For many people, the end of their life is the time in which they fulfill long-cherished wishes. More and more often this means not spending this time in Germany, but abroad. For various reasons, however, such a decision remains one that needs to be carefully considered, even in old age.

The pure numbers speak for themselves: The number of German pensioners who are retiring in another country is rising steadily. There are now around 230,000 pensions that are transferred abroad by the German Pension Insurance. Compared to the total number of retirees, senior immigrants remain a small group (around one percent), but their number has nonetheless increased by a third within ten years. 4,574 new emigrants have arrived since last year alone.
The tendency can be explained by the fact that one in five (20.9 percent) from the age group over 60 is now inclined to spend the new phase of life in another country after the end of employment. That is only slightly less than the average (21.7 percent).

Croatia offers an alternative, mild climate, the city of Kopivnica offers the ideal location.
In the heart of Koprivnica there is an oasis of calm for emigrants.

Services:

• Help with local authorities e.g. registration etc.
• Supervised residential complex, including house and postal service
• Accompaniment to the doctor if desired

In any case, there are enough reasons to leave home behind you for at least part of the year and spend this time at your desired location. A classic among them is overwintering in a country with more pleasant climatic conditions, as many age-related complaints are particularly noticeable in cold, wet autumn and winter weather.
Another important point: Understandably, retirees want to enjoy their life as much as possible after their work, and that in turn means achieving the best possible quality of life with the pension that is available. Retirement abroad is therefore often a question of money, which makes itself felt in various ways.

Waving abroad from time to time

• Lower additional costs,
• cheaper drugs,
• lower expenses for nursing staff,
• a comparatively luxurious care.

Such savings have become noticeably more attractive, especially against the background of impending old-age poverty in Germany. The cost of living in other European and non-European countries is sometimes significantly lower, while the standard of living is correspondingly higher. A comprehensible motive for retirement after decades of employment.

Not only the milder climate and the better weather ensure that more and more retirees want to spend their retirement years in the south. Such a move can also have very solid economic reasons. With an average pension of only 1,000 euros, many pensioners can already live from their pension in Germany with major restrictions. Due to the rising cost of living, higher taxation, lower pension levels and, at the same time, low birth cohorts, the situation of pensioners is sure to worsen in the future. I don’t dare to predict what will happen to the pension by 2040, when almost every contributor is supposed to finance a pensioner.

More and more pensioners are trying to escape the rising costs and impending old-age poverty in Germany by means of emigration. The basic idea behind it is as follows: If the cost of living in the country of emigration is significantly lower than in Germany, a pensioner with a lower pension also has more purchasing power and a correspondingly higher quality of life. Foreign pensioners do not have to fear a reduction in the pension, the pension is paid by the respective pension insurance institution in the same amount abroad (exception: Riester pension).

Only in European countries is there a social security agreement with regard to medical services. In non-European countries there is another significant cost item that should be considered in advance. Statutory health insurance does not cover any benefits, so it is strongly recommended that you take out private health insurance abroad.

Find out in good time how much your pension will be later
The Deutsche Rentenversicherung sends the pension information to all contributors once a year. This contains an exact pension estimate based on your personal insurance history. In 2021, an average pensioner will receive a pension of just under 1,000 euros per month. That’s not a lot, regardless of whether you want to live in Germany or abroad. That is why you should think about private retirement provision at an early stage.

Whoever wants to guarantee all these aspects, i.e. lower cost of living, better climatic conditions and proximity to the old home at the same time.