This Country Was Named the No. 1 Place to Retire for Health Care, Safety, and High Life Expectancy

When retiring in a foreign country, health care and overall well-being are key considerations.

The new 2025 Global Retirement Index by global financial institution Natixis revealed the best countries to retire, and named Luxembourg the top destination for health for a second consecutive year.

The company analyzed three specific categories to help determine the ranking. The first was life expectancy, followed by health expenditure per capita, and then out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

“Luxembourg keeps its spot at the top of the sub-index [health] with a top score in insured health expenditure and an increase of four percentage points for life expectancy,” the report stated. The country took the ninth spot in the overall ranking, which evaluated 44 developed states on a variety of factors, including affordability, healthcare, and overall retirement security. Norway was first.

Luxembourg has steadily increased its rating each year, with a top score of 94 percent in 2025, 93 percent in 2024, ranking as the healthiest country for retirement last year as well. However, it dropped three places in the general ranking from No. 6 in 2024.

According to World Health Organization data, Luxembourg is a safe country with low health risks. There is an incredibly low road traffic death rate, of just 3.9 per 100,000 people, and zero cases of unintentional poisoning. The homicide rate has also been improving since 2018.

“For dreamers and culture vultures, there are castles and palaces, museums and countless other inspiring cultural hotspots,” Luxembourg’s tourism authority shares on its website. “Foodies find themselves falling helplessly in love with Luxembourg because, as the saying goes, the way to the heart is through the stomach.” 

The country, which is one of the smallest in Europe, has three official languages: Luxembourgish, French, and German. A 2021 census survey showed that a quarter of residents speak English at home and use it for work or at school.

Following Luxembourg on the list of the best countries to retire for health are Ireland (No. 2), Sweden (No. 3), Norway (No. 4), and Switzerland (No. 5). The United States ranked 25th, with a score of 84 percent, which was an improvement over the 2024 score of 80 percent.

You can see the full report on natixis.com.