Transnational Ageing Survey

Retirement years are often years of change. With increasing life expectancy, retirement is no longer a phase of immobility. New technologies and faster transports have made international mobility easier and as a result, families are often dispersed across countries. Retirees can therefore in principle be more connected to the world outside, travel more or even settle in a different country than Switzerland.

To provide a better understanding of international mobility linked to the retirement of people who live or lived in Switzerland, the nccr – on the move conducted two surveys on transnational ageing.

The first Transnational Ageing Survey was conducted in the first half of 2020 providing valuable data for improving the quality of life of retirees who live at least part of the year in Switzerland. Both Swiss and foreign nationals of over the age of 55 were invited to participate in the survey. A total of 3’772 respondents answered to this first survey, which was logistically organized by the opinion survey institute M.I.S Trend.

The second Transnational Ageing Survey was a worldwide survey that started in November 2020 in collaboration with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Office of Constructions and Logistics. Around 4’700 Swiss nationals of over the age of 55 living abroad took part in this second survey. The aim of this second survey was to understand how older adults live in another country than Switzerland.

Topics covered by the surveys

Participants were mainly asked questions about their life in Switzerland, their past international mobility, their present travels to other countries and their future retirement plans. Other topics included family configuration in Switzerland and abroad, health and well-being and overall living conditions.

Project team

The survey was conducted under the supervision Prof. Mihaela Nedeulcu, University of Neuchâtel, and of Prof. Eric Crettaz, HES-SO Geneva, School of Social Work HETS.

The research team was composed by Dr. Laura Ravazzini and Dr. Eva Fernández and by three PhD researchers (Livia Tomás, Liliana Azevedo and Roxane Gerber).

The part of this project that concerns families was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Philippe Wanner from the University of Geneva, the supervisor of the Migration-Mobility Survey.

Results of the first Transnational Ageing Survey are available here and can be further explored in this interactive visualization.
Results of the second Transnational Ageing Survey are available here.