# Moving to Spain. Pension, benefits, healthcare



## TheStaticRooster (Sep 2, 2012)

Hi to you all out there. It has been a few years since I last posted into the forum - health issues (men's) were leaving me with a degree of uncertainty - but hopefully that is all behind me now and at 71yrs young I can look forward to the next 30yrs or whatever is granted to me.

I am currently on the West-coast of Lancashire where the climate is more often than not damp and humid with humidity levels often in the high 80% and low 90% levels and that does go well with arthritis - something that I have lived with since I was 11yrs of age.

I am looking to relocate to the Costa Blanca coast somewhere in the region of Torrevieja or perhaps a little inland near to San Miguel de Salinas.

I am interested in knowing the situation with my UK pension and what the situation is also with finding a doctor and obtaining prescription medications. 

I am currently in a bungalow that is rented from a social housing group and I receive full rent/rates relief. 

Your help & advice would be most appreciated in this matter.


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## rspltd (Jul 5, 2016)

I would have thought your first priority would be to work out whether you can live on the resources you will have. Don't forget there are few benefits available to you in Spain.


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## TheStaticRooster (Sep 2, 2012)

rspltd said:


> I would have thought your first priority would be to work out whether you can live on the resources you will have. Don't forget there are few benefits available to you in Spain.


Hi rspltd. Thank you for your brief reply. Yes I am aware but more to the point - what benefits would be available subject to my eligibility ?

Despite the UK Government referring to the State Pension as a benefit - it is my entitlement having paid in my contributions since first starting work in July 1962.

The various UK Governments have simply been custodians of my contribution monies.

My Private Pension albeit a quite modest one is exactly that - cumulatively they total just under the current UK tax threshold.


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## mono (Jan 22, 2016)

I don't know the answer. I hope somebody will be on to answer your questions. I think you will feel a squeeze though unless you are able to keep the same tax allowance. Also you need to hear as well, if there is any rent and community charge rebates. I wish you well


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

TheStaticRooster said:


> Hi to you all out there. It has been a few years since I last posted into the forum - health issues (men's) were leaving me with a degree of uncertainty - but hopefully that is all behind me now and at 71yrs young I can look forward to the next 30yrs or whatever is granted to me.
> 
> I am currently on the West-coast of Lancashire where the climate is more often than not damp and humid with humidity levels often in the high 80% and low 90% levels and that does go well with arthritis - something that I have lived with since I was 11yrs of age.
> 
> ...


Hi, San Miguel is a nice small town with lots of narrow streets, but very quaint. There is a good outdoor street market that is popular. I have been to San Miguel several times. 

You will be paid your uk pension either into an English or Spanish bank, no problem. Whether the UK government will pay the pension increase after Brexit, who knows! You don't get any other benefits paid here unless you can claim any disability that is transferable. You will have to pay for all your living expenses here including rent, water, electric and gas. 

As a pensioner you can apply for full healthcare in Spain with form S1 which is available from Newcastle. Some regions in Spain charge a nominal amount for prescription meds other areas are free to pensioners. You will be assigned a doctor at your local health centre. 

Best of luck 

Steve


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Currently, the situation is that you could continue to receive your State Pension and have it paid direct into a Spanish bank account, and receive annual pension increases. If you receive any disability benefits they may not be exportable to Spain, you should check with the DWP If you receive any Pension Credit, you could not continue to receive that as it is only payable to UK residents, and you would also no longer receive the Winter Fuel Allowance. The entitlement to annual pension increases is one of the things which may or may not be affected by Brexit, no-one knows at present what is likely to happen.

With regard to health care, the current situtation is that you would need to request an S1 form from the DWP and register that with the INSS office (Social Security) here. They would then issue you wth a document confirming your right to heathcare in Spain and then you can register at your local health centre and you would be allocated a named doctor. Prescriptions are not free here even for pensioners, they pay 10% of the cost of whatever medications they are prescribed but this is capped at €8 per month for anyone whose annual income is below €18,000. Having the S1 form means that the British Government pays Spain an annual sum of around €3k per year for your healthcare. This is another thing which could be affected by Brexit, but again nobody knows what will happen.

There are no allowances/rebates available for rent or IBI (Council Tax) in Spain by reason of disability. There are additional tax allowances for disabled people but it would be necessary for you to be assessed under the Spanish system to determine your degree of disability by their criteria before you would be eligible to claim them. 

I am not sure if this is the same across Spain, but where I live in Andalucia bus travel for the over 65s is not free, but a an over 65s card giving access to half price bus travel (plus some other benefits such as half price entry to museums and galleries and discounts on spectacles) can be obtained. All dentistry (except emergency extractions which can be carried out at health centres) is private in Spain so that would be a potential expense you would have to budget for.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

TheStaticRooster said:


> Hi to you all out there. It has been a few years since I last posted into the forum - health issues (men's) were leaving me with a degree of uncertainty - but hopefully that is all behind me now and at 71yrs young I can look forward to the next 30yrs or whatever is granted to me.
> 
> I am currently on the West-coast of Lancashire where the climate is more often than not damp and humid with humidity levels often in the high 80% and low 90% levels and that does go well with arthritis - something that I have lived with since I was 11yrs of age.
> 
> ...


