Thinking of retiring? Here are the top 10 retirement destinations

Dorset ranked as the best place for retirement due to high life expectancy, good health and general affluence.

18:05 12 September 2014

A recent survey conducted by Prudential with the aim of identifying the top 10 retirement destinations has found that Dorset comes out on top. This is due to the location’s high life expectancy, good health and general affluence. It’s closely followed by the Birmingham suburb of Solihull.

The destinations were chosen based on levels of home ownership, the number of unpaid carers who help relatives, health, the numbers of pension-age people who are married, and the number of pensioners who hold passports.

Several destinations that made it to the top 10 are mostly coastal and highly picturesque. They include the coastal districts of the Vale of Glamorgan, North Somerset; the county of Hampshire and the Dorset town of Poole; Monmouthshire, which includes the Wye Valley and the Brecon Beacons; and South Gloucestershire, which lies between the Cotswolds and the Severn Estuary.

Vince Smith-Hughes of Prudential said: ‘Our analysis clearly shows that the quality of life experienced by retirees varies significantly across the country.

‘However, it is not always possible for people to up sticks and move to a location they consider to be more desirable, when the time comes to give up work.

'Family ties and the cost of moving home often dictate where people find themselves living as pensioners.’


The UK's top 10 retirement destinations:

(Quality of retirement score out of 50)

1. Dorset: 46
2. Solihull: 44
3. Vale of Glamorgan: 42
4. North Somerset: 42
5. Buckinghamshire: 42
6. Monmouthshire: 41
7. Poole: 41
8. South Gloucstershire: 41
9. Hampshire: 41
10. Wokingham: 41