Technical article

The Lowest Income That Covers a Plain Life: What Official Numbers Say

Governments do not publish a "plain life" figure.

By Neil Solomon · 5 min read

Picture a couple named Dale and Marion. Both are 64. Their pensions add up to a modest monthly sum, and they wonder which European countries could carry it. They want to know where the floor is, so they can see how far above it they would sit.

I looked for official answers. Governments do not publish a "plain life" figure. What I found are two yardsticks, and each says something different.

Yardstick one: the income line from Eurostat

Eurostat is the EU's statistics office. Each year it publishes an at-risk-of-poverty threshold. For one adult it is 60% of the middle income in that country. It is a statistical line, not a shopping list. Still, it shows how the floor changes from place to place.

Eurostat lists Switzerland for 2024 only, so that row is a year older. The line moves with local incomes, so a country with higher wages shows a higher line. It does not tell us what groceries or rent cost for a retiree from abroad.

Yardstick two: what a residence office asks you to show

Some offices publish an amount that an applicant has to show or pay. I found four on official pages.

Latvia. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs lists amounts "from April 1, 2026". For pensioners the amount is EUR 1,231 a month. The page says this is double the average monthly old-age pension. The same page lists EUR 780 for cases covered by the minimum monthly wage, and EUR 234 for each minor child.

Portugal. The foreign ministry's visa site lists EUR 820 a month for the first adult, EUR 410 for a second adult, and EUR 246 for a child. It calls these 2024 figures and says they are based on the minimum monthly salary. The page shows no date, so a newer figure may exist.

Malta. The Global Residence Programme guidelines (Version 2.0, 2020) set a minimum tax of EUR 15,000 a year. They also ask for owned property worth at least EUR 275,000 (EUR 220,000 in the south or Gozo), or rented property at EUR 9,600 a year or more (EUR 8,750 in the south or Gozo), on a lease of at least twelve months. My arithmetic: EUR 15,000 a year is EUR 1,250 a month, before any rent. This is a tax rule, not a living-cost line. The current government page points to guidance notes, so a newer version may exist.

Italy. The consulates of Italy in Boston, Los Angeles and Miami (elective residency visa pages, read 11 October 2026) say the documented stable passive income must total more than EUR 31,000 a year for each applicant, from sources such as pensions, annuities, property and investment funds. Income from work is not counted. My arithmetic: EUR 31,000 a year is about EUR 2,583 a month. The New York consulate page says "typically around €31,000 per person". The pages show no date.

Put side by side, my arithmetic shows Latvia's pensioner amount (EUR 1,231) sitting about 76% above its Eurostat monthly line (about EUR 699). In Portugal, EUR 820 sits about 13% above the line (about EUR 723), though the two figures are from different years. Italy's amount (about EUR 2,583 a month) sits more than twice the Eurostat monthly line for Italy (about EUR 1,103). These are small samples and I would not push the comparison far.

Countries with no single amount

• Andorra. The government's page for residence without work (D.1, read 11 October 2026) asks for a permanent investment of at least EUR 400,000 in Andorran assets, a yearly income above 300% of the annual minimum wage in force (plus 100% for each dependent), a deposit of EUR 47,500 with the Andorran financial authority, and a main home in the country for at least 90 days a calendar year. The minimum wage figure is set each year, so a monthly income amount is not given here.
• Switzerland. There is no fixed amount. The federal migration office's factsheet says means are adequate if they exceed the welfare entitlement threshold, with the Swiss Welfare Conference guidelines as the main reference, and pensions count as means. For citizens of countries outside the EU and EFTA the office describes a permit for people aged 55 or over who have personal ties to Switzerland and the required means (SEM and ch.ch pages, read 11 October 2026).
• Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Service for Foreigners' Affairs and the Ministry of Security list the grounds for temporary residence: education, humanitarian reasons, work, family and "other justified reasons", and exceptionally ownership of property. The only amount is 150 BAM for each day of stay, which is an entry rule, not a monthly figure for residents. No retiree route is named.
• Germany and Bulgaria. The pages in the sources show no monthly amount for people who do not work. Germany's interior ministry page says longer stays are allowed for set purposes such as joining a spouse, study or work. That does not describe a route for retirees, and I am not saying one does not exist.

What is left open

Where I write "not stated", the amount is not on an official page in the sources. A consulate can give you the current figure in writing.