Canada was identified as one of the most expensive countries for retiring, according to a report released by Swedish loan and mortgage comparison firm Sambla. The study listed the 20 priciest countries to retire in, placing Canada in sixth place behind Switzerland, Monaco, Qatar, Singapore, and Liechtenstein. The report estimated the cost of living without rent in Canada each month to be approximately $1,100.
Sambla’s ranking system was based on collecting cost-of-living figures for 100 countries, comparing them against each country’s retirement age and average life expectancy. The report indicated that Canadians would need to save approximately $300,500 to retire if housing was already paid for, with an average retirement age of 60 and an average life expectancy of 83.
While the United States was conspicuously absent on the list of the 20 most expensive countries to retire in, it was also rated less highly than Canada in the 2023 Natixis Global Retirement Index. The index, compiled each year by the French firm Natixis, ranks 44 countries in 18 categories within four main groups: health, quality of life, material well-being, and finances in retirement.
Natixis’s index showed that Canada consistently ranked ahead of the U.S. in all categories, giving Canada 12th place overall while the United States was relegated to 20th. Additionally, Canada’s 2021 Census revealed that the poverty rate for Canadians over age 65 was less than five percent, which is lower than any other age group in the country, and roughly half the poverty rate for U.S. seniors.