It may be December, but Julius Wells is still happily wearing shorts as he and his wife Mary enjoy getting to know the wonderful restaurants and attractions that their new neighbourhood has to offer.
That’s because two years ago the couple moved from Bristol, where they had lived for decades, to balmy Malta.
‘I was born and bred in Bristol but found that life was getting too stressful,’ says Julius, 59. ‘The cost of living kept going up and up – we decided it was our time to get out.’
Malta and its sister island of Gozo are not the most obvious choice for a retirement in warmer climes – Britons are more likely to default to Spain or France.
The cost of living in Malta is said to be 18 per cent cheaper than in the UK
Julius Wells and wife Mary always enjoyed holidaying in Malta – then decided to move there
But, for the 15,000 Britons who have taken the leap, it offers a high-quality, desirable way of life.
Unlike most other European destinations, there is no language barrier as Malta is mostly English speaking. Motorists drive on the left side of the road.
There are other familiarities. M&S opened its first store outside the UK in Malta in 1962, and you’ll find endless other UK names, such as Iceland and Matalan.
But for many, a real draw is the cost of living. It is 18 per cent cheaper in Malta than in the UK, according to Numbeo.com, with a single person expected to live on £638 a month – £7,656 per year – without rent.
Fortunately, Julius has the right to residency through a family connection – his late mother was born in Malta and retained her citizenship despite moving to the UK. Mary, 61, who works for a legal company, achieves this as his spouse.
However, there are other options for British retirees who do not have a family connection to Malta.
While Spain is trying to ditch its so-called ‘golden visa’, Malta still has a scheme that allows non-European nationals to obtain a residence card by buying or renting a property at a qualifying level, paying a government contribution of €30,000 (£25,000) and proving that they have at least €500,000 (£415,000) of assets.
This Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) can be an option for wealthier Britons – especially those who are still working or have significant investments that aren’t formal pension plans.
A second option is the ‘golden passport’ or Malta Citizenship for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment (CES, MESDI). It requires the purchase or rental of a property, a government contribution of €590,000-€740,000 (plus another €50,000 per dependent) and a €10,000 charitable donation.
The couple – pictured with their daughter Jodie – bought their three-bed home for €280,000
Because it gives EU citizenship, plus visa-free travel to over 180 countries after just one year of residency, it has been controversial, as critics suggest it could foster corruption, tax evasion and money laundering. Nonetheless, the scheme offers much greater freedom than options for wealthy retirees to other EU countries.
A third option is the most popular for British retirees. The Malta Retirement Programme is preferred due to its requiring less capital and also its tax benefits, according to Serine Wattar, managing partner at migration advisory company Henley & Partners Malta. Open to over-55s from the EU or outside, it comes with a beneficial flat tax rate of 15 per cent on foreign income, subject to a minimum annual tax liability of €7,500 (£6,234). To be eligible for this regime you need to own or rent a property in Malta.
If you buy, it must be worth at least €275,000 (£229,000) if in North Malta, or €220,000 (£183,000) in South Malta or Gozo. If renting, the figures are €9,600 (£7,980) and €8,750 (£7,273) per year respectively.
Applicants must live in Malta for at least 90 days a year, cannot live in another country for more than 183, and have health insurance.
Julius and Mary Wells always enjoyed holidaying in Malta and the Mediterranean lifestyle that came with it. Julius spent his 30-year career renovating houses. Now, he is enjoying taking on a special project – the couple’s own retirement home.
The centuries-old three-storey townhouse is in the fortified ‘Three Cities’ across the Grand Harbour from the domes and spires of the capital, Valletta.
Julius and Mary bought their three-bedroom townhouse for €280,000 (£231,416) in Senglea. It is classified as a ‘House of Character’ due to it being an historic traditional home with original features – Julius calls it ‘rundown’.
‘We are building on top of the roof so it will gain another bedroom,’ says Julius, whose daughter Jodie, a beautician who featured in TV’s The Only Way Is Essex – and her two-year-old son Bear – will come to stay.
‘We will probably spend the same amount on renovating the house as buying it,’ he says, though a €10,000 grant from the Maltese government to fund the restoration of the stone façade will help – it’s in a conservation area.
While waiting for their home to be habitable, the couple rented a two-bedroom flat for €1,700 (£1,413) per month.
Pensioners need around £43,100 a year to enjoy a comfortable retirement in the UK, according to The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), or £31,300 a year for a ‘moderate’ lifestyle.
Julius and Mary live comfortably with a high standard of living in Malta – for around £24,000 a year. The couple are currently covering the cost with savings and private pensions as they are still some way off claiming their UK state pensions.
With a plentiful supply of restaurants, the couple eat out a few times a week. Julius says the cost of dining in good restaurants is similar to the UK, but it is possible to find great-quality food in restaurants off the tourist track for less.
