Portugal is the 7th best country in Europe to retire

 In News, Relocating, Retirement

Portugal is the 7th best European destination in which to retire according to a report by Blacktower Financial Management Group.

With a final result of 3.62, Portugal trails behind Denmark (3.63), Italy (3.65), Holland (3.69), Slovenia and Spain (3.7) and Finland (3.83) — the last being the best country for retirees.
The ranking is based on a number of social indictors such as crime levels, the cost of living, the percentage of the population over 65 years, the average price of a house and average life expectancy. To each index value is attributed a result from 0 to 100, and then a final value is awarded from 1-5.
In the case of Portugal, the country came 14th from among European countries, while in terms of life expectancy it was 17th.
The country fared far worse in terms of the cost of living where it came 36 (only surpassed by Italy which cost more), and in the percentage of the population which is over 65, where it came 30th.
The study also makes some honourable mentions to countries like Serbia, the country with the lowest average cost of living per household; Italy, the country with the largest over 65 population, Switzerland with the highest average life expectancy, and Ukraine where the cost of living is lower than in other European countries.
Compared with last year’s results, Portugal fell one position in the ranking, overtaken by Denmark which now occupies sixth position.
At the time, Portugal did well because of its low crime rate, but fell down on the average cost of living and the price of housing.
Up until March 2021, Portugal did not charge IRS on overseas retirees with pensions, but a bill from the ruling PS party in 2019 to change the State Budget in 2020 on this point led to the adoption of a 10% tax on overseas pensions.
The measure did not just affect overseas citizens, it was also applied to emigre Portuguese who returned to Portugal with overseas pensions.
The ‘Annual Statistics Report – Indicators of Immigrant Integration 2020’ emphasised the relevance of the increasing importance of residency visas granted to pensioners which in recent years have “represented more than double the amount of visas issued to highly qualified professionals.”
In 2020 10,580 retired overseas citizens came to Portugal to live.