Where Are The Popular Veteran Retirement Hotspots?

A report released by the Ministry of Defence has revealed the UK hotspots for veterans.

More than one-third of Armed Forces pension recipients reside in the South West or South East of England, but the traditional retirement favourites of Bournemouth and Eastbourne do not lead the pack. 

The statistics based on those in receipt of UK Armed Forces pensions or compensation were compiled mainly for the benefit of Local Authorities and NHS Groups.

The information which shows the localities of 444,362 military pensioners will help them to plan for health and social care services.  

However, it also confirms what many already know - servicemen and women like to retire near to their force’s spiritual homes.

If you served in the Royal Navy you are likely to gravitate to Portsmouth or Gosport with 7,760 veteran recipients or Plymouth with 6,996.

This compares with just 912 from Southampton - just up the road from HMS Queen Elizabeth’s home port.

Army veterans clearly can’t get enough of Salisbury Plain with 15,338 recipients living dispersed across the Army’s home county of Wiltshire. 

Former RAF personnel look for a safe landing in ‘RAF Lincolnshire’ with 17,292 veteran recipients, making up more than 2% of the county’s population.

Compare this with the whole of London which has just 8,682 recipients, making up less than 0.1% of the capital’s population.

Other hotspots in the UK include Cornwall with 8,070, County Durham with 6,738 and Fife with 4,489 veteran recipients.

As for Bournemouth and Eastbourne, they have just 1,053 and 490 respectively.

If you fancy a home in the sun, you could join the 2,224 recipients who reside in Australia, the 439 in Spain, or you could become the fourth UK Armed Forces veteran in Mexico.