# moving to Spain - pension question



## naphtali (Feb 8, 2012)

hi .we would love to live in spain.and both retired.going to rent first ,somewhere in villa martin etc.how would our pensions work in spaIN ,


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

naphtali said:


> hi .we would love to live in spain.and both retired.going to rent first ,somewhere in villa martin etc.how would our pensions work in spaIN ,


do you mean your UK state pension? - you can continue to have it paid into your UK bank account, or have it paid straght into a Spanish account


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

naphtali said:


> hi .we would love to live in spain.and both retired.going to rent first ,somewhere in villa martin etc.how would our pensions work in spaIN ,


If you mean would your pensions be enough to allow you both to live here comfortably, then that depends on your pensions.
If you both receive a full UK State pension, then, if you are careful, this may be enough.
However, any further pensions you may receive would definitely be an advantage and much will depend on your living expenses - the type of propèrty you wish to rent, whether you will be buying a car, etc.

At the present time, UK state pensioners are entitled to free Spanish state health care and we are all hoping this does not change.
You would need to contact Newcastle to sort this out before you leave, as you will need an S1 form to present at your local health centre.
But under the new rulings, it appears you will need to sign on the foreigners register first and get a green card each (previously referred to as Residencia) before you can apply for state health care.
It can be complicated, so have a look around the forum and particularly this thread.
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-uk-citizens-spain-application-res-certs.html and the link on the first post.

As pensioners, you are at an advantage over those who need to look for work here as you have an income coming in.
But I will say what I always say to sum up...
Whatever you do, if you own property in the UK (and in this case Wales), hang on to it and do not sell it at any cost!
You may thank me later.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Have your UK OAP paid direct to you Spanish bank account - you will get a far better rate of exchange and there is no cost to having it paid here. If you have it paid into a UK account, YOU then have to pay the cost of the transfer and may not get as good a rate of exchange.

With regard to other pensions (I have three small ones) the cost of getting them paid to a Spanish account is often not cost effective so I have them paid to a UK account from which I can buy things from the likes of Amazon (free delivery over £25), M&S, Lakeland (both of which charge flat fee) and several others, or I can get a relative/friend who is coming over to bring for us


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Open an account with Currencies direct or someone like that. They give commercial rates and you can set the monthly figure you bring over to Spain.

The differences between what the government gives and commercial isnt great really. I did check when I was looking at it.

Dont forget, if you have a Government pension as well as a state one, transfer the taxation on the state one to Spain. In that way you will take advantage of both taxation allowances, and in some cases pay little or no tax


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## naphtali (Feb 8, 2012)

yes it is uk pension .we were thinking about leaving money in uk bank ,and some in spain,at the moment we are trying to sell our house here in uk


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> Have your UK OAP paid direct to you Spanish bank account - you will get a far better rate of exchange and there is no cost to having it paid here. If you have it paid into a UK account, YOU then have to pay the cost of the transfer and may not get as good a rate of exchange.
> 
> With regard to other pensions (I have three small ones) the cost of getting them paid to a Spanish account is often not cost effective so I have them paid to a UK account from which I can buy things from the likes of Amazon (free delivery over £25), M&S, Lakeland (both of which charge flat fee) and several others, or I can get a relative/friend who is coming over to bring for us


thank you that is interesting news to me, I have just got my state pension forms sent to my Spanish address, we have a Lloyd's international account, with private banking based in Denia, my pension forms state I will be paid in euros into my account, so that should be OK, I have another NHS pension which I have paid into the Uk Nat West 
Also didn't realize Amazon shipped to Spain free, I ordered a dog grooming table but had to have it delivered to daughters address in uk for us to pick up some time, they wouldn't deliver to Spain. maybe ip tis only certain items?. Thank you again.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

fergie said:


> thank you that is interesting news to me, I have just got my state pension forms sent to my Spanish address, we have a Lloyd's international account, with private banking based in Denia, my pension forms state I will be paid in euros into my account, so that should be OK, I have another NHS pension which I have paid into the Uk Nat West
> Also didn't realize Amazon shipped to Spain free, I ordered a dog grooming table but had to have it delivered to daughters address in uk for us to pick up some time, they wouldn't deliver to Spain. maybe ip tis only certain items?. Thank you again.


Certain things are outside the courier's acceptable size range but otherwise the likes of books, DVDs etc are here within two or three days.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

amazon doesn't ship to Spain for free, sadly....
I have bought numerous things -mainly books, CDs and DVDs but also Ipods, mobile phones etc.
Very reliable service.


