Swansea Ranked Best Place to Retire in Wales by Pension Study 2026

Key Points

• Swansea has earned the top spot as the best city to retire in Wales, coming in seventh nationally when 45 major cities across the UK were analyzed.
• This study was done by Penfold, an occupational pension company, and covered by Nation.Cymru.
• Penfold evaluated health, affordability and safety based on the life expectancy at age 65, median house price and crime rate per 1,000 people.
• Swansea got a retirement score of 74.8 out of 100.
• Cardiff came in 21st and Newport 23rd amongst UK cities that were analyzed.
• Scotland’s Perth was revealed to be the best place to retire in the UK with a perfect score of 100.
• Second place went to Inverness with 93 points and third was taken by Stirling with 91.3 points.
• Frankie Dewar from Penfold commented that the best places to retire have long life expectancy, good health outcomes and low crime rate instead of being cheap for living in.
• Life expectancy data for 2022-2024 was sourced from ONS, the house price index from July 2026 from the UK and crime rate data from UK police forces.

Swansea (Wales Times) October 17, 2026 — uk/local/swansea/">Swansea has been identified as the best place to retire in Wales after finishing seventh in a national study examining health, affordability and safety across 45 major UK cities. The city received an overall retirement score of 74.8 out of 100, placing it ahead of Cardiff and Newport in the Welsh rankings.

The research, conducted by workplace pension provider Penfold and reported by Nation.Cymru, assessed retirement destinations using three measures: life expectancy at age 65, median house price and recorded crime per 1,000 people. Each city was given a score out of 100 based on its combined performance across health, affordability and safety.

Which Welsh city is the best place to retire?

Swansea is the best place to retire in Wales, according to Penfold’s analysis. It was the first Welsh city to appear in the study’s top 10, taking seventh place with a retirement score of 74.8.

As reported by Nation.Cymru, Penfold found that Swansea’s position reflected a well-rounded performance across the three pillars used in the research: health, affordability and safety. The city did not necessarily record the lowest house prices or the highest life expectancy, but its balanced results helped it become Wales’ leading retirement location.

Frankie Dewar, Head of Marketing at Penfold, said: “Swansea’s top-10 finish shows that some of the strongest retirement destinations aren’t necessarily the most expensive or most talked about. Its well-rounded performance across the three pillars of the study helped it stand out as Wales’ leading retirement location.”

How did Cardiff and Newport perform?

Cardiff ranked 21st and Newport 23rd in the UK-wide retirement study. Neither city reached the top 10, but both were included among the 45 major cities assessed by Penfold.

The study did not publish separate detailed scores for Cardiff or Newport in the material reported by Nation.Cymru. However, their positions indicate that Swansea performed more strongly overall across the three retirement measures used in the research.

What factors were used to rank retirement locations?

Penfold used three factors to assess retirement destinations: health, affordability and safety. The company converted life expectancy at age 65 into a health score, median house prices into an affordability score, and crime rates per 1,000 residents into a safety score.

Each local authority received a score across the three categories. These scores were standardised and combined with equal weighting to produce an overall retirement score out of 100.

According to Nation.Cymru, the data sources included the Office for National Statistics’ life expectancy figures for local areas of the UK from 2022 to 2024, the UK House Price Index average price for July 2026, and recorded crime data from police forces in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Which UK cities ranked highest for retirement?

Perth was ranked the best place to retire in the UK, achieving a perfect retirement score of 100. Nation.Cymru reported that the Scottish city combines above-average life expectancy at age 65 of 20 years, low crime levels and affordable housing.

Inverness came second with a score of 93. The city recorded life expectancy of 19.6 years at age 65, one of the strongest safety scores in the study at 97.1, and a median property price of £221,136.

Stirling ranked third with 91.3 points. The city recorded one of the lowest crime rates in the study, at 39.9 crimes per 1,000 people, alongside strong health scores and relatively affordable housing.

Aberdeen was fourth with an overall score of 87.1, while Derry in Northern Ireland was fifth with 78.1 points. Nation.Cymru reported that Aberdeen and Derry had the two lowest house prices in the top 10, at £130,689 and £189,474 respectively, and both shared a life expectancy of 19 years at age 65.

Which cities completed the UK top 10?

York ranked sixth with 77.5 points, followed by Swansea in seventh with 74.8 points. Exeter was eighth with 73.9 points, Plymouth ninth with 69.1 points, and Edinburgh tenth with 66.2 points.

York stood out for achieving the highest health score among the top 10 cities. Swansea’s seventh-place finish made it the first Welsh city to appear in the ranking.

Why does retirement quality involve more than house prices?

Retirement quality involves more than property prices because health, personal safety and life expectancy can strongly affect people’s quality of life in later years. Penfold’s research was designed to measure those wider factors rather than focus only on housing costs.

As reported by Nation.Cymru, Ms Dewar said the highest-ranked areas tend to combine several strengths, including longer life expectancy, strong health outcomes and low crime rates. She added that those factors can be just as important as affordability when people choose where to spend later life.

“Choosing your retirement destination isn’t necessarily about the cheapest places to buy a home, but about other surrounding factors,”

Ms Dewar said.

What does the Swansea ranking mean for Wales?

The finding places Swansea at the top of Wales’ retirement rankings in this particular study, while Cardiff and Newport appear further down the national list. The result suggests that Swansea performed comparatively well across health, affordability and safety when measured against other major UK cities.

The study does not state that Swansea is the cheapest Welsh city or the healthiest place to live in Wales. Instead, its ranking reflects its combined score across the three equally weighted measures used by Penfold.

Background of the development

The ranking was produced by Penfold, a workplace pension provider, using publicly available government and official data. The company examined 45 major UK cities and created an overall retirement score based on life expectancy at age 65, median house prices and crime rates per 1,000 residents.

The health measure was based on ONS life expectancy data for local areas of the UK covering 2022 to 2024. Affordability was measured using the UK House Price Index average price for July 2026, with HM Land Registry data used for most of the UK and NISRA NI HPI Q2-2026 data used for Northern Ireland. Safety was assessed using recorded crime figures from the Home Office for England and Wales as of March 2024, Police Scotland for 2024-25, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland for 2024-25.

Penfold also used ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA mid-year population estimates in its methodology. The company standardised the scores for health, affordability and safety, then combined them with equal weighting to produce each city’s final retirement score out of 100.

Prediction: How could this affect people planning retirement in Wales?

For people planning retirement in Wales, the ranking may encourage closer consideration of Swansea alongside Cardiff and Newport when comparing where to live later in life. Those weighing up a move may look beyond house prices and consider local healthcare access, community safety, transport links and day-to-day living costs, in line with the study’s broader approach.

For Swansea, the recognition could increase attention from older homebuyers, downsizers and people relocating within Wales. However, the study measures broad city-level data rather than individual neighbourhoods, so prospective retirees would still need to assess specific areas, housing options and local services before making decisions.

For Cardiff and Newport, the rankings may prompt local decision-makers, housing providers and estate agents to consider how affordability, safety and health outcomes compare with other UK cities. The findings do not predict property-price movements or service changes, but they provide a data-based reference point for people comparing retirement locations across Wales and the wider UK.