RETIREMENT MIGRATION: A New Facet of a Recent Phenomenon

1. RETIREMENT MIGRATION:A New Facet of a Recent Phenomenon Apostolos G. PAPADOPOULOS & Alexandra TRAGAKI Department of Geography, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece apospapa@hua.gr, atragaki@hua.gr

2. Paper structure Introduction Theoretical remarks Migration in Greece - General context - Retired migrants Conclusions

3. Introduction • Long functioning of migration in European history • New migratory forms and processes in Europe and especially Southern Europe • Significant differences among various nations • Some reasons for that: new international divisions of labour, geopolitics, motivations of migrants, space-time technologies/flexibilities, forms of consumption

4. Introduction • This paper aims at shedding light on retirement migration, which is a neglected facet of migration in Greece • It offers an exploratory approach to this issue • Elaborate on the available National Statistical Service (NSS) data from the recent census (2001) • Demographic, socio-economic and ethnic characteristics of immigrants

5. Theoretical remarks • There are new mobility strategies of migrants, deployed to achieve both economic and non-economic objectives • Diverse groups of migrants (e.g. labour, family reunion, return, retired etc.) which do not remain discrete, but may transform one to another • Enormous diversity within single migrant categories • Demographic situation of Europe: low fertility, longevity, increasing immigrant population

6. Theoretical remarks • Southern Europe at the forefront: from a sending region to a destination region of migrants • Main characteristics: illegal labour migrants, many nationalities, uncontrolled borders, restrictive policies, … receiving retired migrants • Retirement migration as international “amenity seeking” population flows needs reconsideration • Retirement migrationcontains different components in Greece

7. Migration in Greece Greece is among the countries the most affected by the newly traced migratory routes Two migration phases: • 1960-1985 : emigration to Western Europe and N. America and repatriation • since 1990 : immigration, mainly from Balkans and Eastern Europe

8. The beginning of massive inflows of foreign origin coincided with …. • the border-opening in Eastern Europe • the adoption of restrictive policies in the traditional host countries in West Europe • economic restructuring of the country • social developments and modifications in life style • profound demographic changes

9. Selected Economic and Demographic Indicators of Greece, 1981-2001

10. Retired Migrants in Greece • There are 43,805 non-native retirees (23,585 men and 20,220 women) • They represent 5.7% of total foreign population and 2.1% of total retired population • Non-native retired population consists of return migrants / repatriates older members of economic migrants’ families traditional retirement migrants economic migrants reaching retirement age

11. Retired Population is analysed in respect to the following characteristics …. • Ethnic composition • Age structure • Gender asymmetry • Migration motives • Spatial distribution

12. Nationality composition • Most of retired immigrants originate from countries that some decades ago hosted Greek emigrants (USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, former USSR). • Significant proportion of retired immigrants from Turkey and Cyprus (Greek origins) • Numerous retirees from Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland Note: The share of retired persons in the total number of foreigners varies across different nationalities

13. Age structure of non-native retirees • out of 10 retirees 6 are between 60-75 3 are above 75 and 1 is less than 60 years • relatively high share of above 80 years • women have a younger age structure than men

14. Gender asymmetry • Sex ratio varies considerably across different nationalities • Female population prevails among retirees from Eastern European countries • the majority of retirees from the developed European and non-European countries and Albania are men.

15. Migration Motives • 1 out of 3 retirees has entered the country looking for work (concealed economic migrants); 1 out of 6 for family reunification and 1 out of 6 declares “other reason” • Significant differences across nationalities

16. Spatial distribution of foreign retired population • retired immigrants are spatially distributed in a different way than the total immigrant population • high concentration in specific regions, such as the islands and mountainous areas • Settlement criteria vary across different nationalities

17. Conclusions… • Retirement migration cannot be dissociated from labour migration in Greece • It is an evolving aspect of immigration • An aggregation of different migration trends • A large share of retired migrants are returnees • More emphasis should be given to the age aspects of labour migration • Change of focus of migration research in Greece due to inclusion of retirement migration

18. Conclusions… • New dimensions of retirement migration should be systematically searched: • “transmigration” / “coming-and-going” • their relation to labour migrants • the generational aspect • spatial concentration / geographical aspects • complexity of the issue (social security etc.) • Further in-depth research is required!!

19. Thank you for your attention!