Phuket Could Benefit From Finnish Retirement Community Plan

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Phuket could benefit from Finnish retirement community plan

PHUKET TOWN: -- Finland plans to build serviced apartments for retirees in Thailand, the Finnish website aamulehti.com has reported.

The move is intended to help Finnish retirees enjoy their golden years in this country, where their pension savings and other benefits will go much further than in Finland.

According to Finnish government projections, the population of people aged 65 years and older in Finland will increase from about 0.8 million currently to 1.8 million people over the next five decades.

The need for housing and other facilities for the elderly is expected to double over the next 20 years.

Thailand is considered a strong option to build retirement communities for Finns, for both socio-economic reasons as well as its warm climate and delicious food.

Thailand is considerably less expensive than countries like Spain, which have also been considered. In addition, respect for the elderly is a deeply ingrained part of Thai culture.

In order to encourage elderly Finns to take advantage of this, the Finnish parliament will consider changing its rules on social benefits spending to include countries outside Europe.

Currently, average daily housing costs for the elderly in Finland range from 126 to 227 euros, much higher than the cost of about 40 euros (1,800 baht) in Thailand.

According to projections, the savings would pay off the Finnish government’s investment in just eight years.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-02-04

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