Retire in Spain: how much money do you need to retire in Mallorca

Spain is the best place to meet old age. Nobody is in a hurry here, people know how to enjoy every moment and relax. And there is also amazing ecology, high standard of living and not too high prices in comparison with other European countries! In this article we will tell you about how a retired person can move to Spain, what formalities have to be followed and why “retire Spain” request is so popular.

Retirement in Spain

Thanks to its warm climate, clean sea, diverse cuisine and other factors, Spain has long been a popular destination for European and American retired people for the fourth period of their lives - retirement. The British, Germans, Americans have fallen in love with this bright sunny land and are increasingly choosing Spain for the purchase of real estate, business and in the future to live in retirement. And it's a great choice. It combines many positive aspects, which gives an elderly person the opportunity to enjoy life for many years after the departure from active work, to have stable and quality medical care. So retiring in Spain from USA or from some other countries is quite popular.

Life expectancy

According to the World Health Organization in 2019, the Kingdom was among the top five countries in the world with the highest life expectancy, with an average age of 82.8 years for its inhabitants, and 85.5 years for women in particular, and this figure is steadily increasing.

Analysts say that Spain is the healthiest country in Europe, and possibly in the world. Research published by The Lancet, one of the most famous and authoritative medical journals, is proof of this. The publication analyzed the period from 1990 to 2010 and found that the average life expectancy in Spain is one of the highest in the world, and more than 70 years of life Spaniards live full and active, with excellent health and general tone. Longevity is also facilitated by good care and an attitude to the elderly. Actually you can choose retiring in Barcelona or in some other wonderful places, it will be a great choice.

Meals

The "Mediterranean diet", i.e. the regular diet of Spaniards, consists of fresh vegetables and fruits, seafood and organic meat products. A lot of water is drunk here. The cost of food is one of the lowest in Europe. All year round the market offers fresh fish, seafood, meat, fruits and vegetables. A healthy and delicious lunch will cost a family of two people €25, including wine, vegetables, seafood, meat or fish. Oranges for juice cost approximately €1.5-2 per 1 kg, so a glass of freshly squeezed juice is not a luxury but a familiar beverage. So an American retire in Spain will definitely be pleased.

When it comes to wines, this is a separate topic. When you enter a Spanish supermarket, you always see elderly people carrying a bottle of wine in their cart. A bottle of quality red wine cost from just 1.5 euros. Many medical articles have been written about the benefits of red wine and its effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems. 

Sports

The cost of gymnasiums in Spain is slightly higher than in Germany, but this is more than offset by the availability of free municipal stadiums and tennis courts, bicycle lanes, endless beaches and mountain trails that can be used almost all year round. Older people biking, running or walking with sticks is a typical picture of modern Spanish life.

How much money do you need to retire in Spain

The country is in the middle of the ranking of European countries by the Cost of Living Index by Country. Spain owes its prestigious position to the low wages compared to other European countries. But if you have a stable income or savings, then, given the cheapness of food, you can live very well in this country.

You can make your life more comfortable and stable in terms of both the possibility of obtaining a residence permit, and in terms of investment in the developed European economy or the transfer of children's wealth and earnings, if you buy property in Spain. In this way you can move for retiring to Spain and feel comfortable.

How to retire in Spain

Now on the Internet is actively "walking" information that for foreign retirees in Spain, there is a program Pensionada, which allows you to move to the kingdom for permanent residence, having an income of $10000. But there is no data on the validity of such a program neither in the Act on Foreigners, nor in the Regulations to the Act. A few years ago on the website of the Spanish Consulate in Miami there was information about the possibility of moving American retired people who have property in the kingdom and whose annual income is from $10000.  However, even now there is no such information on the site.

Residence permit without a right to work (RESIDENCIA TEMPORAL NO LUCRATIVA)

This kind of retirement visa in Spain is for financially wealthy individuals who are able to ensure their comfortable stay in Spain through savings abroad and passive income. However, they should not carry out any official employment in the Kingdom. Pensioners most often move closer to the sea via this program.

