How to Retire Abroad: Your Complete Guide to a Fresh Start in the Sun

321 Pages·2007·10.06 MB·English

by  Roger Jones

How to
Retire Abroad
If you want to know how...

Getting a Job Abroad
The handbook for the international jobseeker

'Practical advice on finding the country where you can
make the most of your skills.' - The Guardian

Times of Our Lives
The essential companion for writing your own life story

'Whether you are looking to write your life story, or simply
enjoy reminiscing, you will be amazed at what you remember
with the help of this book.' - Daily Telegraph

Your Retirement Masterplan
How to make sure you have a fulfilling and enjoyable third age

This is the most down to earth, common sense book on
retirement I have ever read' - BBC Radio Humberside

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How to
Reti re
Abroad
Your complete guide to
a fresh start in the sun
3rd edition
ROGER JONES
howtobooks
By the same author
Getting a Job Abroad
Getting a Job In America

Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,
Begbroke, Oxford 0X5 1RX. United Kingdom.
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
email: [email protected]
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All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an
information retrieval system (other than for purposes of review) without the express
permission of the publisher in writing.

The right of Roger Jones to be identified as the authors of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© Copyright Roger Alan Jones 2006

First published in paperback 2006
Second edition 2002
Reprinted 2003
Third edition 2005
First published in electronic form 2007

ISBN: 978 1 84803 050 3

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general
guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of
relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the book. The laws and
regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current
position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements.

Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock, Devon, UK
Typeset by PDQ Typesetting, Newcastle-under-Lyne, Staffs, UK
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xii
1 The Third Age Dawns 1
New attitudes towards retirement 1
Making a fresh start 4
The lure of foreign places 5
Planning ahead 7
References 9
2 Thinking Things Through 10
The Third Age and beyond 11
Permanent or temporary foreign residence? 12
Your dependents 13
Your home in the UK 16
Your financial health 18
Staying on 19
A different social environment 19
Going to live with other people 20
3 Choosing a Location 22
Physical location 23
Other considerations 26
Finding out about the location 41
4 Acquiring a Property 43
Renting 44
Buying 46
Checklist 56
Legal aspects of buying a property 65
5 Health and Social Security 73
Your state pension 74
Other pensions 78
Additional state benefits 79
vi HOW TO RETIRE ABROAD
Health service 80
6 Financial Matters 86
Taxation 87
Investments 96
Insurance 101
7 Preparations for Departure 104
Checklist 104
Banking 104
Cancellations and disconnections 106
Car 106
Children 108
Electoral registration 110
Financial planning 110
Forwarding of mail 110
Your home in the UK 111
Language training 112
Legal advice 114
Medical matters 114
National Insurance 117
Passport and visa 117
Pensions and other benefits 118
Pets 119
Removals 120
Travel arrangements 122
Your will 123
Checklist 124
8 Settling In 126
Banking 126
British Consulate/Embassy 127
Car 128
Church 128
Driving 129
Legal matters 129
Local authorities 130
Residence permit 131
Social security 131
Taxation 132
CONTENTS vii
Utilities 132
Your new address 133
Acclimatisation 134
Reference 137
9 Enjoying a Foreign Lifestyle 138
Discovering your new lifestyle 138
Get to know the country 139
Learn the language 140
Get to know the local people 141
Develop new interests 142
Keep in touch with home 143
Eat sensibly 145
Keep fit and healthy 146
Finding work 147
10 Dealing with Emergencies 149
Accidents 150
Culture shock 151
Death 152
Disability 153
Hospitalisation 154
Incompatibility 155
Marriage problems 156
Shortage of funds 157
Keeping safe 159
Trouble with the authorities 160
11 Returning Home 161
Before you go 162
Selling up 164
When you arrive in the UK 169
Reference 172
12 Alternatives to Retiring Abroad 173
Reasons for not retiring abroad 173
The alternatives 175
A job abroad 182
A final word 185
viii HOW TO RETIRE ABROAD
Appendix A Retirement locations in Europe 186
Andorra, Austria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Bulgaria,
Canary Islands, Channel Islands, Croatia, Cyprus,
France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Irish Republic,
Isle of Man, Italy, Madeira, Malta & Gozo, Portugal,
Spain, Switzerland, Turkey
Appendix B Retirement locations: rest of the world 226
Australia, Bali, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean: British
Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British
Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks &
Caicos Islands), Caribbean: Independent States
(Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica,
Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts & Nevis, St
Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago),
Dubai, Israel, New Zealand, Saint Helena, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA
Appendix C Directory of useful addresses 261
Associations and services 261
Education 264
Emigration advisers 264
Employment opportunities 267
Estate agents (UK) 268
Estate agents (abroad) 285
Finance 289
Government departments 291
Holidays 292
Insurance 293
Language learning 294
Legal services 296
Removals 298
Appendix D Bibliography 300
Index 303
Preface
If you are planning to retire in the near future or have
already done so, this is the book for you. Retirement
brings with it so many advantages. You are no longer
bound to a strict work routine and can make use of your
newly found freedom to indulge yourself a little.
However, just because you are retired does not mean that
you are old. You are not yet of an age when you are
content to sit back and reminisce about the past. Instead
you are determined to live life to the full and fulfil as many
of your aspirations as you can. These may well involve
spending time in a different - probably warmer - clime for
part or even all of the year.
But how does one set about turning these dreams into
reality? How to Retire Abroad offers suggestions and
advice, and also provides a wide range of contacts - from
estate agents to embassies, from furniture removers to
financial advisers. Such assistance could prove crucial,
since moving abroad is not without its pitfalls. It is
essential to investigate carefully before taking the plunge,
and this applies whatever your age.
I do not want to give the impression that retirement
abroad is difficult or impossible. Already one million
British pensioners are living abroad, and that number is
increasing rapidly. One think tank estimates that by 2020
the number of British people aged 55 and over living
ix