DEPENDING on which study you have to run across, the Philippines is either one of the best retirement destinations in the world or one of the worst.
It could be a matter of perspective. One web site that examines and rates global retirement locations says, “If you come from another country and culture and decide to live here [the Philippines], adjusting yourself to the culture here can be quite a chore. The pace of life here may also be slower than what you are used to.” Another though talks about how easy it is for both Westerners and Asians to adapt to Filipino culture because we have a blended mix of East and West.
However, all agree that the Philippines is one of, if not the best, in regard to cost of living. It is not that our country is the least expensive but that foreign retirees find that they get a big bang for their money.
The Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) was established in 1985 and has gone through several structural changes and is now an attached agency of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and placed under the supervision of DOT secretary. The mandate of the PRA is to encourage and facilitate both foreign nationals and Filipino balikbayan to retire in the country.
The PRA touts the fact that “27,000 foreign retirees from 107 countries have chosen, and live in the Philippines through the Special Resident Retiree’s Visa.” That does not sound like a huge success after so many years.
International Living is a company that has been proving information for people wanting to live overseas for more than 30 years and is particularly focused on retirement living. In their Global Retirement Index for 2014, the Philippines ranks 17th with a score of 80.8 behind regional neighbors of Malaysia (No. 3 in the world) and Thailand in the 10th spot.
And in what categories does the Philippines show weakness: climate, real estate and “special benefits.”
There is not too much we can do about the climate. Real-estate figures are distorted by suing Metro Manila data and yet by also saying that Dumaguete City is the best place to retire in the country in part due to great property values. What is interesting is that almost all of the countries in the top 10 offer incentives including discounts on health care, public transport, airfares, entertainment, utilities, some duty free goods importation, and the like.
However, the largest market for retirees is our own overseas Filipinos. The PRA’s main thrust is not toward encouraging overseas Filipinos to return to their home country and that is unfortunate.
Much more effort should be placed on getting our “Fil-Ams” to come home rather than selling the Special Resident Retiree’s Visa to foreigners.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano