Brits go south and French go further

France is Europe’s second-most popular country for people to retire to: perhaps that is why more than twice as many French people want to spend their retirement here as do Britons in Britain.

Spain leads the way for the quiet life of retirement, according to a survey, with 9.5% of non-Spanish Europeans choosing it, but France runs it close at 6.5%.

However, while 86.8% of French people are happy spending their retirement in their home country, only 42.7% of Britons said they wanted to spend it in Britain.

The British head for places such as the Dordogne or Normandy, where many expatriates have bought second homes or settled to enjoy retirement.

They can use easily available low-cost flights to get back to the UK in an emergency and that is a major factor in their decision to move to France, says retirement specialist Oliver Rowlands at Aon Consulting, which carried out the survey of 7,500 workers.

He said: "Low-cost flights and the internet mean people do not have to give up their family life completely, and that allows emigration on a scale never seen before.

"Most people want to spend their retirement predominantly in countries with good weather and good social and government benefits, and ideally close enough so they can get home quickly if they need to."

America, Italy and Australia/New Zealand were the other main destinations for retired people.

The UK was ninth, behind Africa, Switzerland and Latin America.

The French health system was an attraction and Aon found that this was a major preoccupation for Europeans looking at where to retire: 45% of people surveyed cited it.

But for the French themselves, it was only second on the list of priorities: they were far more concerned about their standard of living and how much it could fall in retirement.

Nearly 60% said that was a major issue for them, against 30% who had worries about healthcare.

With so many people thinking about moving to France, Aon says the government may have to rework its social policies and budgets, as it could be faced with a heavy and unexpected burden on the health service.

For French people who are not content to stay in France, many are looking to Morocco and other North African countries, such as Senegal.

A study by Ipsos showed that 40,000 French people a year were heading out of the country – mainly in the 50-60 age group – with many looking for a way to beat the cost of living and heading for the sun.

Most keep a home in France, because they do not want to lose touch with their families, and many of them will not stay long abroad.

Africa is even used as a seasonal bolthole for French people preferring the sun to the winter season.