‘Good news’ for state pensioners as healthcare rights for UK expats in the EU are secured

State pension claimants in Britain can receive their payments abroad, so long as they’ve paid enough UK National Insurance contributions to qualify. However, many may have worried about their entitlements following the ongoing Brexit negotiations but recently, it emerged those based in Spain – a popular destination for British retirees – will have their healthcare support protected.

Mr Bridge continued: “There is a lot of confusion surrounding this issue, but the UK and the EU have agreed this reciprocal healthcare arrangement continues.

“But 73 percent of our audience surveyed were unaware of this key benefit and in some instances, this has put people off moving to Spain.”

It was confirmed a British state pensioner moving to Spain receives the same level of free healthcare as their Spanish counterpart, once registered correctly.

This may exclude specialisms such as dentistry and orthopaedics that are not provided under the Spanish public system. They can also apply for a GHIC for use when visiting other EU countries.

In May, the company examined the best European countries for retirement, using weighted metrics of cost of living, crime rates, life expectancy, property prices, and population age.

Their findings placed Spain as the second best place for retirees, topped only by Finland.

However, in January 2021, additional insight from Salisbury House Wealth showed the number of UK pensioners living in the EU has fallen in recent months in the face of perceived Brexit uncertainty.

Tim Holmes, the Managing Director at Salisbury House Wealth, explained at the time how this could br problematic for British retirees.

“The last-minute Brexit deal will be a huge sigh of relief for British pensioners living in the EU,” he said.

“However, question marks remain over how this deal will unfold over the next few years.

“Many UK pensioners have already packed their bags and left the sunnier parts of Europe behind in the fear that further complications would arise as a result of the UK’s departure.

“British pensioners who are returning to the UK run the risk of facing higher living costs than destinations such as Spain, which they may not have factored into their retirement funds.

“Retirement plans may change course from time-to-time – it’s key that individuals stick to a savings plan so they have plenty of flexibility and most importantly, can achieve their dream retirement when they get there.”