According to CEOWORLD magazine’s recent report titled “Global Expat Retirement Index 2024 Survey,” Greece is in the top 5 countries for expat retirement in 2024. This list covers countries with the most stable retirement for recent retirees who want to retire abroad.
What is CEOWORLD?
CEOWORLD is a business magazine for high-net-worth individuals, and the rankings were decided based on a combination of local friendliness, health care, ease of settling in, culture, eating options, cultural events, and more. In the CEOWORLD ranking, Greece ranked 5th out of 50 countries on the list, receiving a score of 95.07. The only countries ranked higher than Greece were Taiwan, Spain, Portugal, and Mexico. After Greece came the United Arab Emirates, France, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Greece’s Rating
Greece ranked highly because it performed well in local friendliness, low cost of living, and local quality of life. Overall, Greece was shown to be 35 percent cheaper than the United States. A high quality of life is possible for about 2000 dollars per month in Greece, according to the report.
Global Retirement Index
In addition to the above report by CEOWORLD, Greece was listed again as one of the Top 10 best places in the world for retirement, this time according to the 2024 Global Retirement Index, which is released by International Living annually.
Golden Visa in Greece
The International Living report shows that housing in Greece is up to 75 percent cheaper than US prices. One woman who recently moved to the island of Syros with her husband said that “We chose Greece because it is one of the few countries with a Golden Visa option based on property rather than on making a large investment in a business. That plus the warmer winters sealed the deal.” She also noted the exceptional climate and convenience of the short distance from the sea — something they didn’t have back in the United States.
In 2023, Greece also received high acclaim for being the most affordable country for UK nationals to retire, according to the UK insurance broker Reassured. Blacktower Financial Management also ranked Greece as 8th in the Top 10 best European countries to retire. To see more areas of Greece where British expats choose to live, click here.
Foreign Pensioner Program in Greece
Back in 2020, Greece started a program to attract new pensioners to Greece, promising a flat rate of 7% for those who change their tax residence to Greece. Assuming approval of a pensioners application, the tax rate is applies for a period of ten years. For more information, contact a tax professional.
