Cyprus as a destination for pensioners

Cyprus is a land full of history, beautiful beaches, about 350 days of sunshine, a most satisfying Mediterranean cuisine, captivating natural mountain and beach areas and is an EU member.

It offers top amenities to satisfy all tastes, including several golf courses of an international standard, marinas and various clubs of all sorts, as well as an array of festivities, not least the Limassol carnival categorised as the 10th best in the world).

All these are favourable factors that attract EU pensioners. However, Cyprus attracts a much smaller population percentage of the pensioners of Europe than it should, even though it caters for about 3 million tourists per year and offers various incentives for businesses and residency, such as tax incentives and so on.

Pensioners moving somewhere helps increase the GDP of Cyprus, as well as creating jobs and leads to investment in different areas, including housing and construction, tourist projects and so on.

They make up a large number of possible buyers who can be looked upon as being permanent tourists. Demand from retired people is mainly for bungalows, of around 80-100 sq.m for a couple, at an average cost of approximately €300,000 or for rent around €1,500 a month. The cost of heating is an issue to be monitored, especially for those who opt for the mountain areas.

EU GDP is estimated at about €15,8 trillion, with old pensioners consisting of about 27 per cent of the population, or even up to 33 per cent in some countries, and with expenditure on pensions at about 13 per cent of the GDP.

This amounts to about €2 trillion available income to be spent per year, and this can increase as at present about 23 million in the EU are in the age range of 55-59 years.

Pensioners have worked for more than five decades, while planning, calculating and saving in order to have a sufficient income to have an easy, stress-free and comfortable life in a nice environment in their retirement. They want to be in a country which will offer the facilities they need and a cost of living that they can afford.

Security and a low crime rate are also a major advantage, which makes Cyprus more attractive, as does the fact that the English language is widely spoken.

Recently insurance company ReAssured made a report based on six key factors: life expectancy, population over 65 years, annual sunshine in hours, accommodation costs, cost of living index and cost of transport to identify the best countries to retire to.

Cyprus came seventh out of 30 countries. The report stated:

“If sun is what you are after in your retirement, then Cyprus is the destination for you. With a whopping 3,314.1 hours of sun annually, it’s practically summer, all year round. Combine this with a reasonable cost of living index at 55.9 and Cyprus is certainly cheaper than other Mediterranean locations.

“However, Cyprus has a relatively low population percentage over 65, being just 14 per cent, and has an accommodation cost of £598.78 on average per month, but with a good life expectancy, it is a small price to pay for such a brilliant destination”.

Therefore, Cyprus offers itself as a retirement destination for Europeans as well as for third countries.

Antonis Loizou & Associates EPE – Real Estate Appraisers & Development Project Managers, www.aloizou.com.cy, [email protected]