Planning a life after the professional career comes to a close is faced with a series of challenges. To retire and decide to come back to Serbia after decades spent abroad is not a simple choice but can be a meaningful option for a number of our expats.
Through communication with individuals who have already been on this journey to come back to Serbia and retire, we realized that digital resources dealing with this topic are scarce and rarely systematic.
This is precisely the reason why we designed our Returning Point website to serve as a portal that provides essential information necessary to plan the retirement in Serbia properly.
Aside from assistance with some challenging issues, useful tips and recommendations relevant for return, we wanted to help build a platform to further allow connections with other returnees, allowing communities based on hobbies, personal interest, family life and health awareness – all of which improves the quality of the time you decided to spend in Serbia.
Health
Notwithstanding whether the pension you receive comes from Serbia or abroad, having a right to mandatory health insurance is guaranteed. Serbia is a signatory to over 29 International Agreements on Social Insurance which regulate issues pertaining to work, health insurance, pension payments and other contributions.
Both types of insurance come with pros and cons, and it’s up to you to choose the option that suits you the most. The key difference between the mandatory insurance and the private health insurance is in its disposability. The Law on Mandatory Health Insurance governs the rights and obligations stemming out of the insurance relationship between the insurance provider and the insured party – unlike the private health insurance where an agreement regulates the relationship. Services provided also differ – mandatory health insurance covers public hospitals, while the private health insurance is connected to private medical care providers.
Key advantages of the private health insurance as indicated by returnees:
- availability of services: there is no limitation to a particular medical care facility, a city or a state;
- choice: the insured party is free to choose the time and place for the appointment and the medical service;
- standards of the service: private health facilities usually have more modern equipment and easier access;
- regular medical checkups: added value for your overall health.
One of the key advantages of the mandatory health insurance is that the insured amount is unlimited for the health services rendered on the monthly level. However, the public hospitals can be crowded, and some opt to pay more to visit private hospitals, incurring additional costs.
Active lifestyle
Quality of additional services and spending free time is different one country to another. A few decades ago, the differences between the Balkan and the Western Europe were significant. The situation has drastically changed recently, bringing the differences to a minimum. Experiences of retired repats only confirm that Serbia has all the amenities necessary for an active, healthy lifestyle – and based on their recommendations we came up with a list of activities that may serve as an inspiration for further exploring.
Some of the interesting options include:
- A number of „wellness“ oriented offers and quality service, SPA centers in Serbia are sought after spots for vacation – see more by clicking on a link.
- Aside from SPAs, you can choose to spend your vacations in one of the mountainsides or in one of the cities that rich with culture and historic sights.
- For all of you enjoying to explore nature, more than 50 uncovered destinations across the country with accommodation and hiking recommendations is available on Serbia as an inspiration;
- If you feel like connecting with like-minded individuals through a series of different associations check out the options available on the portal Penzin.
- Serbia also offers many opportunities for acquiring new knowledge and skills for people who have retired through different seminars and courses.
These sources are only part of the available data and recommendations and should serve as an inspiration. If you have activities or know information that we should be aware of and is relevant for this section, please feel free to get in touch.