‘A light lunch might cost €10 to €15,’ he says.
Julius does admit he misses his friends and the live music and nightlife of Bristol
‘A coffee is €2, a local beer €4 and a glass of wine around €6.
‘But a meal for the two of us in a good restaurant is €100-€120 (£83-£100) with one or two bottles of wine.’ Their favourite Senglea fish restaurant is the seafront Enchanté where their signature lobster tagliatelle costs €28 (£23).
What does Julius miss about the UK? He admits not seeing friends and enjoying the live music and nightlife of Bristol is a downside.
‘But we had Robbie Williams and Liam Gallagher come to Malta to perform. There are pop-up raves too.’
The couple’s living expenses are considerably lower than in Bristol where the council tax on their house in Fishponds was more than £3,000 a year.
In Malta there is no annual property tax or council tax, and they pay €125 (£104) a month for combined water and electricity. It’s €100 (£83) a month for their two mobile phones and broadband.
The couple run a Jeep Renegade for which motor insurance is €900 (£748) per year. Unleaded petrol is around €1.30 (£1.07), per litre, cheaper than the UK’s average £1.36.
Clearly enjoying a lifestyle long relinquished by the average retiree, Julius rides his BMX bike to the gym, which costs €225 (£186) per year; he also loves to whizz around the island on his electric skateboard.
‘Otherwise we might spend our time chilling out at the beach, but maybe I will do a few renovation jobs too,’ he adds.
Malta is well known for its cutting-edge hospitals and as residents they can access free healthcare. ‘There are pharmacies everywhere, and they always have a doctor, so you can just walk in and ask to see them,’ says Julius. ‘They may be busy, and you might have to come back later, but it’s a very good system.’
He says they pay ‘cost price’ for prescriptions which is around €3 (£2.50).
You won’t find cheap properties as easily in Malta as on the Spanish Costas. The island’s popularity as an online gaming and financial services centre has helped push up property prices so rents are not that much lower than in the UK.
Grahame Salt of Frank Salt Real Estate says: ‘In the most popular areas, €250,000 (£206,590) will get you a one-bedroom apartment, but in towns that are more inland, you would get a two-bedroom property for that.
‘Or you could spend €350,000 for something more spacious.’
Most retirees do not wish to renovate, but to buy a house like Julius’s when renovated will cost between €400,000 and €750,000 – or even over £1million if the roof terrace views are impressive enough, says Salt.
Yet buying such an historic property took 15 months of ownership searches going back to the Napoleonic era and cost the couple €6,000 (£4,958).
Buying a property usually only involves paying 5 per cent stamp duty plus another 1 per cent for the notary (legal) costs, and perhaps €300 (£250) for searches.
Low taxes are tempting the rich set
Malta offers two residency schemes with special tax rates
The island’s choice of investment visas and low-tax regimes attracts growing numbers of wealthy individuals. Between 2013 and 2023, Malta’s millionaire population increased by 74 per cent to more than 10,000, according to Henley & Partners and New World Wealth.
Malta offers two residency schemes with special tax rates, including the Malta Retirement Programme – the go-to option for most British retirees, according to Jason Porter of Blevins Franks, a cross-border tax adviser. Like the UK, Malta distinguishes between Residence and Domicile tax status (Domicile refers to your permanent home for tax reasons) with different tax liabilities. Maria Grech of Maltese legal firm Muscat Azzopardi & Associates says that there has been an increase in the number of Britons looking to move to Malta since October’s Budget.
‘The tightening of inheritance tax rules has further motivated British retirees to move out of the UK. By moving to Malta, they can structure their succession planning in a way that ensures their inheritance will not eventually be subject to higher tax rates in the UK,’ she says.
Retirees should beware that Malta has forced heirship rules. In other words, if you don’t make a provision in your will, set portions of your estate will go to your surviving spouse and descendants. There are no succession taxes in Malta, but a 5 per cent stamp duty on the transfer of assets.
She adds that Malta is also growing in appeal since Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced non-domiciled status would be abolished in the UK.
‘Those individuals inevitably started considering relocation to jurisdictions like Malta, where they can continue to enjoy favourable tax treatment as residents but non-domiciled individuals,’ she says.
In Malta, capital gains tax (CGT) is payable on profits from the sale of Maltese property – but not on property sales outside of Malta. For a Maltese property the gain is added to an individual’s taxable income and taxed at 15 to 35 per cent. If you are selling a business, or generating a substantial capital gain, Malta is an interesting option, says Porter. ‘But remember you will need to remain non-UK resident for at least five complete UK tax years, otherwise the gain is deemed to arise on the day you resume UK residence,’ he adds.
In Malta, if you sell your main home after three consecutive years, there’s no CGT to pay. Julius Wells will be nearly three years in when his townhouse is finished and has no plans to move back to the UK anytime soon.