Half of retired British expats in Europe registered in Spain, data shows

A freedom of information request by the BBC has found exactly how many British retirees who currently reside in the European Economic Area (EEA) – which comprises all EU states, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein – are registered for reciprocal healthcare, with the data starkly highlighting Spain’s popularity…

Across the EEA, the BBC found that there are 145,000 British expat pensioners registered to receive healthcare as part of the EU-wide reciprocal agreement.

Of that figure, more than 70,000 are registered in Spain, which is way ahead of the 43,000 registered for a similar deal in France.

Conversely, only 81 Spanish pensioners and 201 French pensioners are registered for healthcare in the UK – a stark example of why retirees pick certain destinations, ie, for the warmth, sunshine and slower pace of life. The UK has many strengths, but performs poorly on these fronts.

Spain, on the other hand, not only has one of the finest climates on the planet, but also some of Europe’s best healthcare services, excellent infrastructure and that famous Mediterranean diet.

The official number of British retirees registered for healthcare in Spain may seem low when one considers that there are vastly more actual retirees from the UK living in Spain. However, this can easily be explained by the fact that many of these individuals will be relatively wealthy and therefore are likely to have opted for private healthcare – which, again, is of a uniformly excellent standard in Spain.

The BBC also discovered that the UK paid £674.4 million to other EEA countries to cover the health costs of British expat retirees in the financial year 2014-15, which instantly ends the argument that some sceptics often spout about how such pensioners are a drain on their host countries’ services.

In contrast, the UK clawed back £49.7 million from EEA countries to cover their citizens’ treatment costs in Britain.