Can UK O.A.P'S Survive in Spain On Basic Pensions.?

[ajtg1952]

Here's our monthly breakdown based on living in Spain for 5 years. We own our own house and car and have no debts.

Food €270
Chemist €15
Diesel €70
Bills ** €350
Health Insurance €105
Meals out €75
Miscellaneous expenses €50
Total €935

** Electricity, gas, firewood, insurances, telephone, rates and taxes.

So if the basic State pension for two people is approximately €930 then the answer to Gordon's original question is yes.

[BENIDORM]

ajtg1952,
That's interesting, it also matches almost exactly with 2 of my friends and to be honest ourselves , although for us slightly different items, but I have kept records since Christmas and our normal expenditure has averaged at just short of 1000 euros per calendar month.
And out of our basic UK pensions we have actually managed to save over 100 euros per month.
I have had some extra expenditure which I have funded from my Spanish pension, but I feel that we could have managed fine if we had to.

What I was trying to establish is it possible for existing residents to manage with basic pensions , but I would advise any 'newcomers' to seriously consider not doing the move unless they have a 'backup' fund of at least 10,000 euros, and to make sure that they allow more than the 10-12% for expenses as is often quoted by Estate Agents, more like 20-25%, I would recommend.

Out of interest ajtg, do you use supermarkets for your shopping or local shops or a combination, and do you have the facilities to grow any of your own produce ?

Regards,
Gordon

[ajtg1952]

We shop in Velez and Torr del Mar once a week. Lidl is obviously a very useful shop. I think one of our main strengths is that we have been here before in the UK when we had a very big mortgage and kids at home. My wife is a good cook and can do almost anything with anything.

When we came to Spain, in 2008, we both took retirement 10 years early so suffered big penalties. We took a cut in net income of 78%. Everyone we knew thought we were stark raving bonkers, but we are still here and hope to be for a long time to come.

My wife now has her UK state pension which is substantially higher than the basic thanks to making all the right moves at the right time while she was working. We now feel like millionaires! I get mine in another 4 years and expect to be higher than the basic but I'm now sure as I miss out by 11 days on the 144 GBP ruling.

We now both have full Spanish health care so we could drop our private health care, but to be honest, we have always been lucky enough to have both had private health care during all of our working lives and have kind of got used to it.

Our biggest problem has been our cars. We only have one car now and when something goes wrong with it it, it causes major problems for us. Other than that life is very good and we would not change any of it.

[BENIDORM]

Thanks Ajtg for your helpful information.

You have highlighted the need for owning a car so I assume that you live 'out of town', I do think that for anyone contemplating moving to Spain that this really is one of the main issues.
I feel that it really does make sense to try to buy in or near a large village or small town if you are of pension age or are on a limited income, even the cost and reliance of having to own a car can be a major concern.
When we moved to our present house we used our experience of having lived in numerous different areas and types of property to decide on the best type of property for us, and I'm really glad that we followed this plan.
We really were tempted to buy a 'campo' property, but for us it was the right decision to buy in a large village which has all amenities and we could manage without a car if we really needed to, I can't stress enough the need to take into consideration how important this is.
I know how attractive it seems to own a nice property surrounded by lots of land, but for many it can and has become a nightmare, and I'm really not trying to say that it doesn't suit everyone, many enjoy wonderful campo living !.
So if you want to keep costs down, buy a nice village house or town house with every convenience just around the corner...

Regards,
Gordon

[anyroads]

So it has more or less been established.

Eur 1000 per month is "doable".

However I would suggest a "backup" of another Eur 1000 per month, and I mean every month, for those little surprises that life seems to chuck up now and again ( usually every month )

Perhaps some people retired too early !

anyroads

[ajtg1952]

Perhaps some people retired too early !

anyroads

It all depends on what you want out of life !!

[El Cid]

Perhaps some people retired too early !

anyroads

It all depends on what you want out of life !!

Absolutely!

I retired 20 years ago next week - never regretted it.

