The places most prepared for retirement around the world

Everybody should be trying to prepare for retirement, regardless of how long or short their career has been. For the majority of people the city and country in which they live will have a large impact on their lifestyle once they reach retirement age.

A new study by Audley Villages reveals the city in which people are most prepared for retirement. By looking into a variety of metrics, including retirement age, government pension initiatives and health grade of the 37 OECD countries and capital cities, the luxury retirement village developer reveals how retirement planning varies around the world.

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STUDY REVEALS SPAIN IS THE COUNTRY WHERE CITIZENS ARE MOST PREPARED FOR RETIREMENT

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Retirement Readiness -Image 2

Coming in first place, people living in Spain will enjoy the second longest retirement of 22 years on average. Spain has one of the youngest retirement ages at 61 years, yet a long life expectancy of nearly 84 years on average. The country is also in the top 10 when it comes to pensions, with the average pension being 83.4% of a person’s pre-retirement earnings. Spain also boasts the highest health grade - a metric that looks into health risks, availability of clean water, malnutrition and causes of death - meaning retirees are assured they will be looked after as they grow older.

Greece, in second place, has the second lowest retirement age at 60, meaning those planning to retire can expect nearly 22 years of retirement living. The country doesn’t score very well when it comes to financial aid however, with a lower pension offering than many other countries at just 51.1% of pre-retirement earning. A low cost of living and the highest number of GP’s per 1,000 population helps the country take the second place.

Third placed Austria also boasts the fourth highest pension offering, at 89.9% of an individual's pre-retirement earnings. With the average retirement being nearly 20 years long, Austrians are well prepared when it comes to saying farewell to their working days.

Country	Overall Ranking	Average Retirement Age	Average Life Expectancy	Pension % of pre-retirement earnings	Average annual investment rates of return of retirement savings plans	Health Grade	Number of doctors per 1,000 population
Spain	1	61.7	83.99	83.4	2.6	92.75	4.02
Greece	2	60.85	82.8	51.1	5.1	82.29	6.3
Austria	3	62.15	82.05	89.9	3.4	86.3	5.24
Italy	4	62.4	84.01	91.8	2.3	91.59	4.02
Luxembourg	5	60.9	82.79	90.1	2.5	87.39	2.98
Netherlands	6	63.85	82.78	80.2	6.3	85.86	3.61
Belgium	7	61.05	82.17	66.2	5.1	80.46	3.13
Norway	8	65.1	82.94	51.6	5.4	89.09	4.93
France	9	60.8	83.13	73.6	N/A	86.94	3.37
Portugal	10	66.95	82.65	89.6	3	83.1	5.12
Slovenia	11	61.6	81.85	57.5	4.2	82.72	3.18
Finland	12	63.85	82.48	64.2	5.4	85.89	3.81
Australia	13	64.8	83.94	41	7.7	89.75	3.75
Germany	14	63.8	81.88	51.9	3.5	83.06	4.31
Canada	15	64.75	82.69	50.7	6.5	85.7	2.8
Iceland	16	67	83.52	69.8	7.5	91.44	3.93
Denmark	17	63.8	81.4	70.9	4.7	82.69	4.19
Ireland	18	64.85	82.81	35.9	6.5	84.06	3.34
Czech Republic	19	62.25	79.85	60.3	0.9	77.59	4.04
Hungary	20	61.7	77.31	84.3	5.1	64.43	3.38
Sweden	21	65.9	83.33	53.4	N/A	90.24	4.27
Switzerland	22	65.7	84.25	44.3	3.8	90.93	4.34
Turkey	23	65.6	78.45	93.8	10.9	62.81	1.88
Poland	24	61.7	79.27	35.1	1.6	70.25	2.38
United Kingdom	25	64.15	81.77	28.4	N/A	84.28	2.95
Israel	26	67.7	83.49	57.8	5.2	88.15	3.22
Estonia	27	65.6	79.18	53.1	2.9	73.32	3.48
New Zealand	28	68.1	82.8	42.8	N/A	85.06	3.35
United States	29	67.2	79.11	49.4	4	73.02	2.61
Japan	30	69.95	85.03	36.8	N/A	91.38	2.49
Lithuania	31	63.65	76.41	31	3.7	N/A	4.6
Chile	32	68.35	80.74	37.3	6.9	73.21	2.59
Mexico	33	68.9	75.41	28.6	5	62.09	2.44
Latvia	34	65.2	75.73	54.3	2.4	N/A	3.3
South Korea	35	N/A	83.5	43.4	N/A	85.41	2.39
Colombia	36	65.9	77.87	N/A	8	N/A	2.18
Slovakia	37	N/A	78	65.1	N/A	N/A	3.52

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VIENNA IS THE CITY SECOND MOST PREPARED FOR RETIREMENT

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Madrid takes the crown as the city in which retirees are most prepared for their retirement. Despite Greece beating Austria in the overall countries ranking, Vienna beats Athens to second place when looking at city specific metrics. Cheaper property prices and a better savings regime helps boost Vienna into second place behind Madrid.

