In one pretty European country, pensioners get an incredible £5,400 a month. The landlocked country pays retirees around five times their average living costs, and they can enjoy balmy average temperatures of around 24C in summer.
An analysis by Almond Financial revealed Europe’s most fruitful pension. For the second year running in 2025, Luxembourg topped its annual Pension Breakeven Index, paying pensioners a staggering average of €6,488.83 (£5,403.22), around £4,400 more than the UK state pension, which ranked eleventh in the list at £997.75.
As one of the richest countries per capita, it helps to understand how far that money would stretch in Luxembourg. However, it makes the comparison with the UK even more stark.
According to the analysis, which assumed that the majority of pensioners were mortgage or rent-free, the UK’s pension paid just £177 more than pensioners needed to live on, estimating that the average monthly living costs were £820.90.
However, even though Luxembourg’s monthly living costs were found to be slightly higher at £912.40, pensioners can reportedly “expect a comfortable retirement in the sun” because the pension was more than five times what they need.
It did claim that UK pensioners were better off than they were in 2024, given that the state pension compared to the average cost of living increased slightly, by 3%.
According to Expatica, the official state pension age in Luxembourg is 65, and to qualify for partial payments, workers will need to have made at least 10 years’ worth of social security contributions by the time they turn 65.
To claim the full state pension, workers must have made social security contributions for at least 40 years.
The tiny country is bordered by Belgium, France and Germany, and the region is known for its international and multilingual population.
Even though small in size, Luxembourg makes up for it in beauty, with stunning hiking, languid wine regions, and a capital city surrounded by forested gorges and valleys.
