Considering your retirement? If so, you might want to reconsider any thought you had given to doing so in Spain.
According to a recent survey, Spain is one of the worst countries in the world to retire in, ranked below improbable destinations such as China and Mexico.
The list, compiled by Natixis Investment Managers found that of 44 countries, Spain was ranked a disappointing 39th, only managing to beat countries such as Russia, Colombia and India.
The study took into consideration retirement funds, material wellbeing, health and quality of life as it gave respondents the opportunity to rate countries from 0-100 based on 18 parameters.
Javier Garcia de Vinuesa, the Iberian lead for Natixis, says the results should be a wake up call for Spain.
He said: “We must be aware of the ageing population in Spain and the impact of this on the sustainability of the pension system.
“Taking this into account, we must take responsibility ourselves to guarantee financial security in retirement.”
It is not all doom and gloom for the country, with Spain scoring in the top 20 for health and quality of life.
But it wasn’t enough for it to claw its way up the charts, as poor responses in areas such as material wellbeing and retirement fundings dragging it down the table.
The best place to retire according to the study was Switzerland, closely followed by Norway, who achieved a score of 82 and 81 percent respectively.
Spain has long been a popular retirement destination for many Brits, drawn to the country by its hot weather and vibrant expat communities.
According to immigration observatory data, over 412,000 Brits currently live in Spain, with expat communities in areas such as Benidorm, the Costa Del Sol and Majorca establishing themselves as a popular place to live for retirees.
But as temperatures rise, property prices increase and anti-tourist sentiments grow, there is potential that the lure of Spain for British retirees could be on the wane.