Country guides for retiring in 14 destinations, plus the questions that decide everything: how your pension is paid and taxed, how healthcare works and whether to rent before you buy.
Retiring abroad is two decisions at once: where to live and how your income and health cover will follow you. This page is the map of our guides. It is general information, not legal, tax or medical advice. Visa amounts, tax treatment and costs change, so each guide carries its own sources and a list of what we could not confirm.
Start with the three questions that decide everything
- How will your pension be paid and taxed once you live elsewhere? Start with how foreign pensions are taxed when you retire abroad. If you receive a Polish pension, read the Polish ZUS pension abroad.
- How will you be covered for healthcare? See healthcare for retirees abroad and, for the wider picture, pension and income abroad for EU residents.
- Which residence route fits you? Compare them in retirement visas compared by country.
Country guides
In the EU and nearby:
- Retiring in Portugal
- Retiring in Spain
- Retiring in Greece
- Retiring in Cyprus
- Retiring in Italy
- Retiring in Montenegro
- Retiring in Bulgaria
- Retiring in France
- Retiring in Turkey
- Retiring in Georgia
Further away:
Before you move
- Use the retire-abroad checklist and 12 mistakes to avoid.
- Test the place before you commit: should a retiree buy or rent first abroad.
- Put your estate in order: inheritance and gift tax on property abroad and a will for property in several countries.
What this means for a normal retiree
- Decide the pension and health questions before the property question. A home does not fix a tax or insurance gap.
- Rules for EU citizens and for non-EU nationals differ a lot. Check which group you belong to in every guide.
- Rent for a year before you buy, and get your own lawyer and tax adviser in both countries.
If you want a second pair of eyes on a shortlist, an independent buyer-side adviser can compare countries for you and bring in a local lawyer. D.H. Realting works from Warsaw as an independent consultant; ask us how we are paid, as you would ask anyone.