Forty-four per cent of affluent and high-net-worth UAE residents now plan to retire in the country, according to the Money on the Move study published by wealth management firm St James’s Place in May 2026. The finding, drawn from 450 surveyed residents, marks a measurable departure from the historical pattern of temporary residency that has long defined expatriate life in the Gulf.
The study’s headline numbers are striking. More than half of respondents had already stayed longer than originally intended. Seventy-eight per cent expect to remain overseas for at least another eight years. The financial logic reinforcing those decisions is equally clear: 96 per cent reported earning more in the UAE than they would in comparable roles at home, and 97 per cent said they save more each month. Nearly half earn and save at least 25 per cent more. Two in three believe living abroad has accelerated their path to financial freedom by at least five years, and seven in 10 expect to retire at least three years earlier than they otherwise would.
Additional reference context is available at https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/09/10/putting-down-roots-nearly-half-of-uae-residents-now-plan-to-retire-in-country-new-research-shows/.
Daniel George, head of business at St James’s Place Middle East, described the shift as fundamental. “The UAE has become somewhere people can genuinely see themselves building a life, rather than somewhere they come for a few years to advance their career,” he said. “People come for the career opportunity, build wealth and a life here, and increasingly find there is less reason to leave.”
The decision to stay, however, extends beyond financial arithmetic. Justin Cooke, a British entrepreneur who relocated to Abu Dhabi with his family in 2024, says the transition happened faster than he anticipated. He and his wife have since built businesses across travel and hospitality media, sport, education and technology, while their children have embedded themselves in UAE schools and sporting life. “I suspect the old idea that people come to the UAE for a few years, make some money and then leave is becoming increasingly outdated,” Cooke said. “People are putting down roots. They are building businesses, educating their children here, buying homes and increasingly imagining the next 20 or 30 years of their lives here too.” His 75-year-old father lives in Dubai, and Cooke says he can now picture retiring there himself, something he would not have said a few years ago.
He was direct about what drives that thinking. “For affluent and high-net-worth individuals, the attraction is that the UAE offers the freedom, infrastructure and opportunity to keep building. For us, that is far more important than simply preserving what we have already created.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Louise, an Australian entrepreneur who relocated to Dubai with her French husband, says the concept of returning home has become obsolete for her family. “Dubai sits at the centre of the world for us in terms of how we operate our businesses internationally, and that connectivity is something we have never found before,” she said. “When your life and your network and your infrastructure are all in one place, retirement becomes more about the continuity of the life we have built, rather than escaping back to our home towns.”
Louise also pointed to the pace of the environment itself as a retention factor. “The infrastructure moves fast, the economy grows fast and the entire environment is oriented toward opportunity rather than stagnation,” she said. “For high-net-worth individuals specifically, what matters is being surrounded by people and conditions that match your ambition and your pace, and Dubai does that consistently.”
The research documented a notable divergence across wealth segments. Mass affluent expats were 2.7 times more likely than their high-net-worth counterparts to view the UAE as a permanent home, suggesting that those at the lower end of the affluence spectrum feel more deeply embedded and less inclined to move on.
Joshua Oliver, who advises high-net-worth individuals and relocated to Dubai from London this year, has observed the same shift among his clients. “Historically, many expats assumed they would eventually return to their home country, whereas now I hear more conversations about remaining here permanently or at least making the UAE their primary base in retirement,” he said. Retirement, he added, rarely means stopping work entirely for this group. “Many remain involved in investments, businesses and advisory roles, so they want somewhere that combines lifestyle with connectivity and opportunity.”
Geopolitical uncertainty sits as an interesting counterpoint to all of this. Ninety-two per cent of respondents expressed concern about regional instability, and 46 per cent called it a major concern. Yet seven in 10 said their perception of the region as a place to live had grown more positive over the past year. George acknowledged the tension: “While geopolitical uncertainty can shape short-term sentiment and financial decisions, the factors drawing expats to build a longer-term life in the UAE remain strong.”
The study also surfaced a significant planning gap. Eighty-nine per cent of respondents said better financial advice earlier in their time abroad would have improved their savings and investment outcomes. “Time is one of the biggest advantages we have when planning for retirement,” George said. “The earlier you start making deliberate decisions, the more options you are likely to have later.”
Oliver’s advice to those considering the move is grounded in something less quantifiable. “Come with the intention of actually building a life here rather than simply relocating for financial reasons. Spend time understanding the different communities, where you want to live, how you want your day-to-day life to look and where your professional and social network will come from.” Whether the infrastructure and opportunity that currently attract this cohort will continue to hold them through retirement age remains the open question the next wave of research will need to answer.