# Qualifying for a UK state pension and Spanish state healthcare



## BB1977 (Jun 4, 2013)

My husband, myself, and 2 children are hoping to move to Spain next year.

We will not be and do not need to work.

We will have to get private healthcare up until our pension ages of 67. This is 30 years away for us and obviously things are bound to change, but as things stand at the moment I have a couple of questions I hope you guys can help me with!

1. is there a minimum number of qualifying years of NI contributions in the UK in order to be eligible for Spanish state healthcare? I ask this as my husband has about 5 years only. I went onto the pension calculator on the Gov website and he would get about £18/week, but would he be able to get into state healthcare in Spain?

2. I would be entitled as I have made enough contributions and my husband would be classed as my dependent if he was not, but what if I died before him? Would he then get my pension or some sort of widows pension if living in Spain. (morbid I know but we really are trying to think of every angle!!)

Thanks for your help.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

BB1977 said:


> My husband, myself, and 2 children are hoping to move to Spain next year.
> 
> We will not be and do not need to work.
> 
> ...



currently - & there are lots of changes being discussed at the moment - accessing state healthcare here in Spain is linked to you actually being in receipt of your UK pension - so when that starts, so does your access to healthcare here

again, under current rules, when one half of a married couple accesses state healthcare here in that way, the other can register as dependant

as for what happens on the death of a partner - I can tell you my experience - but again (I know I keep saying this) it could all change

my husband died 18 months ago - both of us a lot of years away from getting a state pension - I was persuaded to apply for a widows benefit/pension (I'm not sure without checking the wording exactly what I get ) from the UK

I qualified - it was linked to my late husband's NI contributions in the UK - some proportion of it is linked to the fact that I have 2 school-age children - but as an 'add-on' to the minimal amount I recieve we are all three of us entitled to state healthcare here paid for by the UK via S1s - I think until the girls leave school, but I could be wrong.

I work self-employed, so I haven't actually used the S1s, though


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## BB1977 (Jun 4, 2013)

Thanks for your reply.


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