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Broke and ill: Spanish idyll sours for ageing British expats
Monday, September 14, 2009 @ 12:03 PM

Wilhermina Bickerton moved with her husband Edward from Surrey to Marbella seven years ago to look after her frail mother.

It seemed like an ideal way to while away their twilight years but they have come to regret the move because of the falling value of sterling and by not qualifying for important benefits.

“People might think it is easy over here but in our case it was a mistake to come, as you lose a lot,” she said.

Her story is typical of thousands of retired Britons who yearned for a new life in the Spanish sun after tiring of the weather at home.

Charities, expatriate groups and diplomats in Spain now report that thousands are struggling to cope.

Chris Bryant, the Consular Minister, will visit Madrid this week to announce a package of help for the estimated 300,000 British pensioners in Spain. However, aid agencies fear that it may not be enough.

They say that the ageing expatriate population, hit by the falling Spanish property market that left them with “dream homes” they cannot sell, also face insufficient healthcare resources.

Many of the retired people on the costas never bothered to learn Spanish so do not register with the local authorities. Instead, many depend on UK benefits but are not entitled to the same level of care as in Britain.

Some, such as winter fuel allowance, are not paid in Spain and, as expatriate EU citizens, they are entitled only to primary healthcare.

Though the Spanish health system boasts an international reputation, aftercare is largely the responsibility of the extended family.

Private health insurance or residential care can prove too expensive for those struggling on state pensions.

Those without family depend on the kindness of friends or even live off charity food hampers, say charities.

For the Bickertons, the fall in the value of the pound meant that their British state and private pensions fell from ¤3,000 a month to about ¤2,200. Mrs Bickerton’s mother, Pastora Cromack, 95, claims a British pension of ¤556 a month. But they do not qualify for UK benefits such as attendance and carer allowances for Mrs Cromack, which would have given them the equivalent of another £400 a month.

“My mother will have to go into a care home soon but that is ¤100 a day,” Mrs Bickerton said. “We have no social life as it costs us ¤60 to pay a carer to look after my mother.”

Shirley Schofield, 77, is facing the prospect of returning to Britain after 36 years in Spain because she cannot afford to live there.

The widow, originally from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, had the value of her British pension fall from about ¤800 to ¤440 per month, while the rent on her flat in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol is ¤575 a month. “I can’t survive like this,” she said. “It was all right when I could work, but now I cannot.”

Charles Betty, the president of the charity Age Care Association, said: “It is bad and it’s going to get worse.”

Age Care reports scores of expatriates calling to ask for money-saving tips while Age Concern said that it had 50 needy cases on its books in Majorca alone.

Mr Bryant is to announce that the number of care workers for British pensioners in Spain will rise to 100 and that a new partnership with Age Concern will help expatriates. Despite the charities’ concerns, the UK Department for Work and Pensions said that 90,000 more people claimed British pensions last year in Spain.

Source: timesonline.co.uk



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7 Comments


jean. said:
Monday, September 14, 2009 @ 4:23 PM

Sorry the Bickerton's cannot manage on 2,200 a month, my partner and I retired two yeas ago, and have a total pension of E450 a month to live on, and you say your struggleing, we also have to support a very sick 32 years old child, who uk pensions want to know nothing about, hard life isnt it, but it is our choice at the end of the day, nobody said lifes easy. regards. jean



foxbat said:
Monday, September 14, 2009 @ 6:26 PM

Bickerton's Total Pension Income is therefore =2200+556=2756 e per month. Presumably no mortgage so its all spending money...I should be so lucky!
Jean is the one with the problem...450e per month is breadline stuff.
The value of UK Pensions has suffered dramatically over the last eighteen months, typically a loss of real spending power of 25% and actually dropped 4% in just one month (August 2009) due to the fluctuating exchange rate
But why do the Times and Daily Mail keep churning out this garbage? Those of us that are living here know the problems and cope whilst most of those folks in the UK couldn't care less.



Anne said:
Thursday, January 21, 2010 @ 2:44 PM

It's important that the press and media keep UK citizens informed so that people who are still considering a move to Spain retain a sense of realism about their future aspirations and financial provision.


lifeline said:
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 @ 4:37 PM

British pensioners abroad DO get the Winter fuel payment.
Sunny, bright days lift the spirits compared with many dull Winter days.We can sit some days in the lovely sunshine in January. Let's get it all in perspective. Most of us would never return to British lifestyle.


brian thurlborn said:
Monday, February 15, 2010 @ 4:51 PM

i am 62 and normally work in the uk for 3 months my wife stays here in the mountains she is 64 basic pension (350 euros pm)these last few months work has dried up (i am a construction electrician) hey Bickertons you aint lived YET!!!!!!!!!!!! (it has been snowing on and off since friday !!)


Louise said:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 @ 7:07 PM

The report on the BBC breakfast TV yesterday reported that the winter fuel allowance was payable to people living in Spain as anybody living within the euro zone could not be descrimated against!!!! Are you entited to it? Wortha shot....


dave said:
Sunday, January 9, 2011 @ 8:22 PM

typical british whingers hope they go back to the frozen wasteland uk and leave us here in peace


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