Arrivals · retiring from the UK · October 2026 rates

Where should you retire?

Italy and Greece tax a foreign pensioner at a flat 7%. Cyprus takes 5% of a foreign pension. The Philippines and Panama tax none of it. Put in your pension and see what you would keep, from Puglia to Penang.

I'm retiring from with of pension and of investment income a year. I'm .

Pension a year

Investment income a year

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RETIRING ABROAD COULD SAVE YOU

PER YEAR

Best route: 🇲🇾 Penang, 0.0% total tax vs 19.5% in the UK. Over 10 years that is £127K. Invested each year at an assumed 5%, it would grow to £159K.

ARRIVALSBRATU CAPITAL · RETIREMENT INCOME, 2026

UK 19.5% £52,330 HOME - HOME

PENANG 0.0% £65,000 +£12,670 MM2H LANDED

CEBU 0.0% £65,000 +£12,670 SRRV ON TIME

DUBAI 0.0% £65,000 +£12,670 RETIRE VISA ON TIME

PANAMA CITY 0.0% £65,000 +£12,670 PENSIONADO ON TIME

PAPHOS 6.2% £60,989 +£8,659 CATEGORY F ON TIME

PUGLIA 7.0% £60,450 +£8,120 ELECTIVE ON TIME

ATHENS 7.0% £60,450 +£8,120 FIP VISA ON TIME

VALLETTA 15.0% £55,250 +£2,920 PERMIT ON TIME

CHIANG MAI 20.2% £51,851 -£479 LTR VISA DIVERTED

VALENCIA 25.2% £48,600 -£3,730 NON-LUCR DIVERTED

BALI 25.3% £48,548 -£3,783 KITAS DIVERTED

FARO 27.1% £47,385 -£4,945 D7 VISA DIVERTED

LANDEDbiggest saving ON TIMEyou keep more DELAYEDbarely worth it DIVERTEDyou keep less

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BOARDING PASS · ARRIVALSLANDED

LHR🇬🇧 the UK

PEN🇲🇾 Penang

TOTAL TAX0.0% vs 19.5%

YOU KEEP / YR£65,000

VS THE UK / YR+£12,670

OVER 10 YEARS+£127K

Foreign income received in Malaysia is exempt for resident individuals, extended to 31 December 2036. The exemption applies when the income was taxed in its country of origin, or was not taxed there because of how that country taxes it.

ENTRY TICKET MM2H Silver RM 1,000 participating fee (≈ €220), plus agent fees. Capital tied up: a USD 150,000 fixed deposit and a home of at least RM 600,000. Both stay yours.

TIMELINEAbout 8 months

PAYS BACK IN6 days

SEAT 1A£65K INCOME

Where your £65K goes

Income taxSocial and health chargesYou keep

🇬🇧 the UKkeep 81%

🇲🇾 Penangkeep 100%

THE UK

Pension income	£50,000
Investment income	£15,000
Income tax on pension	-£7,486
Dividend tax	-£5,184
You keep	£52,330

PENANG

Pension income	£50,000
Investment income	£15,000
You keep	£65,000

WHAT IT TAKES

Age 25 or over
USD 150,000 fixed deposit in a licensed Malaysian bank
Buy a home worth RM 600,000 or more after approval

MM2H

A 5-year renewable pass. Under-50s must stay 90 days a year; the 50+ are exempt, according to the MM2H guidelines.

THE CATCH

The exemption needs the income to have been "subjected to tax in the country of origin", or untaxed there because of that country's own rules. A UK pension taxed only in Malaysia under the treaty, and Irish fund income, may need proof. Keep the paperwork.

THE TREATY

This board assumes the treaty between the UK and Malaysia lets Malaysia alone tax a private pension, as the OECD model does. Some treaties keep a right for the paying country. Check yours before you move. HMRC can still tax UK income after you leave, with relief where a double taxation agreement applies.

SOURCES

The verdict

So... where are you retiring?

I'M STAYING FOR...

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The other column

What the board does not count.

The board counts tax on income. A retirement abroad turns just as much on the State Pension, health cover, the currency you spend in, and who inherits.

Your UK State Pension increases

Gov.uk: your State Pension only rises each year if you live in the EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland, or a country with a UK social security agreement, except Canada and New Zealand.

The UK State Pension abroad

Health cover after 60

Dubai makes health insurance mandatory, and Thailand's retirement visa requires it. Price it at your age before you compare.

Cost of living for expats

The currency you spend in

A pension paid in sterling or euros and spent in ringgit or baht moves with the exchange rate every month.

Investing across borders

Where the pension sits

The board assumes your pension stays where it is. Moving it, through a QROPS or an international SIPP, is a separate decision with its own tax rules.

QROPS or SIPP

Where the savings sit

US-domiciled ETFs can expose a non-US investor's estate to US estate tax above $60,000. Irish-domiciled UCITS funds do not.

Why fund domicile matters

Who inherits

Several European countries reserve part of an estate for children, whatever your will says. Check the rules where you will live.

Forced heirship for expats

The board counts tax. A retirement plan counts everything else.

Where the pension sits, which treaty applies and how the portfolio is built decide what you actually keep.

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How the maths works

Same retiree everywhere: aged 60 to 64, tax resident in the new country for the full year, with a private or workplace pension (not a government-service pension) and dividends and interest from a portfolio held abroad. All of it is treated as received in the country that year. A couple means a married couple where one spouse holds the income.

For each destination we apply the income tax and health or social charges a resident pays on that foreign income, using the best regime a typical European retiree could elect. Thailand's LTR exemption is applied only when the pension alone reaches USD 80,000 a year. The home row applies that country's own tax on its own pension. Rates are for October 2026; currencies use the ECB reference rates of 5 October 2026.

Not included: tax your home country may keep under a treaty, the UK 25% tax-free lump sum, State Pensions, capital gains, wealth taxes, the cost of living and health insurance.

This is a simplified illustration for orientation, not tax advice. Moving tax residency means moving your home and spending most of your year there.

Questions

How does Arrivals work out what I keep?

It takes your yearly pension and investment income, applies the tax and health charges each country levies on a resident retiree, and compares the result with staying in your home country. Where a country offers a regime a typical European retiree can elect, such as the 7% regimes in Italy and Greece, the board uses it.

Does my home country still tax my pension after I move?

It depends on the double taxation agreement between the two countries. The board assumes the new country alone taxes a private pension, as the OECD model treaty does. Some treaties keep a right for the paying country, and the UK and Thailand treaty has no private pension article at all. Each boarding pass says what we found for your pair.

What counts as investment income here?

Dividends and interest you receive each year, for example distributions from a fund portfolio. Accumulating funds pay nothing out, so in most countries they are taxed only when you sell. The board does not model gains on sale.

Why does the Netherlands look so expensive?

Box 3 taxes a deemed 6% return on investments in 2026, whatever they actually earn. The board converts your investment income into capital at a 4% yield to apply it. If your real return is lower, you can ask the Belastingdienst to tax the actual figure.

Is this tax advice?

It is a simplified illustration for orientation. Residency, treaties and the type of pension you hold all change the answer, so take advice in both countries before you move.

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