Planning Expatriate Retirement From A GCC Country

When the time comes for retirement from your GCC/UAE job, deciding on exactly the right destination is the most important part of the planning process.

Even although Bahrain was named in 2018 as the world’s best expatriate professional location, expats approaching retirement should carefully consider the wisdom of staying in the UAE. Global economic conditions as well as the shift away from expat employment to the local population are now beginning to affect companies’ employment packages, thus making the entire region less attractive to older expats. Local businesses are now hiring from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in order to reduce costs, with expats from these three countries now forming the bulk of non-local employees in the emirates. For expats able to see the writing on the wall as regards reduced opportunities to save as well as keeping their jobs up until the retirement date, planning ahead for a major move is beginning to be the sensible option.

The first and most important task is to decided where in the world to retire, given the preferred lifestyle and available funds. Online research can rule out destinations due to unsuitable climate, personal safety and security, language issues and many more perfectly relevant reasons, but believing all you read online in thinly-disguised advertorials isn’t the way forward! Finding and following local forums is by far the best way to get a feel for a destination. Another important issue is currency fluctuation, although in today’s unstable world it’s hard to predict. If you’ll be living off a combination of your home country’s pension and a private pension without the backing of a considerable amount of capital, choosing a country with a comparatively stable currency exchange record is the sensible solution. Another important issue is your chosen country’s attitude towards expat retirees, with comparatively hassle-free long-stay visas the ideal, although even these can change due to political upheaval.

Calculating the real cost of living in countries under consideration can be tricky, as almost all online surveys base their respondents database on working expats in relatively high-salaried jobs. Searching online sites dedicated to the move itself rather than to tourists as well as expats can get results, but a brief visit to those on your short-list is the best idea, especially if it’s backed up by following local forums. Another headache is medical costs, including the standards of service in any one destination. Obviously, first-world countries give better, more professional options than developing countries packed with private healthcare facilities, most of which double their already exorbitant prices for expatriates.