Bratislava, Slovakia comes in bottom place with one of the lowest life expectancies at 78 years. It also has one of the smallest retirement communities with just 40,677 people over the age of 65.

Despite having the largest population of over 65’s, at 2,929,678, Mexico City can be found at the bottom end of the table and has been named as the 35th city most prepared for retirement. It has the second highest retirement age of 68 and the third lowest average annual salary ($7,368.23). Even the high percentage of disposable income put into savings (14.69%) cannot increase Mexico City’s position.

City	Country	Ranking	Number of citizens 65+	Average Length of Retirement	% of household disposable income put into savings	Property Price per square metre ($)	Three Course meal for two people ($)	Fitness Club monthly fee for 2 adults ($)
Madrid	Spain	1	339,583	22.29	2.01	6,130.99	59.53	95.24
Vienna	Austria	2	156,168	19.9	8.23	9,065.23	59.29	65.26
Athens	Greece	3	160,981	21.95	-11.55	1,944.44	47.43	62.54
Rome	Italy	4	192,566	21.61	2.55	8,191.94	71.04	148.86
Luxembourg City	Luxembourg	5	8,515	21.89	15.99	12,976.65	83	113.61
Amsterdam	Netherlands	6	138,455	18.93	10.01	8,830.78	88.93	98.38
Brussels	Belgium	7	139,992	21.12	6.24	4,091.90	71.14	76.66
Lisbon	Portugal	8	135,289	15.7	-2.19	5,248.27	41.5	76.04
Paris	France	9	112,067	22.33	9.11	15,301.15	71.14	88.7
Oslo	Norway	10	81,210	17.84	6.52	10,177.01	105.67	101.72
Sydney	Australia	11	326,896	19.14	10.26	10,577.43	77.38	126.53
Ljubljana	Slovenia	12	27,128	20.25	6	4,409.18	47.43	101.38
Helsinki	Finland	13	67,734	18.63	0.39	9,661.44	85.38	94.86
Berlin	Germany	14	239,062	18.08	10.87	7,386.94	59.53	74.37
Copenhagen	Denmark	15	39,706	17.6	3.68	7,695.73	107.63	89.36
Reykjavik	Iceland	16	7,667	16.52	N/A	4,703.49	120.92	113.1
Toronto	Canada	17	409,098	17.94	1.24	9,166.05	71.16	88.5
Budapest	Hungary	18	148,903	15.61	6.32	3,354.82	38.98	84.24
Prague	Czech Republic	19	110,802	17.6	7.63	6,231.55	36.27	85.6
Dublin	Ireland	20	138,495	17.96	7.51	6,565.00	81.82	94.88
Stockholm	Sweden	21	115,407	17.43	16.02	11,452.07	93.35	105.8
Bern	Switzerland	22	22,104	18.55	16.17	8,460.31	106.88	184.06
Ankara	Turkey	23	605,003	12.85	N/A	742.19	15.64	44.19
Jerusalem	Israel	24	77,250	15.79	N/A	9,502.01	89.91	182.59
Tallinn	Estonia	25	22,010	13.58	9.6	3,314.64	59.29	111.63
Warsaw	Poland	26	176,714	17.57	1.43	4,195.38	38.69	62.25
London	United Kingdom	27	654,464	17.62	0.74	15,276.81	63.25	70.2
Wellington	New Zealand	28	13,444	14.7	-0.32	5,297.39	64.13	76.81
Tokyo	Japan	29	1,293,979	15.08	4.29	11,677.39	45.81	176.65
Santiago	Chile	30	630,405	12.39	9.61	2,701.18	47.54	76.69
Vilnius	Lithuania	31	35,014	12.76	0.62	3,356.41	47.43	69.32
Washington	United States	32	569,697	11.91	7.96	7,099.65	80.03	159.67
Bogota	Colombia	33	797,941	11.98	8.16	1,840.99	21.99	49.38
Seoul	South Korea	34	1,587,366	N/A	7.07	19,087.65	43.82	110.97
Mexico City	Mexico	35	2,929,678	6.51	14.69	2,293.09	36.11	96.56
Riga	Latvia	36	46,630	10.53	-3.04	2,418.02	47.62	87.49
Bratislava	Slovakia	37	40,677	N/A	4.55	4,382.71	41.5	66.56

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INDIVIDUALS ARE MOST FINANCIALLY PREPARED FOR RETIREMENT IN LUXEMBOURG

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To rank how financially prepared individuals are in specific countries and cities, we looked at a number of metrics. These include average yearly income, personal pension in comparison to their pre-retirement earnings, the average percentage of disposable income put into savings, annual investment rates of return of retirement savings plans and the percentage of individuals who own their own property.

Luxembourg sits in first position and is the country with the third highest average yearly income, at $73,910. Retirees enjoy 90.1% of their pre-retirement earnings as their pension - the third highest of any other country. People who live in Luxembourg are prepared for a long and comfortable retirement with nearly 16% of their yearly income being put into savings.

Hungary, in fourth place, has the highest percentage of citizens who own their own properties, at 91.7%. This means retirees are able to stay in their own home for longer and have the reassurance of using equity for a cash influx if they need it.

