Govt expects rise in foreign retirees amid global crisis

The Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) this year targets to enroll about a third more foreign retirees, its chairman said.

On the sidelines of the 18th National Retail Conference last week, Edgardo Aglipay told reporters that the agency expects to lure in about 4,000 retirees this year. He said they have enrolled about 3,000 last year. So far this year, more than 2,000 have already settled down for retirement in the country, with more are expected to follow suit by yearend.

Aglipay said the lower cost of living in the country, the quality of service that Filipinos can provide and the renowned Filipino hospitality continue to attract foreign retirees, especially from developed nations.

More than 20,000 retirees have been enrolled with the PRA since its establishment, the official said.

Aglipay said 40 percent of foreign retirees in the Philippines come from China. Due to this influx of Chinese retirees, he said many investors are putting up more retirement areas in Manila’s Chinatown.

Aglipay said a group has an ongoing 2,000-unit retirement complex in the area, on top of five other projects in the same location that are in the pipeline.

He said the SM Group’s up-and-coming Hamilo Cove in Batangas, an over 5,000-hectare first-class development that is expected to operate beginning next year, will also boost the country’s bid to become a premiere retirement haven.

Besides these big-ticket investments, Aglipay said PRA is pushing for more localities, including small towns, as attractive retirement destinations.

He said PRA is promoting Baguio, Cebu, Clark, Davao, Subic and Tagaytay as local integrated retirement areas, which boast not only of plenty retirement homes but also of additional medical, recreational and other facilities and services that retirees need.

Aglipay said the agency is also tapping commercial complexes, such as Eastwood, the Fort Bonifacio Global City, the Ortigas Center and the Alabang area as so-called corporate integrated retirement hubs.

The agency is accrediting group home retirement facilities as well as home care in small towns across the country, which could cater to a niche market of foreign retirees. –Ben Arnold O. de Vera, Reporter, Manila Times