The retirement haven you have been looking for

Portugal brings plenty of positive factors which makes for the retirement you have been longing for; its abundance of sunshine all year round and mild winters allows for retirees to be more active and in turn live longer. International Living shares that Portugal offers a lower cost of living compared to other EU countries so you can access more affordable options and that healthcare costs are lower than other parts of the world, with Portugal in 12th place in the world for healthcare by the World Health Organization. Perhaps most importantly, retirees are looking for safety, which Portugal delivers on, as it is one of the safest countries in the world.

Other perks include its cultural charm, excellent gastronomy (4^th in the world), dreamy coastline, easy access to Europe and the US and most people speak English, meaning it is not essential to learn the language however, it is definitely something that would allow you to embrace the country in full.

Portugal is certainly full of potential, with many companies looking to support retirees, a particularly ambitious project which reimagines the concept of senior living is Life Plan Resorts (LPR), located on a 36-hole golf estate situated in the Tejo River Nature Reserve in Benavente, Portugal.

It was a pleasure to speak with Founder and Chairman, Dr Jack Shevel, who kindly shared more about Life Plan Resorts game changing retirement village and his hopes to expand LPR in Portugal.

LPR is the first luxury life plan community in Europe for those over 55’s and offers the most comprehensive retirement plan in the world. With the ethos “More than a residency but a celebration of life”, LPR is situated just a thirty five-minute drive from Lisbon, allowing easy access to everything this charming region has to offer. LPR will open in October 2025 and offers independent and assisted living options with tailored amenities to your needs, with family and friends welcomed with open arms with their on-site hotel. Another important factor to add into the mix is inclusivity, at LPR you will never be separated from your spouse.

At LPR you will find a vibrant community, with over 100 daily activities and every club you can dream of, from book club to cooking classes to more physical activities. Jack Shevel explained “There are two golf courses, we are going to make an executive course because for seniors it is much easier and shorter so they would rather play four times a week and walk for two hours than play 18 holes. The tennis court, paddle, lawn bowls, we will cater to all the European sports and there will be a sports restaurant and even bowling.”

Jack Shevel told The Portugal News “We are going to have 1400 independent living units, which will be built in phases. LPR will have 260 healthcare type beds, a hotel with 60 beds and then staff accommodation for 300. We also want to start a college on site, for nursing assistants because we believe resources are going to be the biggest challenge in five to 10 years.”

At LPR, retirees will have access to 7 restaurants, a supermarket, organic gardens, a community village with a beauty salon, travel agent, a bank, and a notary. The beauty is you are 35 minutes from Lisbon, so we will have shuttles going in and out, there will be organised tours, so retirees can even visit Porto.”

Jack Shevel told The Portugal News that LPR caters to the main concerns of retirees, one being, “You outlive your savings, as nobody knows how long they are going to live for, with inflation exceeding your pension. We have a chart that shows that if you pay 2,000 euros rental a month and it escalates at 3% and you live to 100, then you will need over 2 million euros. At LPR you have a lease agreement with a fixed fee whether you live to 80 or 100, so you have the financial certainty. Life leases start at €450 000 up to €1Million+.

The second concern is healthcare access, “I have been fortunate to have the medical expertise, and we have had a look and so much of what we are doing at Life Plan Resorts is based on science and on research from leading institutions. There will be a holistic and medical approach to active aging with a focus on brain health".

We will have nursing staff, doctors (including a gerontologist) and physiotherapists on site. Personalised medicine with chronic disease management will augment wellness programs. Homecare will allow for aging in place and delay transfers to dependency beds.

No one can escape ageing and the only part you can’t replace is your brain so if there is one thing that will really differentiate us, is the focus on brain health. We can’t stop dementia or Alzheimer’s but we can delay it through our brain vitality gym, so there will be exercises for the brain like sudoku guest lectures, telemetry and AI.

Finally, the third is adjusting to retirement, which is where our activities, interest clubs with new friendships and fun make retiring a joy.”

For more information, please visit www.lifeplanresorts.com

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes