More and more German pensioners live outside Germany, most often choosing Switzerland, Austria or the USA
As Deutsche Welle notes, most German pensioners choose neighboring countries or North America for their retirement, according to DRV data. In particular, 26,197 German citizens live in Switzerland on a pension, and about 24,300 Germans each in Austria and the United States.
At the same time, the number of elderly Germans in Eastern European states is growing most noticeably, the newspaper notes. In Hungary, their number increased by 7.5 percent (to 4,803 people), in the Czech Republic by 5.3 percent (to 2,783 people), and in Poland by 5.1 percent (to 6,567 people). In addition, the number of German pensioners living in Thailand increased by 6 percent to 5,415 people.
The cost of living in these countries is significantly lower than in Germany itself, the newspaper emphasizes. At the same time, in Australia, Great Britain, Canada and the USA (where living is much more expensive), a decrease in the number of elderly Germans is observed.