magicnumber6

I can not find any definitive information to my question, Can any one help.
Scenario:
I am british and have paid NI contributions, 30 years worth, so will be entitiled to UK state pension at retitement age. My wife who is French national, (we both currently live in UK), has paid 18 years worth of NI. Question; when we move to France and reach UK state pension age I believe I will recieve 100% UK state pension and my wife a partial pension. However regards the entitlement to free medical cover once reaching UK state pension age, will my wife be entitiled to this as well?

I was hoping that once we reach UK pension age we would no longer have to have frecnh mutual cover for medical.

any ideas?

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Did your wife work in France before living in the UK?
Some one more in the know will advise better than I can, but I can say that, unless you are suffering from "affections de longue durée" = certain illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, ... where you pay nothing, the S.S. will only reimburse about 70% of all medical expenses. You are advised to take out a Mutuelle to make up for the 30%, all the more so as the older you get, the more often you have to consult...

EuroTrash

If one of a couple qualifies for permanent cover on an S1 through having a UK state pension, it normally covers both of the couple.

But I don't think you need a FULL state pension to get an S1. I think any state pension will do.

The only reason your wife wouldn't get S1 cover would be if she covered some other wise - in which case, she would ipso facto be covered some other wise.

But as dmu says, you would be wise to still have a mutuel to cover the part of the cost that the state doesn't reimburse. Even if your cover is via an S1 from the UK, it doesn't mean you get 100% 'free' healthcare as you would in the UK; to all intents and purposes you are still treated like anyone else using the French health service.

Garonne

You won't necessarily be entitled to 'free' French health cover - it's income related and will normally be only 70% of any French medical fees.

dmu

Hi,
When I asked this, I was thinking more along the lines of her personal Pension than healthcare coverage here. If she paid into the System in France before living in the UK, she will receive a French Pension pro rata, as well as what she's entitled to from the UK.

magicnumber6

I think my question is quite complex. The responses above dont really answer the exact question. However I am interested to know what the S1 actually covers?

Even though there is entitlement to pension for my wife, regards the health care, I think as my wife is a French national, the law would assume she belongs to the French system and as such would not be entitled to any health cover given by the S1.

Novocastrian

I'm no expert, but I suspect you're over-thinking it. When you've retired in the UK in receipt of a UK pension, whether 100% or less, and move to France you'll have access to the same health care as the French and so would your spouse whether or not she has reached retirement age. I don't think her citizenship, even if it's not EU, is an issue. If she were to work in France that would raise other issues, but not this one.

Edit: But you'll both still need supplementary insurance.

EuroTrash

As DMU says, it ain't that complicated.

If you hold an S1, you have exactly the same entitlements to healthcare as if you were a member of the health system of the country in which you are resident, in this case France.

Whether or not France takes your wife back into the system direct, based on her previous contributions, will depend largely on how long she's been out of France, which I don't think you say. But whether she ends up in the system direct or via an S1, either yours or her own, will make no practical difference, her entitlement will be exactly the same as far as medical cover is concerned - it's purely an administrative matter for DWP and France to decide between them, based on how the facts of her case fit their respective criteria. One or the other will take responsibility for her.

France has a track record of not listening when EU law assumes/tries to tell it who does and who does not belong to the French social security system!

magicnumber6

The advice given here is good. I have researched the S1 and as said, at the end of the day either UK or France will accept liability, its just administritive at that point.

Many thanks!