The best places to retire

A new survey claims West Sussex has the best quality of life for over 65s. Read on to find out which other places made the top 10.

West Sussex has been crowned the best place to retire in England and Wales.

Pensioners living here are deemed to have the best quality of life in retirement according to Prudential’s latest Quality of Retirement Index.

The survey ranked 55 counties in England and Wales based on eight key factors which are thought to be indicators of a happy and comfortable retirement.

These included the size of the pensioner population living in the area, the number of pensioners moving there, access to healthcare, crime levels, healthy lifestyle data, pension income, disability-free life expectancy and weather.

Counties were ranked for each category out of 55, and these were tallied to give an overall score, with the lowest representing better quality of life.

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The 10 best places to retire

Here are the top 10 best places to retire, according to the Prudential Quality of Retirement Index.

Source: Prudential using ONS, NHS and Met Office data

West Sussex has overtaken Dorset as the best fit for pensioners this year.

The area has the second highest inflow of pensioners and second richest pensioners in the survey. It also ranked well for clear weather and disability-free life expectancy.

Dorset, home to much of the Jurassic Coast and the setting for the popular show Broadchurch, was in the top ten for five of the eight criteria used in the survey.

The area has the third-highest population density of pensioners in the UK and is the second-best area for pleasant weather.

Meanwhile, East Sussex, was the fifth-best area out of 55 for attracting new pensioners, enjoying mild weather, and ranked well for access to healthcare and pension income.

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Best of the rest

Pensioners interested in living in an area with people of a similar age should consider a move to the Isle of Wight, where nearly 38,000 people, or more than one in four of the population, is aged 65 or over.

Herefordshire has the highest disability-free life expectancy in England and Wales.

Pensioners in Wales have also got a good setup. Gwynedd residents enjoy the highest number of healthcare workers per capita and Dyfed and Powys having the lowest crime rates out of the 55 counties surveyed.

Devon is the most attractive county for new pensioners moving into the area according to official figures, with the highest net influx of over 65s last year.

Surrey remains the county with the richest pensioners. The area has the highest mean pension income, at £21,400, nearly a third higher than the average in England and Wales.

While the south coast dominated the overall rankings this year, it was the East coast that came out on top when it comes to the weather, with Essex getting the best weather.

Rutland was the area where pensioners had the healthiest lifestyles, with good diets, fewer smokers, low obesity levels, high physical activity and low alcohol-related hospital admissions.

Stan Russell, a retirement income expert at Prudential, said: “Our analysis shows that every part of the country has something different to offer pensioners, but the counties with the most attractive attributes tend to be along the southern and eastern coasts of England.”

Where will you retire?

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