My ambition is to spend more years retired than I spent working.

Sid

[Mowser]

I retired at nearly 53 over 9 years ago. Never regretted a minute.

[Julie]

I retired at 40 and as much as i prefer it, I do sometimes miss that feeling of being so tired, that I hated then.
But it payed off in the end, I worked hard and now I am reaping the freedom to enjoy the rewards

[BENIDORM]

Well for me I've 'retired' at least three times, first time in my 40's, I lasted less than 6 months, we had a nice house, large swimming pool, tennis court....and I absolutely hated it !.
We had worked really hard to achieve this, but not for me this life of doing nowt, I was bored out of my head
Second time I lasted about 9 months and when I finally reached state retirement age I lasted 6 weeks...

I don't work just for money, I just love the buzz of business and I'm working at my favourite hobby....Antiques and Collectables...OK I'm only just playing with it now compared to a few years ago, but I love it and I'm thinking of going part-time when I'm 85..

But I can fully appreciate why most people would want to retire a.s.a.p, especially if they have been working for someone else or doing a very stressful job.

Enjoy life while you can, but don't become lazy...

Regards,
Gordon

[anyroads]

As Eric Morecambe said......

There's no answer to that.

anyroads

[chrissiehope]

... I know how attractive it seems to own a nice property surrounded by lots of land, but for many it can and has become a nightmare, and I'm really not trying to say that it doesn't suit everyone, many enjoy wonderful campo living !......

When we bought our house, the original plan was to retire there. Walkable distance to a shop (for milk, bread water etc) was a must, as we realised that one day we may not have a car/be able to drive, and while we could get a taxi for a weekly 'big' shop, it would be expensive to do that every day. But yes, we also wanted our bit of land (about 6000m2), and these combined requirements really confused the estate agents, who kept showing us places and saying"but it's only 10 mins from the road.." conveniently glossing over the fact that that was by car, and then there was a further 10 or 15 mins to an actual shop

Still, we were successful in the end, and we are in the middle of an olive grove - but about 100m to the road, and maybe another 500 to the village shop - about 10 - 15 mins walk

Unfortunately, we will now definitely not be retiring to Spain (health problems), and may even have to sell up as we may not be 'fit to fly' in a year or two, so we will never know if we could have survived on a basic pension....

[Chunky Monky]

Hi Chrissie, I hope you can still work out a good future for yourselves, there are plenty of wonderful places to visit in the UK - don't forget your umbrellas!

[Sandramay]

- don't forget your umbrellas!

............ currently, to use as a sunshade

[gerryh]

There's a programme on BBC1 tonight at 9:00PM that might be interesting.
It's about feeding a family on a very low budget.
OK it's about doing it in the UK but some of the tips/ideas should apply here in Spain.
Cheers
Gerry

[anyroads]

"There's a programme on BBC1 tonight at 9:00PM that might be interesting.
It's about feeding a family on a very low budget.
OK it's about doing it in the UK but some of the tips/ideas should apply here in Spain.
Cheers
Gerry"

Problem is, the people who should be watching it, will be watching SKY on their 54 inch TVs

anyroads

[gerryh]

Problem is, the people who should be watching it, will be watching SKY on their 54 inch TVs

anyroads

Sorry, am I missing something?
I bought my SKY box and TV before I was an OAP, as probably, did many others on here, so can't quite see the relevance of your remark.

Cheers
Gerry

[Lavanda]

Relax Gerry! I think anyroads was thinking of all the TV watching, low-paid or benefits receiving, weird priority people who put buying TVs, iphones, computers and the like before feeding their children or themselves properly. At least that's how I took her post.

[chrissiehope]

Hi Chrissie, I hope you can still work out a good future for yourselves, there are plenty of wonderful places to visit in the UK - don't forget your umbrellas!

Thanks CM - we'll do our best

[anyroads]

Sorry, am I missing something?

Yes you are gerryh.

Lavanda is spot on.

Besides the last thing I would want to do is upset people ( I leave that to katy )

anyroads