• Posted March 22, 2025

Retiring Abroad May Lead to More Loneliness, Study Finds

There’s nothing like the feeling of years of hard work paying off -- when you can finally transition to a life of non-work activities, whether it’s traveling, diving into personal projects or even learning a new language. 

But retirement in a warm, affordable country may come with an unexpected downside: loneliness.

A new study suggests that retirees who move abroad often experience greater social isolation than those who stay in their home state.

The research, published recently in Psychology and Aging, compared nearly 5,000 Dutch retirees living abroad to more than 1,300 who stayed in the Netherlands. 

It found that retirees who moved overseas were more socially isolated, even though they were often healthier and wealthier than those who stayed.

“Although these retirement migrants generally report being happy, they may still face struggles adapting to a new country,” lead author Esma Betül Savaş, a doctoral researcher at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographics Institute, said in a news release.

Social loneliness comes from a lack of a broad circle of friends, while emotional loneliness is tied to a lack of close friends or partner.

The study found that, overall, retirees who moved abroad had higher levels of social loneliness. 

But those who stayed connected with friends and family back home or built strong relationships in their new country felt less isolated.

Researchers also found that those who engaged with their neighbors and felt a sense of belonging in their new home had lower levels of social loneliness.

“Older adults may face double jeopardy in retiring to a new country as they are vulnerable to both age-related and migration-related risk factors for loneliness, and loneliness is itself a risk factor for adverse health outcomes,” Savaş said. 

“It’s important for people considering retirement migration to think about how they can maintain their social ties in their origin country and make new ones in their destination country,” she concluded.

More information

Centralina Regional Council has more on social isolation and loneliness amongst older individuals.

SOURCE: American Psychological Association, news release, March 10, 2025