DORSET is the best place in England and Wales to retire, according to new report.

Pensioners in the county enjoy the highest quality of life based on a new quality of retirement index that has been developed by the insurer Prudential using a selection of publicly available ONS data.

The new index ranks the local authority areas within England and Wales, based on a score calculated using a set of core quality of retirement indicators – including good health, home ownership, marital status, and propensity to travel among the over 65s, as well as the percentage of the population providing ongoing unpaid care.

Dorset was ranked in the top 10 per cent of all English and Welsh local authority areas for three of the core indicators – good health, property ownership and marriage.

It was also significantly above average for retirees’ propensity to travel and has a higher than average percentage of people who provide ongoing unpaid care. Dorset’s overall quality of retirement index score is 46 out of 50.

The second highest ranked retirement location was Solihull, with 44 out of 50. Joint third were Buckinghamshire, North Somerset and the Vale of Glamorgan with 42.

Wokingham, Hampshire, Mon-mouthshire, Poole and South Gloucestershire tied for sixth place with a score of 41 out of 50.

Previous research from Prudential revealed that Dorset has one of the highest retirement populations in the country. The county is home to three of the top 10 hotspots for pensioners, including the UK’s unofficial capital of retirement – Christchurch.