Silver flight gathers momentum

Over a third of Brits would consider moving abroad after retirement, according to research released today by Scottish Widows. The life, pensions and investment provider has released findings which endorse the prediction that by 2050 more than three million British pensioners will have left the UK.

According to the study, the more people earn the more likely they are to want to leave the country at retirement, with 63% of higher rate tax payers - generally those with a yearly income of £39,825 or more - saying they are likely to pack up and move abroad when retirement time comes...almost ten per cent more than the national average.

Men and women are equally keen to escape the country: of those who would consider moving abroad, 56 per cent of men said they are likely or very likely to retire abroad, compared to 54 per cent of women.

And it seems that living in the capital during retirement is losing its appeal: 60 per cent of Londoners admit they are ‘likely or very likely’ to retire abroad. In contrast, people living in the rest of the South** are the happiest to stay where they are, although 38 per cent would still consider packing up and moving abroad.

The Scottish Widows study findings follows the general emigration trends, with recent figures showing that 5.5m Brits currently live abroad - and that a further one million could leave the UK by 2011.

Mike Hoban, Customer & Brand Marketing Director at Scottish Widows, said: “If you’re hoping to be part of the ‘Silver Flight’ you need to start planning now and seek financial advice. Whatever your age, the need to plan your retirement and to understand the options available to you regarding your personal and occupational pension schemes and investments, becomes increasingly important.

“And if you’re a tax payer thinking of retiring abroad it is worth remembering that pensions are one of the most tax efficient savings schemes around and offer unrivalled incentives - if you take full advantage of tax benefits on your pension you can even get the tax man to contribute to that dream place in the sun.”

Scottish Widows has developed an online calculator to help people work out how much tax relief they could be claiming back. Visit scottishwidows.co.uk/taxcalculator for more details.