If you are receiving full rent and rates relief you will be giving a lot up. I suppose it would add up to at least a few hundred per month. You would have to pay full rent in Spain.

Why not keep your benefits and take longer holidays when the weather is at its worse in UK. Like now


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Tbh, if I were you there is no way I would exchange the secure life you currently enjoy for one of financial uncertainty in Spain.
As Lyn has concisely and clearly explained, there are no comparable benefits in Spain, no Housing Benefit, no Pension Credit.
Yes, you are currently eligible for 'free' health care if you are in receipt of a UK State Retirement Pension but thanks to Brexit that is very much in the balance. 
Fluctuations in the exchange rate can make serious dents in sterling fixed incomes.
OK, I'm excessively prudent and risk-averse but life with financial stress and uncertainty is not one I'd choose, even with the lure of warm winters and a more relaxed lifestyle.
Of course I don't know your personal financial circumstances and it may be that your combined private and state pension incomes may be more than adequate to withstand any future shocks in terms of withdrawal of health care, Spanish tax and general price increases or a drop in the value of sterling but if I were you I would pay several visits to your chosen area and investigate the all-round cost of living before making any decision.


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## TheStaticRooster (Sep 2, 2012)

Hi again. Thank yo all that have contributed to my query - the various responses have been somewhat in-line with what I expected and yes Brexit is going to be felt and possibly harder than one might initialy think for us in the UK.

Whilst I had thought reasonably long and hard about the potential 'long holiday' situation - it does bring other considerations into play.

The longer stays away would reduce the potential cost of air-fares but would then trigger concern for other considerations to be brought into play.

Leaving the bungalow unattended for those periods and the uncertainty of reasonabley priced flights back and forth - UK/Spain and then Spain/UK is a potential worry.
The leaving of my car at either an airport compound or simply outside of the bungalow is another.

I have three cats that would require accomodation and that does not come with an economy offer.

Insurances have their own and very much individual T&C's.

I am meeting-up with a friend that is currently staying on the Wirral and visiting Liverpool - he actually lives in San Miguel de Salinas and has done for some 10ys+ albeit he lost his wife in january 2013.

I will sound-him-out and get some feedback from him.

I would assume that if the UK was not leaving/severing their ties with the EU that things might-well have been a little more predictable.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

TheStaticRooster said:


> Hi again. Thank yo all that have contributed to my query - the various responses have been somewhat in-line with what I expected and yes Brexit is going to be felt and possibly harder than one might initialy think for us in the UK.
> 
> Whilst I had thought reasonably long and hard about the potential 'long holiday' situation - it does bring other considerations into play.
> 
> ...


Living costs here rise and sterling fluctuates regardless of EU membership.
What the future might hold post-Brexit is more stringent income requirements for non-EU immigrants and of course doubts about the continued availability of free health care.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

TheStaticRooster said:


> Hi to you all out there. It has been a few years since I last posted into the forum - health issues (men's) were leaving me with a degree of uncertainty - but hopefully that is all behind me now and at 71yrs young I can look forward to the next 30yrs or whatever is granted to me.
> 
> I am currently on the West-coast of Lancashire where the climate is more often than not damp and humid with humidity levels often in the high 80% and low 90% levels and that does go well with arthritis - something that I have lived with since I was 11yrs of age.
> 
> ...


I've changed the title of the thread to better reflect the questions


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

TheStaticRooster said:


> I am meeting-up with a friend that is currently staying on the Wirral and visiting Liverpool - he actually lives in San Miguel de Salinas and has done for some 10ys+ albeit he lost his wife in january 2013.
> 
> I will sound-him-out and get some feedback from him.
> 
> I would assume that if the UK was not leaving/severing their ties with the EU that things might-well have been a little more predictable.


That will be useful for you. Obviously you are going to have to get a good idea of whether your income (with an exchange rate not much above parity and might get even worse) is going to be sufficient for you to pay rent out of it, when some benefits available to you now won't be available in Spain, and you'd have to pay for some things there which you currently get free of charge.

One thing to mention is that here, if you rent a property, you don't normally have to pay IBI (Council Tax equivalent) or the community fees (like services charges) which come with an apartment or house on an urbanisation, as these are usually paid by the landlord. Nor will you have to pay for a TV licence. Electricity bills here seem to be somewhat higher than they are in the UK, but you would probably find you need to spend less on heating (just as well as you'd lose the WFA).

Some things, as Mary said, would still have been unpredictable if Brexit wasn't happening, like fluctuations in the exchange rate. Also, if the UK is forced to introduce charges to use the NHS in the future, I think it's safe to say they would not carry on funding totally free healthcare for British pensioners in EU countries, irrespective of Brexit.


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