AFTER TV guesting a few weeks ago, I received many questions if the Philippines is a global player in the international retirement-destination industry. I have been struggling if I should cover this topic here or not. I have been involved for more than eight years in the field of International Retirement Migration (IRM), but have withdrawn from this sector two years ago.
I always considered the IRM industry as a sunrise industry of the Philippines. Due to this, I gave up a promising career in the tourism industry and, instead, headed the Retirement and Healthcare Coalition (RHC) from 2008 to 2016. RHC is a nonstock, nonprofit organization under the American, Japanese, Korean and European Chambers of Commerce with the vision to market and develop the Philippines as a retirement haven.
For many years, we worked closely with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) on achieving our vision. Up to this day, I believe the Philippines is one of the best countries to work, live and retire in.
Why? Amazing landscapes, a tropical climate, an English-speaking population, well-educated Filipino nurses and doctors, and affordable costs of living, are the most common reasons. The main factor (that no other country can keep up with) is the friendliness and hospitability of Filipinos.
Despite these convincing reasons, I left the IRM industry in 2015. Did I stop believing in the potential of the Philippines as an IRM destination? No. Did I stop believing in the readiness of the Philippines as an IRM destination? Yes.
If a retiree comes up with a list of destinations for their retirement, all of the above factors are definitely a positive contributor, but retirees are looking much deeper. Safety, security, reliability, availability, transparency and cost of community, lifestyle- and health-care services are some of the factors they will always consider. And very often, we are not able to live up to their expectations.
Availing themselves of a permanent-resident status for retirees is easy and the PRA offers a competitive visa, the Special Residential Retirement Visa (SRRV). However, the agency has shortcomings in delivering “after-sales services” to foreign retirees and up until now, no holistic helpdesk for foreign retirees has been created. Another discouraging factor is retires need to deposit $10,000 on a PRA account. Besides, it takes many months until foreign retirees receive their funds back if they decide to withdraw from the program.
Receiving transparent and predictable health-care services is a challenge for foreign retirees. Except Pacific Cross, there is no other private insurer offering health-care insurance for retirees in the Philippines. Hence, medical expenses are paid out of pocket. Especially for foreigners, this can become very expensive. Due to the nontransparency of health-care providers, there is a lot of room to increase prices and this happens quite often.
The nontransparency of healthcare is also a big reason transportability of health-care insurance will remain impossible for many years to come. Hence, many retirees decide to stay in their country of origin or look for countries with a more predictable health-care system.
Many foreign retirees are keen on staying in retirement villages or communities with other retirees. They also expect the availability of medical and lifestyle services in these facilities. While such places are booming in Panama, Thailand and other retirement destinations, we do not have retirement villages in the Philippines. And until now, it is a “chicken or egg” situation. The developers are waiting for the retirees and the retirees are waiting for the developers.
While I believe the key is the private sector in developing services and products, it is the public sector that needs to support and come up with supporting policies. Only through a committed long-term working group consisting of the private and public sector can the shortcomings be addressed.
Without the availability of products and services for retirees, how can we expect to market the Philippines as a top international-retirement destination? This would be like marketing Boracay to millions of tourists without having more than two hotels and three restaurants there. All arriving tourists would be disappointed and look for other beach destinations.
Product and service development is of utmost importance prior to running a marketing campaign for international retirees. Hence, my decision to return to the private sector to develop senior residences for the domestic and the international market.
I believe if we jointly address it in a holistic approach, we can develop the Philippines as a top player for international-retirement migration. In the next weeks, I will be presenting products and services which, in my point of view, are necessary for the Philippines to become a key player in this international industry.