If you want to retire abroad, here’s what you need to know about the provision and the cost of care in Spain, Portugal, France and Australia for UK expats.
Sections
Care options when you retire abroad
Returning to the UK or staying overseas
You can return to the UK to seek help, but your position will be uncertain.
When you arrive, you will need to prove your intention to settle permanently. Your application must be processed before you’re deemed to have ‘ordinary residence’ – and success is not guaranteed.
Only when you have been classed as being resident, will you be assessed to decide whether you are entitled to state help with medical care.
It means you may need to pay for a stay in a care home while you wait to be assessed. Even then, there’s no guarantee you will receive any assistance from the state.
There are also other issues that make returning to the UK a difficult choice.
If you’re a long-term expat, you face losing your support network.
If you are part of a couple and only one of you requires residential care, it can be more complex, because if you sell up to return, there’s a chance you may not be able to afford to buy in the UK.
On top of that, the half of the couple who is in better health may not want to relocate.
If you stay in your new home country, meanwhile, you need to consider affordability.
The UK Government does not have any reciprocal arrangements to cover overseas residential or nursing care for Brits living abroad, so you cannot turn to the state.
Expats may also struggle to adjust to their new place of residence with only 57% of expats worldwide finding it easy to make new friends abroad, according to InterNations.
There are many reasons why expats can struggle to make friends. They may not have learned the local language, warmed to the cuisine or adapted to cultural differences.
The provision of private care varies enormously between countries too, so expats may not be able to find the kind of care they want. So, it’s important to get to grips with what’s on offer.
Below we’ve explored the care provision in four popular retirement destinations, including France and Spain, and how much it will cost you.
Care options and costs in Spain
Care options and costs in Portugal
As in Spain, when you get old in Portugal, there’s an emphasis on turning to the family. Here too there is an obligation for adult children to care for their parents.
It means that care services have tended to largely consist of organisations providing care within the family home.
The relatively small number of residential care services and increasing demand from an ageing population means prices are comparable to the UK.
According to Algarve Daily News, residential care costs between £2,200 and £4,400 a month, depending on your needs.
The relatively high cost is one reason why illegal care homes are an issue in Portugal, where families take old people into their homes, charging them less, but providing an unregulated service.
Caring for elderly parents at home: costs and considerations
Care options and costs in France
Care options and costs in Australia
Don’t get caught out on care abroad
The lack of state assistance for expats is striking and makes it easy to understand why Brits living abroad might be tempted to move back to the UK.
It’s far more common for people to plan to stay while their health is good and return to the UK when they need more help.
It’s one reason why so many expats do not register as a resident in their new home as they may want to be able to turn back to the NHS.
For those who do intend to stay, it’s vital to consider plans for the ‘third stage of life’ to ensure care needs are not put off too late and there’s not enough money to fund long-term care.
How to pay for the cost of care