SeattleSheila

I don't believe I qualify as a British Expat... but I am looking for advice and I think some of you may have good information to share. I have dual citizenship...US and UK and I have both passports. I have resided in the US since I was a child and only lived in England for two years in the late 1980s since I was a child. I am single and considering retirement abroad. My income would be solely from US sources... social security and investments. Would you retire in the UK? Where? If one wants to, can one find part time work... or is the "age thing" a huge issue in the UK? If you don't recommend the UK, where would be your choice? I thought about Ireland, Portugal or Uruguay as well.

J.JsOH

We retired in UK after 18 yrs in US. Most of our retirement monies are in US.
Work can be found for older people.
Should you retire to UK ? Hmmm, so much depends on you and how able you are to adapt. Same with the other countries you mention.
Remember that the US will treat you are an Ameican living overseas and all the tax and other bureaucracy that goes with it. Hope you like paperwork !

not2old

many on here have returned back to Blighty to retire, others ping pong. Brits (on a google search) you'll find the popular spots. Brits can be found in the popular places of Spain, Portugal, France & Malta.

The 10 best places to retire abroad - Telegraph

Its all down to a personal lifestyle choice.

If you are thinking about it, then my suggestion as a start is to find as much out as you can from reading the various country threads on BE.

As for the UK, before making a leap of faith, you could do a none committal six month stay, live like a local, rent furnish middle England so that you can travel up & down the country, maybe visit Ireland as well as a few of the other places.

Smell, touch & feel is way better than getting opinions of 'where is best'.

If you do six months, plan on minimum $2500/mth budget

Bermudashorts

I think your situation is a bit different to those that emigrated as adults and then returned to UK to retire. You have only spent two years then and that was as a child, do you have any family of friends in the UK?

Either way, I think your scenario is a lot tougher, especially by yourself, but no tougher than retiring anywhere else, if that is definitely what you want to do. At least you speak the same language anyway. Part time work is always hard to find as it is in such demand and yes the UK is as ageist as anywhere else. But again, probably no worse than you are familiar with.

To be honest, if I didn't have my ties to the UK (and I do have strong ones), I don't think I would pick the UK as a retirement spot. But that is mainly because I would prefer somewhere a bit warmer, I don't miss freezing mornings and scraping the car of ice at 6am.

not2old

Bermudashorts @ post#4 ... I agree

Now a hint for you OP.

Suppose you want to live in say Portugal or Malta. My suggestion is a 3-6 month stay in the UK, get yourself Habitual Resident, make sure that you have the NHS & doctors all sorted. Then if you move to a European destination as an over 65 pensioner you'll have health coverage + certain other benefits living life in a nice warm climate, much like Brit expats do.

formula

How will she have her healthcare sorted if she doesn't work in Portugal or Malta? They won't pay for the healthcare of EUs who don't work. The UK only pays for the healthcare for those retiring to another EU country, if they receive a UK state pension.

What benefits did you think the UK would provide? I can't think of any. For the Winter Fuel Allowance and living in another EU country, they need to receive a UK state pension. Even for those that do qualify for WFA, there are plans to stop the "sunshine benefits" and give that money saved as extra payments to UK state pensioners living in the UK.

The Island of Ireland maybe?? Brits are treated as PR when they arrive in Ireland, but I don't know what the Irish can have as soon as they return home after time spent abroad?
Northern Ireland is part of the UK.

robin1234

I would agree with not2old's suggestion of visiting the UK for a lengthy trial period. This is what I did last winter. I got a winter rental of a holiday cottage for ten weeks. Price wise, these are more expensive than long term rentals, but much cheaper than weekly rate holiday rentals. Big advantage is everything is provided, just as you'd expect in a weekly holiday rental.

Being located in one place for months, you can begin to simulate "real life." Hang around, listen to the radio, get to know the local supermarkets, go on day trips, join the public library. Maybe join a club, go to church, whatever.

