Many seniors planning their retirement are looking at moving overseas because they cannot afford to live in Bermuda, has learned.

Even seniors living in the Mayflower Courts apartment complex in Pembroke ? which charges a relatively cheap rent ? are moving abroad.

Though seniors received a pension increase of three percent shortly before Christmas, that increase is being consumed by further increases in rents and health insurance.

Rents at Mayflower Court were recently increased by three to four percent. However, say the landlords, the increase is to cover the increase in the cost of living.

Mayflower Court, on Woodbourne Avenue in Pembroke, is not a seniors? residence, but a private apartment complex owned by Raphael Ltd. and open to leases of all ages. On Tuesday, residents received letters informing them their rent will be increased by more than three percent ? and that, although rents were previously increased once every two years, they will now come under review every year.

?Government gives, and then it?s taken away,? one senior told despondently.

?It?s the same with insurance. They give us a pension increase, and then about a month later HIP goes up.

?And most of us here don?t have money as it is.?

Raphael president Blake Marshall confirmed the rent has been increased by about $25 per apartment.

?It?s always been right around the cost of living, and it hasn?t gone up in two years,? he said.

?Our costs are going up every year as well, and if we increase rents every two years we are not keeping up with inflation.?

Tenants do not pay for amenities such as water or land tax, he said. ?Those costs are going up, just like everything else in Bermuda.

?If we do the rent increase annually instead of every two years, it will hopefully not have such a big impact.?

Mayflower Court is not a senior citizens? home, he said. ?It?s a business, an apartment complex, and it?s got to be run like one.?

Though he was unsure what rents in other buildings in the area were, Mr. Marshall said he would imagine they were much higher than $725 per month. understands that apartments across the street from Mayflower Courts start at $1,000 per month for a studio.

Nevertheless, seniors living at Mayflower Court are concerned about the continuing increase in rents Island-wide.

?And everything else is going up too,? said one resident.

?How are seniors expected to cover food and clothing? How are they expected to keep themselves?

?It?s frightening. It?s really, really frightening. In particular for an older person on a very fixed income.?

In fact, the woman said, she is moving to Canada in a few weeks because she cannot afford to retire in Bermuda.

A Bermudian born on the Island, she lived and worked in Canada for several years before moving back after her husband died, 14 years ago.

?Now I want to retire, and moving back to Canada is the only option that?s open,? she said. She has a Canadian pension, she said, which does not cover rent in Bermuda. She will receive her Bermuda pension in one lump sum.

?I?ll get back what I put in,? she said.

?All my family is here,? she added. ?If I could afford it, I probably would stay. But I can?t. So I?m looking forward to it because it is the only option open.?

Many people she knows have the same plan: moving abroad to retire. ?Even people who own property here are moving to England.

?When rents go up, where do they stand??