A pensioner from Oxford who has lived in Spain for 17 years told i she and her husband “would struggle to survive” in the UK on the state pension, and regrets nothing about re-locating before Brexit.
In 2007, Sue Wilson, 70, and her husband Steve sold their home in Oxford for £400,000 and traded it in for a villa in Alcossebre, a village near Valencia, with a pool and garden for £135,000.
Mr Wilson, who previously worked as an IT consultant, has a pension of around £9,500 a year.
Ms Wilson, who opted into the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS), receives roughly £11,5000 per year after a career in sales, training and project management.
The couple said their combined UK state pension of around £340 per week has allowed them to “live well” abroad.
“We are more comfortable than our British counterparts and we are more financially stable,” Ms Wilson told i.
Ms Wilson is the chair of Bremain in Spain, a campaign group which aims to “protect the rights of British migrants living in Spain and across Europe”.
She told i she would “not be able to experience the same quality of life in the UK”, amid the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy costs.
“Our monthly electricity bill is €80 (£68), our monthly food is cheap at €100 (£84) – and there is a ready supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, and healthcare is free,” she said.
According to comparison website Uswitch, the average electricity bill in the UK as of 8 March 2024 is £772.74 per year (without factoring in the annual electricity standing charge).
Aside from bills, Ms Wilson said food, drink, and socialising is significantly cheaper in Spain, and that the country now “feels like home”.
The couple have also been able to fund £145,000 of renovations to their Spanish home.
“The weather encourages you to live much more outdoors – the Mediterranean diet is one of the best in the world.
“We’re also vegetarian – so it’s both a cheap and healthy lifestyle,” Ms Wilson added.
The couple also value the Spanish healthcare system, as NHS waiting lists continue to soar.
Ms Wilson said: “I’m 70 now – we’re at an age where considering your healthcare is a significant factor. I have friends in the UK who have been on waiting lists for months and can’t get appointments.
“Thankfully, we haven’t needed anything serious but the health service in Spain is quick, excellent, and well staffed, with a much higher proportion of staff to patients than in the NHS.”
On the effect of Brexit, Ms Wilson said she is pleased they chose to make the move nine years before the Brexit referendum took place.
“Some people now miss out on EU citizenship rights. We moved here expecting to have those rights for life,” she explained.
“However, it doesn’t affect me personally because I’m retired and I don’t want to work or live in another European country.
“But, had we tried to move after Brexit, we would not have met the Spanish income pension threshold, so we are very glad we made that decision when we did.”