Hello!

My husband and I are hoping to retire to Spain in the next couple of years when he reaches age 65.  The problem is I am younger at 48.  We really want to retire together.  If my husband was to wait for me to reach retirement age, he will then be 81 years old! Obviously, he doesn’t want to wait that long and neither do I.  We were wondering if we could afford to live permanently in Spain on just one pension.  We do not have any private pensions.  We know we couldn’t afford to live in UK when he retires as we couldn’t afford the rent and the bills.  We do not have our own property to sell, so we would be renting indefinitely in Spain.  I am currently working for various agencies, just bits of office work here and there, but there is hardly any work about at all and I am struggling to find it.  So, at the moment, it is just my husband’s earnings that are keeping us going, although only just.  We have been told that there are quite a number of UK pensioners that do rent in Spain and their pension covers the rent and bills quite easily.  We have been to Spain many times and love it there.  We just wanted some sort of guidance as to whether it would be feasible.  We’d be happy to do ‘odd jobs’ there if anything came up, anything that helps bring in a few pennies.  The rentals we’ve been looking at range from ?350-450 per month. We think we could do it, but it would be great to hear from anyone in the same position. Any advice is greatly appreciated.  😊

Frankly I think you are being very optimistic - the sums are simple - UK pension = approx 100 pds a week so say 5,200 a year, -  in euros say around 6,240? - you say 350-450? a month to rent (which is about right for a small property but not in the main cities) so say 400? a month = 4800? a year in rent. Net income = 1,440? a year to live on - I don’t think so!

All the pensioners I know are struggling and most have 2 gov pensions plus in some case private as well. And none of them rent but bought years ago.

But good luck.

What do others think?

Thankyou Rob.  I can see now that I have been way too optimistic.  It is clear to see now the figures are in front of me that it just wouldn’t work.  I think I wanted it so much, I’ve been blind to the reality that it wouldn’t be affordable.  Just didn’t want to face the truth I suppose.  Thank you for your reply.  Plan B I think .....

Well I feel guilty that I have shattered your dreams but better than arriving here and having problems like so many have already done. The days of really cheap living here and great exchange rates are no longer with us, unfortunately.

Starfish Hi,

I’m afraid I have too agree with Rob on this one.

Our situation is slightly different from yours but we are still dependent upon pensions.

Right now the State pension I receive varies according to the exchange rate between 750 and 795 Euros per month, worst ever was 711 Euros just one year ago.

Our advantage is that we have three smaller company pensions supplementing the State pension which effectively double our income, and we don’t have rent to pay.

Has your husband served in the Armed Forces at all. If so, and if it was for a qualifying period, then he would be due for a service pension. Has he never belonged to a company pension scheme?

If he is within two years of retirement he can apply for a pension forecast from the Pensions Dept at Newcastle. But don’t lose track of the fact that the last government put in place changes to the retirement age which might affect when he can actually start drawing that pension…

In theory my wife should have started drawing her pension this month, but under the revised scheme of things she cannot now start drawing it until April 2013…

Life out here isn’t cheap anymore as Rob says, electricity and heating costs during the winter can be as high if not higher than the UK (depending on where you live) and with the exchange rate the way it is at the moment, things can be a little tough.

The one big advantage you have is that in the UK, when hubby retires, you can claim additional benefits, especially housing benefit to ease the load. It may seem a little premature but get in touch with ‘Help the Aged’; they will be able to advise on just what is available after retirement.

Hope this is helpful to you. We really don’t want to be wet blankets but again as Rob so rightly says it’s much better to know what you are up against.

fb

Yes good points made about extra income via benefits etc Worth looking here

http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-spain/pensions-benefits/

(I really think the UK in Spain site is now an excellent source of valid information)

Not all UK benefits are transferable to Spain, and on others conditions apply (such as Winter Fuel Allowance)

And yes energy prices have shot up here and you will use a lot of electricity (or gas) in the winter as it does get cold (contrary to popular pre-living in Spain beliefs)

Rob - Don?t feel guilty about shattering my dreams! Definitely best to know before making such a major decision.  I think I knew in the back of mind, but didn?t want to face it.

Fb ? thank you for all the info.  Unfortunately my husband has never served in the armed forces.  He doesn’t have any company pension scheme.  All he has is a very small private one, but that is only ?100 per month.

That is such a shame that your wife has to wait until 2013 before she can draw her pension.  That doesn?t seem right ? can they do that? What age is she?  I am 48 and I will now have to wait until I am 67 or 68 (so I believe) before I can draw my pension.  It is even more difficult when there is an age gap ? in our case it is 14 years.  My husband obviously doesn?t want to wait for me to retire as he will then be 81/82 -  it is a worry that he won?t even be around that long! (his words!).  Sorry to be morbid, but none of us know how long we have.

I didn?t know that we could get housing benefit, so that is good to know.  We spent almost a year in Spain (2008) and things seemed reasonably cheap back then, but like you say prices have risen and the cost of living there would be difficult on just one pension. But then we will have the same problem here ? once my husband retires, we won?t have a lot for rent and bills, unless we rent a tiny flat, which is not something we want to do.  As I am only 48 I still have a good few years until I retire, so I will have to think of something ? administration jobs are virtually non-existent here at the moment and the pay is not that good.  There must be other avenues I can explore.  Time to get my thinking cap on….

Thanks for the replies.

Sandie

iT ALL DEPENDS WHERE YOU SETTLE DOWN TO LIVE. iN THE SMALLER VILLAGES AROUND VALENCIA YOU CAN RENT AN APARTMENT FROM ABOUT 200-250 EUROS A MONTH. THEN ALL THAT HAS BEEN SAID IN EARLIER POSTINGS STILL APPLIES. ENERGY COATS HAVE SOARED BUT FOOD IS STILL CHEAPER, IN THE VILLAGES ONE CAN BUY LOCALLY PRODUCED VEGETABLES FOR LESS….....HOWEVER IT IS NOT ALL ROSES.

YOU COULD BOTH BE INCLUDED IN THE HEALTH CARE HERE, YOU AS A DEPENDENT OF YOUR HUSBAND. BEST THING WOULD BE TO COME OVER AND LOOK AROUND BEFORE COMMITTING

Lionel - thanks for the reply.  Yes, some places are certainly cheaper to rent.  We spent a year in Spain in 2008 and had hoped to settle there, but the credit crunch came along we just didn’t have the funds to buy a property.  We were looking to buy something in the region of ?50,000, but we couldn’t find anything suitable.  We were not being choosey, but the properties were either very tiny or crumblic relics - not very appealing!  My parents lived in Spain, but they returned to UK after 6 years as they missed their grandchildren and other family.  Sadly I lost my Mum rather unexpectedly last June to Cancer, so we put things on hold for a while. She was 71.  I don’t want to turn this forum into a grieving forum, so won’t say too much about that, although I am finding life very difficult without her. We had a short break in Spain near where they lived (Dolores, Alicante) last October to see how we felt - thinking that my Mum may still be there in some other way (in a spiritual way maybe), but it didn’t help at all, it just made me feel worse!  Now, we are not sure about living in Spain at all, although we don’t think it would work on one pension, going on the good advice people have kindly given me on here.  Looking at it now, it seems crazy that we could even think we would survive on one pension - it would definitely be a struggle.