After a few weeks (in the middle of winter!) I was more confident that I want to live in retirement in England, and it's not just a "grass is greener" thing.

nun

There are great things about moving to the UK, like the lower cost of health care, but the cost of housing in some places might be a shock.

The paperwork to comply with finances and taxes will be a problem, but no more so than for any US expat. There's no problem with your US social security as it will only be taxable in the UK, but your US investments will be more complicated to deal with.

nun

Could the OP use SS credits and the reciprocal SS agreement to qualify for a minimal UK state pension?

Editha

I don't think so. I'm not sure how you think that would work.

Editha

The OP doesn't say how old she is and how long she has to prepare for retirement. I agree that she should aim to spend a significant amount of time in the UK before making a final decision. If she has never lived anywhere except the USA, the culture shock is likely to be much greater than she anticipates.

The advantages of retiring to the UK would be, I suggest:

• The free healthcare.
• Access to the cultural and historical sites of Britain and Europe.
• A mild climate.
• An ageing population, which means that commerce and services are increasingly geared to the older generation.
• As a UK citizen you already speak the language and have a right to reside.

The main disadvantages, from the point of view of a North American, would be, I suggest:

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Research the best places to retire in the UK carefully; the Telegraph list is a good starting point:
Top 10 places to retire - Telegraph.

If you look at the top of the Moving Back to the UK forum page there is a link to a wiki-links list for over-fifties. The Age UK site repays study; it will give you a very good picture of the practicalities of retirement in the UK.

As far as I can see, apart from the NHS, you will not qualify for any other non-means tested benefits from what remains of Britain's welfare state. But, we do still have a safety net for people on a very low income. I get the impression that you do not come into that category, but if you do, then you would get help. The Age UK site has a benefit calculator, if you are in that category.

formula

I'll add that you need savings in old age as a safety net.

• Some operations that use to be free on the NHS in the 90s and before, now are not.
• Even if a service is free on the NHS, you can still be refused. Each department has a budget and they choose who they give treatment to. You can then either pay privately or will go without.
• Waiting lists for common operations are getting longer. My aunt in her late 60s, chose to pay privately for her knee operation to jump the queue, because she was in agony.

It was quite obvious to many that all the generous welfare payments of the last decade will not continue because the UK could never afford a massive, ever rising welfare bill. Last year the welfare bill had risen to something like over 200 billion a year.

The benefit changes started when the last government were in because the welfare bill, for the first time ever in the UK, was more than they took in income tax and the repayments on their borrowing had got out of hand. Just the interest payments on all that borrowing to pay the UKs bills, is something like 50 billion a year. You don't need a calculator to see that the UK is broke.

This is why it has been so easy to get all the benefit changes passed in parliament, many of which are not in yet. Labour started the welfare changes in 2008 with medicals for those claiming to be sick and trialled a one income based welfare payment. When they lost the election, the next government picked up their ideas and ran with them and brought in more changes to the income based benefits, while giving more to some on contribution based benefits and raising the income tax allowance for UK residents.

theOAP

This is probably one of the most overlooked, yet most influential, aspects for anyone moving from the US with a 100% dependence on US sourced retirement funds and investments.

A suggestion would be to work out the amount of funds available in retirement at today's exchange rate, then reduce that number by 25%. If a person can survive on the reduced amount (75%), they are less likely to have a problem surviving financially in the future in a country outside the US.

Of course, this doesn't only apply to the US, but anywhere one lives if the majority of their source of income is from outside the country they are living in. If local costs of living in the new country are high, then doing the above calculation is essential.

Sally Redux

Hi Sheila, what is the reason for you considering this move? That could give us more idea as to whether it would be advisable.

I would suggest a long visit as Robin has suggested.

Do you have links to any particular areas?

Editha

Not actually true.

But that's not terribly relevant if you are thinking of migrating to the UK from the USA, since both countries have a similar degree of indebtedness as a percentage of GDP.