Applicants for a residence permit must meet the following conditions:

• buy or rent a house in Spain for a long term;

• confirm solvency for the coming year - to transfer to an account in a Spanish bank 26000 euros for one person, 32000 euros - for two, etc.;

• to take out private health insurance.

With the latter point in practice, there are often some problems. Despite the fact that in the consulate most retired people have an advantage, as they do not constitute potential competition to working Spaniards, insurers are not do happy to meet persons "over 70". People of advanced age are not willing to be insured. But as the Law does not clearly stipulate that the insurance company must be Spanish, you can also use the services of an international company licensed in Spain.

Another way to get a pensioner a residence permit in Spain is to invest in:

• real estate - 500 000 €;

• shares and deposits - 1 000 000 €;

• government bonds - 2 000 000 €;

• opening of own company - 1 000 000 €.

Most often the investment object is real estate. First of all, it is cheaper. Secondly, there are fewer risks. Thirdly, receiving a residence permit under this program, the retired person at once solves a question with accommodation. So can a us citizen retire in spain? Sure, but the best way is to buy a property.

Conditions for obtaining a Golden visa for the purchase of elite real estate

If you are interested in the Golden Visa when buying a property, please note the following:

• it is not necessary to buy one object for the price of 500 thousand euros - there can be several objects (the main thing is that their total cost is at least the specified amount);

• 500 thousand euros - a price threshold for one person, so, when buying an object at such a price - formalize it for one owner (if you formalize for spouses, each person should have 250 thousand investments);

• property must be free from encumbrances - so no credit funds can be used.

The following requirements are put forward to the buyer:

• must be older than 18 years (it's not a problem for retired people);

• to stay in the kingdom legally;

• must have an "entry" into other EU countries;

• take out health insurance;

• to prove the financial solvency of their bank accounts.

It should be noted that at the beginning the investor receives only a visa for a year, and after that he can get a residence permit for 2 years with the right to extend. After 10 years, a retired person who has purchased real estate more expensive than 500 000 €, can obtain citizenship. A significant plus of the Golden visa is that its holder can carry with him all family members - spouses, minor children, financially dependent parents and children over 18 years.

For retired people who own Spanish real estate, if they have enough money to live in the country and have health insurance, there is a card "Permanent Residence" (Residencia Larga Duracion) for 5 years, with the possibility of renewal. SO it will be the best type of Spain retirement visa.

Communication

Spending a pleasant time in a café with a glass of wine and seafood on a plate, in a friendly atmosphere is a wonderful result of the years lived. It is no coincidence that for two consecutive years, in 2015 and 2016, Spain was ranked as the most tourist friendly country in the world. Of course, if you choose to live here, you need a language to communicate. Free Spanish language courses are available for foreigners with a residence permit. Your age is also taken into account when choosing a group. But a simpler option is possible, for example, you can choose to live in cities where most residents will be immigrants.

Every city or district centre in the Kingdom has leisure centres for retired people, the Centro Mayores, where you can meet, play board games and learn handicrafts, go to the hairdresser or see a doctor. These centres organise sightseeing trips on preferential terms for pensioners or study at local universities with programmes designed for the elderly. And one more peculiarity is that in Spain there are popular discos for "aged" people, where young people are not allowed to enter.

One in four Western Europeans (25%) would like to retire to Spain. This was shown in a survey conducted by Aon. For life on the slope of years in France, 15% of respondents voted. The top ten European preferences also included the USA, Italy, Australia, Africa, Switzerland, Latin America, the UK and the Netherlands. So the retirement in Spain for US citizens is a favourable and popular option.

Interesting, that 86.8% of Spaniards who participated in the survey said that after retirement they did not want to go anywhere from their home country. An absolute majority of the French (81.1%) and Danes (73.6%) have a similar opinion. Residents of Great Britain (42.7%), Germany (45.9%) and Ireland (49.0%) are much less patriotic.

According to the Annual Global Retirement Index 2017 of the International Living magazine, Spain was ranked 1st in Europe and 7th in the world by the index of living comfort at retirement age. So you can just make a decision and choose the best place to live.