Poll finds many may retire abroad

Spain is the most popular retirement destination

Over a third of Britons questioned in a poll have said they would consider retiring abroad because of the weather and rising costs.

Of those questioned in the YouGov poll for Scottish Widows, 69% saying they want to escape the British weather.

Meanwhile, 35% said finances would motivate them to move abroad.

Almost half, 47%, said they believed the United Kingdom was too expensive for the kind of life which they wanted to lead.

And 28% said they did not feel they could afford to stay in the UK when they retire.

The Scottish Widows study found 63% of respondents thought the lifestyle abroad was better, while 24% said they felt safer overseas.

Popular destinations

Londoners were most likely to want to move overseas, with 24% saying they were very likely to consider moving abroad.

But only one in 10 Scots said they they would consider such a move.

Spain is the most popular destination being considered for retirement, with 17% of those questioned saying they would move there.

One in 10 would would consider moving to Australia or the US, while France, Canada and New Zealand are also popular destinations.

George Andrew of Scottish Widows said: "You would think in Britain that we would be accustomed to our temperamental weather, but it appears that a succession of gloomy summers have cast a dark cloud over our retirement hopes.

"Many of us are also fretting about how we will be able to afford the retirement we desire."

The research, carried out by YouGov, questioned 1,476 adults who pay income tax and were not yet retired.