Spain is one of the worst places in the world to retire to, new study finds

Considering hanging up your hat and moving to sunny Spain for your retirement? You may want to think twice, as recent findings suggest it might not be the golden years' paradise many expect.

A fresh survey has revealed that Spain is floundering near the bottom of the list when it comes to ideal retirement destinations worldwide, astonishingly ranking lower than countries such as China and Mexico.

Natixis Investment Managers have compiled a list placing Spain in an underwhelming 39th position out of 44 nations surveyed, barely surpassing Russia, Colombia, and India.

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The study measures various factors including retirement funding, material wellbeing, health and quality of life, asking participants to score countries on a scale from 0 to 100 across 18 indicators, reports the Express.

Javier Garcia de Vinuesa, who heads Natixis in Iberia, has interpreted the ratings as an alert for Spain.

He remarked: "We must be aware of the ageing population in Spain and the impact of this on the sustainability of the pension system."

"Taking this into account, we must take responsibility ourselves to guarantee financial security in retirement."

Yet, it's not a complete bleak picture for Spain which made its way into the top 20 for its health and quality of life metrics.

However, Spain failed to ascend the ranks, hamstrung by less than stellar performance in crucial categories like material wellbeing and retirement financing.

Taking the crown for the prime retirement spot was Switzerland, with Norway snug at its heels, marking scores of 82 and 81 percent respectively.

Spain, with its warm climate and lively expat communities, has traditionally been a favourite retirement spot for Brits.

Immigration observatory data reveals that over 412,000 Brits have made Spain their home, with expat communities flourishing in areas like Benidorm, the Costa Del Sol, and Majorca.

However, rising temperatures, escalating property prices, and growing anti-tourist sentiments could potentially dampen Spain's appeal to British retirees.