Almost a quarter of Bermuda residents are thinking about leaving the island, primarily because of concerns about their financial future, according to a survey.

Of those polled, 48 per cent said they may consider planning an exit strategy to find better job opportunities and a higher standard of living elsewhere.

Fewer than a third of the 209 polled by Narrative Research said that they intended to live in Bermuda for the rest of their lives.

The poll was conducted in the first week of December, giving respondents three different case scenarios to reflect their intended future living situations.

Residents were asked if they were considering a move to a different jurisdiction, if they may consider a move at some point in the future, or if they were satisfied with their quality of life on the island and had no plans to relocate.

Almost a quarter — 24 per cent — said that they were already considering leaving the island, and 48 per cent said that they were open to a move at a later date.

Just 28 per cent of respondents said that they had no intention of moving and wanted to continue to live in Bermuda for the rest of their lives.

Of those planning to leave or thinking of a move, the vast majority — 69 per cent — cited financial concerns as their prime motivator, with the economy, the cost of living and worries about their retirement being the top reasons. A further 14 per cent believed that better employment opportunities and incomes were available overseas.

The survey revealed other concerns about Bermuda’s future. Ten per cent of respondents expressed concern over the Government’s performance, political instability and suspected corruption as reasons to leave.

According to the survey, the young made up the majority of those seeking greener pastures. The survey showed that those in the 18-34 age category were more inclined to leave, while those approaching retirement age — people aged 55 and older — were more likely to stay.

Graham Redford, the managing partner of Narrative Research, said that the survey illustrated that residents were voting with their feet amid a harsh economic climate.

He said: “Seeing these results is absolutely a reflection of the economic situation.

“Across our research, we are seeing signs that the cost of living is putting a strain on many residents, and clearly financial pressures are leading many to consider moving as a way to cope.”

The Government has pushed for an increase in the island’s working population in order to boost the economy and reduce the average age of Bermuda’s increasingly elderly population.

In September 2022, Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, said that more than 8,000 working-age people needed to be drafted in over the next five years.

Recent reports suggest that the island’s population is decreasing, in part because of a higher death rate than birth rate, but also because of increasing emigration.

Yesterday, The Royal Gazette sent copies of the survey to the Government’s Department of Communications and the opposition One Bermuda Alliance.

Responding to the figures, Jarion Richardson, the leader of the OBA, said that the survey showed that the island was at a “crisis point”, and that residents were leaving the island “in droves” as a result of a “skyrocketing cost of living”.

Mr Richardson said: “While it’s not what I want to see, these results are hardly surprising.

“Bermuda is reaching a crisis point, and the Government can no longer pretend that everything is OK. People have left the island in droves. Many more are planning to do the same. What is Government going to do about it? It needs to take its blinders off and face reality. The people of Bermuda deserve more, not less.

“We’ve highlighted multiple symptoms which led us to where we are today.”

Mr Richardson said that the island was “in desperate need” for more people of working age to fill the productivity gap, but that the Government was guessing at numbers.