Brits in ‘exodus’ to france and cyprus

British people are abandoning their native shores in droves according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, with some 200,000 people leaving for good last year, most of whom were retirees...

A recent report in The Times rated the best places in the world to retire based on eight key financial categories – income tax, inheritance tax, property tax, property costs, ease of gaining residency, healthcare, climate and culture.

The comprehensive research, conducted by the Homebuyer and Property Investor Show, gave the 10 most popular retirement countries a mark out of 10 in each category, to come up with an overall score out of 80.

While Cyprus and Panama topped the list, France also put in a good showing in third place, having been judged to offer a good quality of life for migrating Brits.

The following extracts from the report show exactly why British retirees prefer heading across the channel to staying at home.

Tax

While it is true that the top rate of income tax in France is 49.8% – against 40% in Britain – retired couples with income of €70,000 or less would still be better off making the move because in France there are lower rates the lower your income.

Emma Lawrence of Key 4 International said: “In France you can have a joint income between you as pensioners of almost €50,000 and your top rate of income tax would be 14 per cent – whereas in the UK it would be 22 per cent. Thus being a pensioner in France is pretty tax efficient.”

Property costs

The average price paid for a typical property in France is £140,000 – double that in 1997 – and prices show only modest signs of slowing, so it is one of the most expensive destinations in our survey.

Anne-Marie Garcin of Côte D’Azur estate agent Michael Zin-graf, said: “Prices are still rising in the luxury market, but have stagnated somewhat in the residential sector.”

Buying costs stand at about 7% for older properties and 3% for new-builds, and the price you pay typically includes agency fees of about 6%.

Ease of gaining residency

Retired EU nationals do not require a visa to move to France. In fact, if you spend longer in France than in any other tax jurisdiction during the space of one year, you will automatically be considered a resident for tax purposes.

Bill Blevins of Blevins Franks, a specialist financial adviser, said: “You are also considered a tax resident if your spouse is a French resident.”

Healthcare

As a British citizen, you are automatically entitled to free basic healthcare in France as long as you have a European health insurance card.

However, any EU expatriate not officially retired and not working will have their right to French state healthcare taken away unless they have lived in the country for at least five years, under new rules introduced at the start of the year.

This has caused consternation among the British expat community, some of whom have been forced to get private medical insurance, which can be prohibitively expensive.