The logo of Chasdei Naomi, which released a survey showing that a majority of Jewish Israelis seek to retire abroad. Photo: Chasdei Naomi

JNS.org – A majority of Jewish Israelis have no desire to grow old in their home country, a new survey released on Tuesday said.

Less than 30 percent of Israelis said Israel would be the best place to grow old while 60 percent prefer to grow old in a European country due to economic welfare and better living standards, according to a survey by anti-poverty NGO, Chasdei Naomi. The United States was picked by just 12 percent of those surveyed as a good choice for retirement.

Of those earning wages above the average, only 20 percent considered Israel the best place for retiring while 44 percent of the 500 respondents earning below average wages did prefer Israel as an ideal home for retirement.

Older people above the age of 50 were more likely (38 percent) to pick Israel as the best option to grow old compared to those (23 percent) between the ages of 18-29.

Meanwhile, Israelis living in Jerusalem (35 percent) were more likely to choose to retire in Israel over Israelis living in Tel Aviv (25 percent).

The number of secular Israelis (13 percent) wanting to grow old Israel was very low compared to 56 percent of religious Israelis.