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> amazon doesn't ship to Spain for free, sadly....
> I have bought numerous things -mainly books, CDs and DVDs but also Ipods, mobile phones etc.
> Very reliable service.





> Super Saver Delivery to European destinations
> 
> Amazon.co.uk offers free Super Saver Delivery to the following countries:
> 
> Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Andorra, Finland, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Vatican city, Poland


Not what their website says


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> amazon doesn't ship to Spain for free, sadly....
> I have bought numerous things -mainly books, CDs and DVDs but also Ipods, mobile phones etc.
> Very reliable service.


Sadly Mary, your info is out of date. If you input "free super-saver delivery" in your search for products it will come up with *free super saver delivery in UK* if over £15. When you come to do the check-out, if your order exceeds £25 you can check the *free super saver delivery button* and the delivery cost to Spain will be 0. It will de delivered by courier within a day or two much quicker than by post.

This does *not* apply to other than Amazon UK!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Seb* said:


> Not what their website says


Only for goods over a certain amount.....I think it may be £30 or £50.....or more

I have just paid £55 for a phone, had to pay delivery to Spain.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> Sadly Mary, your info is out of date. If you input "free super-saver delivery" in your search for products it will come up with *free super saver delivery in UK* if over £15. When you come to do the check-out, if your order exceeds £25 you can check the *free super saver delivery button* and the delivery cost to Spain will be 0. It will de delivered by courier within a day or two much quicker than by post.
> 
> This does *not* apply to other than Amazon UK!




Oh sod it!! Why did I not do that?????

Thankyou, Baldy, I will make sure I do that in future.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

But we are getting a little off topic

At the end of the day there are choices

Pay it into your UK bank and open a regular transfer currency account so you can control what your r/ex is (CE for instance dont charge for the service, and if you choose your bank well there are no receiving charges).

Have it paid direct to a Spanish bank account, in which case you accept the rate of exchange the government have negotiated and in all fairness it is competitive.

Pay it into your UK bank account and transfer it to your Spanish bank account when you want to, either by currency company or bank. Banks often charge silly fees, and currency companies sometimes make small charges as you have not enetered a regular transfer agreement with them.

I'm sure there are other ways, but those are the main ones.

Its all about minimising charges at both ends and getting the best rate you can (we're only talking variances of a few points in general between companies). I found method 1 to be the easiest and best, straight into my non charging Sabadell account, but outhers may favour method 2


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Only for goods over a certain amount.....I think it may be £30 or £50.....or more
> 
> I have just paid £55 for a phone, had to pay delivery to Spain.


I'm pretty certain it is 25 quid if you are buying directly from Amazon

almost every time I try to order something on there I end up _not_ on Amazon & either they want silly postage or won't even deliver to Spain 

sometimes you don't even realise you're buying directly from Amazon.....


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Oh OK, I give up 
Lets call it the Amazon thread instead


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Stravinsky said:


> Oh OK, I give up
> Lets call it the Amazon thread instead


But it is important if one wants to make one's pension go further and gettng good deals on the things you want to buy is as good as getting a pension increase/ saving bank charges/ getting a better FX rate.


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

Stravinsky said:


> Oh OK, I give up
> Lets call it the Amazon thread instead


In that case.... 
And if you have a Kindle purchased in the UK...
Be aware that, after you purchase a couple of books from the Amazon UK address and you purchase these from a Spanish ISP, you will be sent to Amazon dot com next time, where prices for books often work out higher.

As Baldilocks says, this is about saving money out here...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Solwriter said:


> In that case....
> And if you have a Kindle purchased in the UK...
> Be aware that, after you purchase a couple of books from the Amazon UK address and you purchase these from a Spanish ISP, you will be sent to Amazon dot com next time, where prices for books often work out higher.
> 
> As Baldilocks says, this is about saving money out here...


Many can be downloaded in English or in Spanish via Torrents which is even cheaper


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> Many can be downloaded in English or in Spanish via Torrents which is even cheaper


Yes, there is that too.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

My Government pension is tax free in Spain 

We have had loads of things delivered from Amazon free of charge (£25 minimum charge) but it must say eligible for free super saver delivery. If it doesn't then you are probably buying from an affiliated Amazon merchant. Next now deliver to Spain for free.


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

thrax said:


> Next now deliver to Spain for free.


I didn't know that. Thanks!


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