Pension under the sun: These countries attract with tax advantages, low prices and dream weather

Created: 01/17/2022, 09:51 am

By: Michelle Brey

Retire Abroad?

Some countries bring great benefits to retirees.

© Peter Zimmermann/dpa

Emigrate from Germany in retirement?

Some countries lure retirees with tangible benefits.

Which destinations are particularly tempting.

An overview.

Munich - More and more pensioners are drawn to distant countries when they retire.

For many people, summery temperatures and beaches are arguments in favor of emigrating to countries like Turkey, Greece or Cambodia.

But moving away from Germany can also be financially lucrative.

Pension payments from abroad: An overview of the development of the figures

In 2020, 247,568 people received their pension far away from their home country of Germany*.

For comparison: in 1995 the number was still 129,195 people.

"The number of pensions paid abroad has almost doubled in the past 25 years," says the 2021 pension atlas of the German pension insurance.

However, pensioners who are still registered in Germany and receive their payments into a German account are not recorded.

The exact number is therefore likely to be higher.

Emigrate to Turkey as a pensioner - despite inflation?

This is the case in Turkey, for example. The value of the Turkish lira against the euro has lost a good half within a year. This is fueling inflationary pressures dramatically. In December alone, the inflation rate was a staggering 36 percent. So does this make the country on the Bosphorus a good destination for retirees? Life in Turkey is no longer as cheap for pensioners from Germany as it was a few years ago, quotes the

as saying Martina Yaman, who publishes the German-language "Turkish Magazine" in Alanya on the Turkish Riviera.

"In particular, purchase prices and rents for apartments have risen sharply in recent years - many sellers and landlords calculate their prices in euros," Yaman told the newspaper. 50,000 euros for a three-room apartment is still relatively low compared to purchase prices in most German cities. Another advantage that Turkey brings with it is the health care and offers to accompany you to visit the authorities or visit the doctor. In addition, according to an evaluation by the Federal Statistical Office* (related to July 2021), the cost of living in Turkey was 64 percent below the cost of living in Germany.

However, to avoid a financial fiasco in countries like Turkey, there are a few more things to consider: For pensions abroad, you should take a look at accounts, authorities and taxes in particular.

Greece: "Flat rate tax" as a special incentive for pensioners

The low cost of living also speaks for Greece as a destination for retirees.

According to an evaluation by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), these were below the European average.

In addition, the country attracts retired people with a so-called “flat rate tax”. The special: The tax "is levied for a period of 15 years on the entire foreign income of the pensioner, not just on the pension," said a partner of a law firm in Athens to the

The benefits only apply to those pensioners who change their main residence to Greece and spend at least 183 days per year there. Then the tax rate is seven percent.

This should ultimately pay off for the Greek economy - despite the low tax rate.

Namely through the so-called “silver economy”, the senior economy.

The background: Pensioners who settle in Greece also spend a lot of money there on housing, food or transport, for example, and are intended to boost the economy.

In Germany, things are a little different when it comes to pensions.

Contribution rate, entry age, taxes: there were numerous innovations at the turn of the year*.

Cambodia: low costs, poor health care

$200 a month rent, total expenses of $1,000 a month - and that includes health insurance and travel around the country. Pensioner and emigrant Gary Rothenbücher made these statements to the

. Low costs - compared to Europe - would speak in favor of Cambodia as a destination for retirees, the newspaper said. Obtaining a visa is also easy for people over 55 years of age.

However, health care is not a plus point for a retirement stay in Cambodia.

According to Rothenbücher, there are good medical facilities such as hospitals in the city of Phnom Penh.

“In the rest of the country, however, the care is very simple.” Especially with regard to the coronavirus* pandemic, good health care should be decisive in relation to retirement abroad.