Where should we explore if we want to consider living on the Costa Blanca? - Page 3

Hi,

If you are claiming UK pension you will be entitled to claim your healthcare entitlement through the S1 healthcare scheme which is paid for by the UK government. 

You can use your S1 healthcare cover as part of your Non Lucrative visa application. 

There is no real reason to have private healthcare unless you feel it necessary. 

Your S1 forms would be accepted by the INSS here in Spain and you would be issued with the SIP healthcare card and assigned a doctor at your local health centre. Depending on your income it would determine how much you paid for medicines etc, perhaps as low as 10%.

Worth your while looking into.

Steve

If you look at the very first post they made they say they are 58 and 51 so private medical will be required.

Ah yes, i missed that because the way it was written. 

Steve  

Hi sorry for the confusion...but yes, I'm 59 in Jan '24, so will be 60 in 2025, the year we plan to move to Spain.   I've checked with the government website and I will be entitled to receive State Pension at 67.   My wife, being much younger has longer to wait for hers.

Assuming we eventually get to move to Spain and achieve residency status, and assuming we both get the requisite private health care , my question now is, and I accept things can change, could we theoretically apply when we eventually start to receive our respective UK state pensions?

You have a couple of options. Yes, you can apply for the S1 when you start to draw your pension and transfer your healthcare from UK and it is paid for by the UK government as a pensioner.

Once you have been a resident for one full year, you can apply for the Convenio Especial which is paying into the state health system in Spain. It covers you for everything including pre existing conditions but not prescriptions. This will cost 60 euro per month each but, when you reach 65, it will increase to 157 euro a month each. This is when you need to work out whether the Convenio Especial or private health insurance is more beneficial. You can stop the Convenio Especial simply by stopping the payments.

Yes to both questions.   Please keep a property in the U.K.  The value will keep increasing unlike property’s in Spain. None of us know what the future holds and you may be thankful that you still have a bolt hole in the U.K.  

I have an Irish passport and a British one too which means we don’t have to worry about counting the days but you too will be allowed 90 days in Spain and 90 days at home and then back for a further 90 days. It works very well really. We don’t actually stay for 6 months. We pop over for 6 weeks in January, return home and pop back over in March for Easter. You can make the 90/180 rule work easily. 

Deciding to live in Spain costs you with their tax system big time. On top of that, You’ll need private medical insurance. As a visitor, we have a Global Health Card which allow us to access any medical care needed. Many people choose to rent in Spain but it’s fun having your own property  Naturally you can choose how you want to furnish and dress the place , you can’t go hammering nails into the walls if the place isn’t yours.

Off season is actually far nicer than the high season  we are mentally programmed to think about getting a good suntan which can be thorough boring day after day  and fades within a couple of weeks once you get home!!  
Anything you’d like to know, please ask, we’ll all do our best to reply  You must both be very excited moving towards this new chapter in your lives  

Cheers  Rose

"Many people choose to rent in Spain but it’s fun having your own property  Naturally you can choose how you want to furnish and dress the place , you can’t go hammering nails into the walls if the place isn’t yours"

Not strictly true Rose. We have lived in this rented apartment for 9 years and since the first day the landlord has allowed us to treat the place as our own, allowing us to dispense with the furniture and buy our own, installed new bathroom etc, and yes, even allowed to hammer nails in the walls, anything, in fact that's within community rules.......

Steve 

Hi Andersim65,

Given the age gap between you and your wife, it's also worth noting that once you reach State pension age and apply for your S1, your wife can also access Spanish state healthcare by 'piggy-backing' on your S1, until she reaches State retirement age, when she must apply for her own S1.  This will have an impact on the cost comparison of healthcare options if you decide to go the Convenio Especial route, as your wife will qualify for State healthcare by virtue of your S1 before she reaches the age when the cost of the C.E. significantly increases.

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Rose

Yes exciting but also a bit daunting as we don't want to make any big mistakes.

  TBA, my wife is more minded to do a holiday home 1st,then consider moving (sure that has its downsides as well re: security of an empty property vs making it available for rent by others when we not using it.  We also heared that Spain might be lobbying EU to try to overturn the 90 day rule, though that may never happen.

So, some firm decisions to be made as I'm certain features/location of a  Holiday home vs a forever home could be different  -  e.g with a holiday home (especially if renting out when not personally using) needs a tourist licence, would probably need to be walking distance to everything, need to have pool or access to one.  A forever home, for us at least wouldn't necessarily need to be close to beeches, or even have a pool or have access to one.  For us, we'd just want outside space and ability to emerge ourselves into the Spanish culture and way of life.   So much to consider...hence joining this forum and planning ahead:))

Hi Andersim65,

In terms of location, Guardamar del Segura also gets my vote, as does La Mata, both on a bus route.  We live 10 minutes inland, on the outskirts of a typical Spanish village, Formentera del Segura, and although it does have a bus route between Guardamar and Orihuela, I wouldn't rely on it other than as an occasional change from driving.  It's worth noting that the type of real estate available in the seaside towns is typically apartments and town houses.  We had to go inland a little to find a detached property with private pool. 

Kind regards,

Kim