Rusty Chainsaw

With Brexit, the UK will no longer be a member of EHIC, so, no, the NHS won't be paying their medical bills.

Given that most Brits who move to Spain are retirees and at the stage of life where they consume more healthcare resources than younger people, they'll have to have the money to pay for private insurance (which comes with its own hurdles with pre-existing conditions, etc).

The scary part is, many of these retirees on the Costa Del Sol are Brexiteers, despite the obvious irony and hypocrisy involved.

ab.kelly

Yes ... always thought that a bit strange!

Well, there'll be a lot of navel-gazing going on when they're tucking into their roast beef and Yorkshire puds in the many 'British' eateries lining the Cost Del Sol now, I'm thinking...

Moses2013

It's a business and as long as it's still cheaper to do the hip replacement in Spain, the NHS will pay? Spain will also be happy to get the money, so I don't see a problem there. EHIC is also just for temporary visits, but it's not called EUHIC. You are still in Europe, after Brexit.

Cape Blue

I don't think EHIC covered retirees medical costs in the past (EHIC is for travellers, not residents) - to my knowledge retirees with pensions were covered under a different system of S1.

I'm sure the UK will agree with Spain a continuation of the system whereby retirees medical costs can be reimbursed to the Spanish medical system by the NHS - why wouldn't they?

scot47

EHIC is not confined to EU Iceland accepts it for example and is not in EU There is still hope that a negoitaed BREXIT or better still a CANCELLED BREXIT will mean that we can iuse EHIC as travellers

Rusty Chainsaw

Depends on what the Brexit deal ends up being.

If it's a full-on WTO hard Brexit, then all bets are off and it's not likely that there'll be any reciprocity in healthcare provision whatsoever. It'll take years to negotiate everything that will come of that.

Right now, the most likely outcome, since the Maybot's deal is dead in the water, is probably Norway++ (ie, EEA with customs union membership), if that does end up being the case then things will probably carry on mostly as they are now, just without the UK having a seat at the EU table.

Lynn R

Spain currently requires non EU citizens applying for non lucrative visas (including retirees) to have a minimum annual income of €25,560 for a single person, plus €6,390 for each additional family member (ie a total annual income for a couple of €31,950). That would rule out a significant proportion of the people who have retired here under EU freedom of movement rules. There is no reason whatsoever to suppose that Spain would not apply the same rules to UK citizens once the UK becomes a third country.

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consula...nLucrative.pdf

Cape Blue

As I said, you don't need to be rich, just average.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...me-19-900.html

Looks like an average for two people would be £39,800 or around Euro44K.

Other data suggests a lower average - £29,952 for a couple - Euro33K
https://www.pensionbee.com/blog/2018...ple?ast=5PG7ld
This seems to show that the average retirees will meet the current hurdle, although clearly those below average may not.

Rusty Chainsaw

Still requires people to have a private pension - those who have only the state pension to rely on are out.

The pound will also be worth less than it is now assuming a hard Brexit, so any UK-sourced income will be worth less in Euros than it is today.

Then, as previously mentioned, there's going to be the possibility/likelihood of having to pay for health insurance.

Cape Blue

You said:
I'm merely pointing-out that it will likely be for the average, not the rich.

Lynn R

Those bumper stock market returns which boosted pension pots will not have proved so wonderful for those retiring in the near future, after the state of the markets over the last few months.

It will be hard luck for the people who would once have looked forward to being able to retire to a country where their income in retirement would go further, simply because their income is below average in the UK. And averages are skewed by a small proportion of people having extremely high pensions. I thought the Brexiteers pretended to be concerned about the "left behind" and the "just about managing", not adopting the complacent attitude that as long as people on average incomes are OK, everything is fine.

Cape Blue

I'm a remain voter, just pointing-out facts rather than wild supposition. It's better for those planning to come back to know the reality, your post on Spanish income levels required was useful, I'm surprised it was that high, perhaps they'll create another category.

Still Game

It's strengthened my OH's desire to never return..... maybe we need a new poll...who will be the next PM!

Moses2013

I wonder how people feel on the Isles of Scilly. I'm sure life goes on:-) https://www.visitislesofscilly.com/

Rusty Chainsaw

I think Treeza will scrape through this no confidence vote by the skin of her teeth, but her authority and credibility are shot.

Then there's Corbyn angling for an election - I've always been a Labour man, and Corbyn was a vital voice for the left wing of Labour on the back benches, but he's not much of a leader. He's been pathetic with Brexit, in particular. If Keir Starmer or even Emily Thornberry were Labour leader then it'd be a whole different story.

I still think the whole Brexit thing will end up being a last-minute settlement on Norway++. It's the only thing that a majority of Parliament could agree on. It's still technically Brexit (ie, referendum result satisfied), but without most of the harm and disruption.