Dubai is the 14th-best city in the world for retirees

Emirate ranks first globally for financial security and legacy management of retirees, study finds

Tokyo ranked as the best global city to retire in a new retirement index compiled by Veolar. Ryo Yoshitake/ Unsplash

Wellington, New Zealand, was ranked as the second best global city to retire. Leyvaine Davids/ Unsplash

Singapore ranked third and scored well in the categories of legacy management and quality of public transport. Kirill Petropavlov/ Unsplash

Paris is the fourth best city to retire and scored well in the liveability sub-index, driven by its museums and restaurants. Leonard Cotte/ Unsplash

Vienna ranked fifth globally for offering the best retirement living standards for senior people. Jacek Dylag/ Unsplash

Zurich, in sixth position, ranked high for safety and quality of health care. Henrique Ferreira/ Unsplash

Copenhagen was ranked seventh, driven by its safety, mobility and accessibility to health care. Nick Karvounis/ Unsplash

Amsterdam is the eighth best city to retire globally, Veolar said. Adrien Olichon/ Unsplash

Osaka in Japan placed ninth, earning high scores in the quality and accessibility of health care and health longevity sub-indices. Ramon Kagie/ Unsplash

Lausanne in Switzerland is the 10th best city globally in terms of retirement living standards, the index showed. Mark de Jong/ Unsplash

Dubai has been ranked the 14th-best city in the world in terms of living standards for retirees and first globally for financial security and legacy management, according to a survey.

Tokyo topped the table and Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, ranked second in The Best Cities for Retirement Index, according to medical company Veolar, which conducted the study in partnership with Magmatic Research.

The study considered factors such as quality of healthcare services, financial security, wealth management benefits available to retirees, mobility, connectivity, safety and availability of housing, among others.

“People’s decision to relocate for retirement is often driven by societal factors like safety, financial security and access to healthcare,” Dmitrijs Sabanovs, director of Veolar, said on Thursday.

“This fact is understood by many national governments who are trying to attract retirees from around the world to relocate to their country. Specific visas for retirees, as can be seen in the UAE, Panama, Portugal, Thailand and Mexico, incentivise people to make the switch.”

Dubai rolled out its retiree visa in 2020, which allows residents and citizens from around the world to live in the emirate if they fulfil one of three requirements: earn a monthly income of Dh20,000 ($5,445); have Dh1 million in cash savings; or own a property in Dubai worth at least Dh2m.

A retired expatriate and their spouse can apply for the five-year visa with the possibility of automatic renewal online, provided they continue to meet the criteria. Eligible applicants must be older than 55 and have valid UAE health insurance.

Dubai’s retirement initiative is similar to programmes in the Caribbean and in European countries such as the UK, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Malta, whose citizenship-by-investment programmes are sought after by affluent retirees.

Meanwhile, Singapore was ranked third in the Veolar survey, followed by Paris in fourth place and Vienna in fifth. Zurich, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Osaka and Lausanne round out the top 10.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a growing urgency among people who wish to migrate to or retire in these destinations, say agencies that help applicants with global residency programmes.

“The pandemic years have been extremely hard on everyone, but especially hard on retirees,” Mr Sabanovs said.

“Now, as many countries begin to emerge from pandemic restrictions and normal life returns, retirees are being faced with rampant inflation that risks eating into their savings and reducing their quality of life.”

Abu Dhabi ranked 51st in the list of cities that offer good living conditions for retirees, while the UAE’s capital city placed fourth globally in terms of financial security and legacy management, Veolar said.

Retirement age in different countries — in pictures

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Great Britain's state pension age is 65, with plans to raise it to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046.

Budapest, Hungary. The general retirement age is 64, but Hungary plans to raise the age to 65 by 2022. Getty

Ibiza, Spain. Retirement with pension is possible from 65 years if 36-and-a-half years of social security contributions are paid. Citizens can retire two years before state pension age as long as they have at least 33 years of contributions. AFP

Stockholm, Sweden. The retirement age in Norway, Sweden and Finland is flexible, with citizens able to take out their pension within a certain age range. In Sweden that range is 61 to 67 years with plans to increase the range to 63-69 by 2023. Getty

Sydney, Australia. The pension-eligible retirement age is rising on the continent from 66 now to 67 by 2023. Alamy

Toronto, Canada. Canadians can apply for and receive a full retirement pension at age 65 or receive it as early as age 60 with a reduction, or as late as age 70 with an increase. An outlier, the government has no plan in place to raise the retirement age. Getty

Iceland's Arctic Coast Way. The normal pension age for Icelanders is 67, which can be received in full with 40 years’ residency. Courtesy Lonely Planet

Honshu, Japan. Japan requires companies to allow employees to work until 65 but in practice most companies set a mandatory retirement age at 60, with an option of further five years’ work on reduced pay. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is working to increase the retirement age to 70 amid a labour crunch and ballooning pension costs, Reuters reported in April. Getty

Tromso, Norway. Norwegians can retire with a pension at 67. Pixabay

St Petersburg, Russia. For pension benefits, Russian men can retire at 60-and-a-half and women at 55-and-a-half, with the country aiming to extend the limit to 65 and 60 by 2028 for men and women, respectively. Getty

New York City, USA. American retirement age to receive Social Security - the national pension programme - is 66 for both men and women, set to go up to 67 by 2027. Getty

Singapore ranked the second best city for financial security and legacy management for retirees, followed by Wellington in third place and Vienna in fifth.

Meanwhile, Doha ranked 70th and Riyadh 84th in the global retirement index. Aside from London, cities in Europe and Australia dominated the top 20 rankings.

Dubai also topped the retirement index in the Middle East and Africa. Other cities in the region considered ideal for retirement include Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Muscat, the study found.

Top 15 cities to retire

1. Tokyo (Japan)
2. Wellington (New Zealand)
3. Singapore
4. Paris (France)
5. Vienna (Austria)
6. Zurich (Switzerland)
7. Copenhagen (Denmark)
8. Amsterdam (Netherlands)
9. Osaka (Japan)
10. Lausanne (Switzerland)
11. Oslo
12. London
13. Helsinki
14. Dubai
15. Madrid