Switzerland comes in nineth place despite having the best saving habits out of all OECD countries. An average of 16.17% of all household disposable income is put into savings, meaning Swiss people can plan ahead and be financially comfortable when heading into retirement.

Country	Ranking	Average yearly income ($)	Pension % of pre-retirement earnings	% of household disposable income put into savings	Average annual investment rates of return of retirement savings plans	% of individuals who own their own property
Luxembourg	1	73,910.00	90.1	15.99	2.5	71.2
Norway	2	82,500.00	51.6	6.52	5.4	81.3
Netherlands	3	53,100.00	80.2	10.01	6.3	69
Hungary	4	16,500.00	84.3	6.32	5.1	91.7
Ireland	5	64,000.00	35.9	7.51	6.5	70.3
Belgium	6	48,030.00	66.2	6.24	5.1	72.3
Denmark	7	63,950.00	70.9	3.68	4.7	60.8
Iceland	8	72,850.00	69.8	N/A	7.5	74.1
Switzerland	9	85,500.00	44.3	16.17	3.8	43.4
United States	10	65,850.00	49.4	7.96	4	65.3
Austria	11	51,460.00	89.9	8.23	3.4	55.2
Finland	12	50,010.00	64.2	0.39	5.4	71.1
Italy	13	34,530.00	91.8	2.55	2.3	72.4
Australia	14	55,100.00	41	10.26	7.7	65.5
Canada	15	46,370.00	50.7	1.24	6.5	66.3

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BRATISLAVA HAS THE CHEAPEST LIFESTYLE FOR RETIREES

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Despite ranking lowest overall when looking at retirement readiness, Bratislava scores consistently well when it comes to the price of property, fitness club memberships and the price of a three course meal - making it the cheapest city when it comes to retirement living. 91.3% of individuals in Bratislava own their own property which helps give financial security. A couple will spend around $41.50 for a meal out and around $66.56 for joint monthly fitness club fees.

Although Ankara in Turkey boasts the cheapest property prices at $742.19 per square metre, 41% of the population do not own their own home. Ankara is also the cheapest city for retirees to enjoy a three course meal, with a couple needing to pay just $15.64 to enjoy a three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant.

Capital City	Country	Ranking	% of individuals who own their own property	Property Price per square metre ($)	Three Course meal for two people ($)	Fitness Club monthly fee for 2 adults ($)
Bratislava	Slovakia	1	91.3	4,382.71	41.5	66.56
Budapest	Hungary	2	91.7	3,354.82	38.98	84.24
Vilnius	Lithuania	3	89.9	3,356.41	47.43	69.32
Ankara	Turkey	4	59	742.19	15.64	44.19
Warsaw	Poland	5	84.2	4,195.38	38.69	62.25
Athens	Greece	6	75.4	1,944.44	47.43	62.54
Mexico City	Mexico	7	80	2,293.09	36.11	96.56
Riga	Latvia	8	80.2	2,418.02	47.62	87.49
Prague	Czech Republic	9	78.6	6,231.55	36.27	85.6
Lisbon	Portugal	10	74.5	5,248.27	41.5	76.04
Tallinn	Estonia	11	81.7	3,314.64	59.29	111.63
Ljubljana	Slovenia	12	74.8	4,409.18	47.43	101.38
Bogota	Colombia	13	N/A	1,840.99	21.99	49.38
Brussels	Belgium	14	72.3	4,091.90	71.14	76.66
Madrid	Spain	15	76.2	6,130.99	59.53	95.24

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THE UNITED KINGDOM RANKS 25^TH OVERALL

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Coming in the bottom half of the overall countries table, in 25th place, it seems the United Kingdom has more to do to change perceptions and to ensure its citizens are fully prepared for retirement.

Around 3,572,948 British people are over the age of 65 - the seventh highest number of all countries studied. Unfortunately, British retirees have the second lowest pension compared with other countries studied, with the state pension being just 3.7% of their pre-retirement earnings and overall pension averaging 28.4% of pre-retirement earnings.

Overall, 37% of Brits do not own their own home - the seventh highest country.

Number of citizens 65+	3,572,948.00
Average Retirement Age	64.15
Average Life Expectancy	81.77
Average Length of Retirement	17.62
Average yearly income ($)	42,220.00
Pension % of pre-retirement earnings	28.40
% of household disposable income put into savings	0.74
Average annual investment rates of return of retirement savings plans	N/A
% of individuals who own their own property	63.00
Property Price per square metre ($)	4,178.21
Three Course meal for two people ($)	73.69
Fitness Club monthly fee for 2 adults ($)	81.79
Health Grade	84.28
Number of doctors per 1,000 population	2.95

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SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY

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To reveal our findings we created a weighted index looking at 14 different metrics, focussing on key areas including health, financial planning, cost of living and property. The 37 OECD countries, and their respective main cities, were then measured against the metrics, with a different score awarded depending on the findings. Each score was combined to reveal one final score. The higher the score, the more prepared for retirement the country and city was deemed.

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