expats

A recent survey by Alliance & Leicester International has revealed that just 12 percent of British expats are intending to retire in their homeland, with Thailand being the preferred choice of an additional 5 percent in total.

The survey shows that UK expats are shying away from spending their golden years at home, with France the most popular destination at 18 percent ahead of Spain (13 percent) and Britain. In spite of the clear intent to retire abroad, the need to be close to family and friends, and presumably to local history and culture, a high number (57 percent) of those surveyed interned to remain in Europe during their retirement. 10 percent of expats surveyed claimed being away from friends and family as the main barrier to retiring outside of Britain.

Farther abroad, Thailand, the United States (4 percent) and New Zealand (3 percent) are all popular retiree destinations.

Financing retirement is planned through various means with personal savings (27 percent) being the understandable option although the State Pension and private pensions also contribute highly at 23 percent and 20 percent respectively. Property derived income is also crucial for many as 6 percent of retiring expats will rely on rental incomes while an additional 6 percent intend to sell their residential investments to fund their retirement, with a further 2 percent saying they aimed to take on some form of equity release plan.

The main reasons for choosing a retirement destination were quality of life (21 percent), better weather (20 percent) and value for money (14 percent).