Lessons India Can Take From Mexico, World's Best Place To Retire

What makes for a perfect retirement destination? A city that offers best-in-class health facilities, a healthy lifestyle and a culture with like-minded individuals. One such country that offers all of this is Mexico. The North American country, which was ranked 3 in 2016, has emerged as the most favourite among the US expats. Other countries that were the part of the ranking include Spain, Nicaragua, Colombia and Panama. The Index also lists two Asian countries -- Malaysia and Thailand.

So, what makes Mexico the best place to retire? Here are some lessons that India can take:

Low-cost living

Mexico is known to be one of the most affordable countries to dwell in. The weakening Peso against the dollar has made it furthermore affordable for expats to settle here in their later stages of life. According to the report, most of the expats shifting to Mexico are investing in the country's real estate given that it is 50 per cent more value for money at present.

Apart from living, the healthcare services offered in the country are on par with services offered by other first-world country and all of this at one-third of the price. Every major city in the country has first-grade hospitals with experienced doctors from across Europe and the US.

For India, healthcare facilities are a major challenge. The cities beyond metro have a few multi-specialty hospitals or even fewer well-qualified doctors. Though India has many retirement destinations including Pune, the real estate in these cities is expensive with average property prices in a decent location such as Aundh, Baner and Koregaon Park starting at Rs 50 lakh.

Like-minded community

Mexico, being a favourite, has a large retired population, with a majority of expats. This makes the lifestyle here cosmopolitan, making it a multi-ethnic society. The lifestyle in Mexico is comfortable and suitable for a senior citizen given the recreational activities available here. Mexico also has social security scheme for the residents under which the residents get around 2,095.99 pesos as a minimum pension.

So far, India is limited to providing senior living housing projects which have dedicated home care facilities, round the clock medical facilities, recreational centres and a like-minded community. Though not many, suburbs are witnessing the launch of such projects that are attracting investment from the well-to-do class of real estate investors.

Also Read: Top Active Senior Living Trends In India

Incentives and discount

Mexico offers a number of retirees' benefits that makes it more attractive as an ultimate destination. For instance, those who are legal residents of Mexico and above the age of 60 get discounts on airlines, bus tickets, medical care, groceries, restaurants, hotels, museum entry fees etc. The discounts can range up to 50 per cent of the actual value.

While the discounts and incentives for senior citizens in India are equally attractive including concessions up to 50 per cent on fares, bills, among others. But, these are only by government service providers. To make life more comfortable for retirees, more facilities need to be added to the list where such discounts. A senior-friendly regime in a developing country like India can make it more economic for global investors.

To make retirement segment more interested in real estate investment, taxation can be one sector where more incentives can be introduced, too. Other than this, stamp duty relaxation, concessions in-house tax etc can also be considered for making senior living more comfortable.