KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has come up tops as the ideal retirement destination in Asia in 2018, according to a new Retirement Index from International Living.com.
The index, which takes into consideration criteria such as cost of living, healthcare and climate, ranked Malaysia fifth globally, while Costa Rica was crowned the most preferred retirement destination in the world.
The site hailed Malaysia for its tropical climate and range of retirement locations to choose from – from bustling cities to mellow towns – all of which are surrounded by nature or beaches.
It noted that retirees can live comfortably here on just US$2,500 a month, which is just a fraction of what they would need in many other countries.
The site also placed a spotlight on Malaysia’s medical tourism industry, which offers quality healthcare at affordable prices; and its wide range of F&B outlets.
The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme was also lauded as one of the best in the world, making it easy for foreign retirees to move here.
Besides Costa Rica and Malaysia, other countries which made it onto the annual list were Mexico at second place, Panama (third), Ecuador (fourth), Colombia (sixth), Portugal (seventh), Nicaragua (eighth), Spain (ninth) and Peru (tenth). — BERNAMA