Portugal is no haven for retirees

A new study of 43 countries that assesses the quality of life for their pensioners has placed Portugal 34th, showing the nation’s retirees enjoy far from golden years.

Portugal has done a good job in attracting foreigners by pitching itself as a sun-kissed destination for a long and happy retirement but the Natixis report shows the weather possibly is the only benefit for the nation’s retired population compared to most of the other countries surveyed.

According to the overall Global Retirement Index conducted by Natixis Global Asset Management, of 43 countries, Portugal is way down the list which is led by Norway with one of the highest GDPs in the world.

On a scale from 0 to 100%, Norway scores 90% or above in three indices: health, quality of life and material well-being. The overall retiree score is 86%, slightly above the 84% score in Switzerland.

Third is Iceland, followed closely by New Zealand, in fact you have to drop to 7th place before there is an EU member country, Germany.

Eighth is the Netherlands, followed by Austria, Canada and Finland. Denmark is in twelfth, followed by Luxembourg and the United States of America.

Ireland is in the sixteenth position, followed by a grey, Brexit UK. Surprisingly perhaps, France comes in at number 20 but Portugal’s 34th place is only just ahead of Mexico, Cyprus, Spain, China, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Greece and India.

In the case of Portugal, the health indicator scores 74%, retiree finance scores just 61%, the quality of life scores 48% and material well-being a depressing 45%.

Where Portugal does score well is for foreign retirees with northern European pensions living happily in the southern sun, isolated from their local peers by wealth, language and lifestyle.

As an underdeveloped economy, Portugal does not have the financial resources to treat its pensioner generously, unless they worked for the State machine where unsustainable pensions have been the norm for generations.

Many Portuguese retirees are dependent on food banks, local social services such as they are, and the generosity of neighbours. Electricity and gas prices are the highest in Europe when compared to income, and water costs can be prohibitive for elderly who get by without service supplies.

With an overall cost of living in the EU mid-range it perhaps is not surprising the country scores low when the physical, financial and social needs of its retirees are assessed.

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