Greece and Cyprus are included in the ten most affordable destinations, internationally, for settlement after retirement, according to research by the British insurance company, REASSURED (www.reasured.co.uk/most-affordable-countries-to-retire- to/).

As stated in an informative document of our embassy in Cyprus, the company in question gathered six parameters that most retirees take into account when considering the prospect of moving abroad. These parameters include: the country’s annual level of sunshine, average life expectancy, cost of living index, average cost of living, average cost of transportation and the percentage of the total population aged over 65.

According to the publication of the relevant research, Greece ranks first and Cyprus ranks seventh. It is noted that due to the high cost of living in the United Kingdom, many Britons intend to move abroad after their retirement, while this research, according to REASSURED’s Director of Corporate Strategy, Phil Jeynes, aims to identify destinations that they can choose pensioners, saving part of their income.

In particular, as mentioned, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia and Cyprus are equal in the category for average life expectancy, in fifth place, with 81 years, behind Japan with 85 years, Malta with 83 years and Spain and Italy with 82 years, while the percentage of the population over 65 is 14% (relatively low compared to the rest of the countries). The annual sunshine in Cyprus amounts to 3,314 hours and is the longest among the top ten countries. In addition, the average cost of accommodation amounted to 598.78 pounds sterling (about 677 euros), which is the highest average, as shown in the relevant table, while the cost of living index reached 55.9 and was among the lowest in the Mediterranean (5th place in the top ten). The average cost of transport in Cyprus is 35.38 pounds sterling (about 40 euros), ranking in third place with Portugal and Spain. The country’s overall score was 6,358, ranking it the seventh most attractive place to settle in retirement.

From the rest of the countries in the top ten, our country ranked first with a total score of 6,806, with an average life expectancy of 81 years (5th place), percentage of population over 65 at 23% (2nd place) together with Portugal , 2,773 hours of annual sunshine (9th place), while the average cost of living is £307.66 (about €347), making it the second cheapest country in the top ten after Albania. The cost of living index rose to 54.6 for Greece (6th place), while the average cost of transport is 26.68 Sterling (about 30 Euros), ranking the country in terms of cost in the 6th place of the top ten.

The ten most accessible countries, with which both Cyprus and our country compete for attracting pensioners, are completed by Portugal in second place with a total score of 6.712, Malta in third place with 6.689, Italy in fourth place with a score 6.482 and Spain in fifth with 6.467, Cuba in sixth with 6.366, Cyprus with 6.358 in seventh, Japan in eighth with 6.288, Albania in ninth with 6.272 and lastly Puerto Rico with 6.264.

The lowest life expectancy was recorded in Bulgaria, Romania, Morocco and Algeria, which also had the lowest percentage of population over 65 at 6%. Algeria also records the lowest average cost of living at £87.19 (about €98.5), the lowest cost of living index of 27.6 as well as the lowest average transport cost of £7.20 (about €8.1).