Money, money, money...it's a rich man's world. And yet, if you retire to another country like France, don't be confused. Yes, you may have capital from the sale of your English overpriced home, but that means naught if you haven't got a decent monthly income or pension.
Why do we pay social security payments all our working lives? Shouldn't it be to secure financial security for yourself in your old age? Seems not. It goes to pay for the young and feckless at the moment. Everyone says, when you yourself are old, those who are young then will pay for you. But, if you then move abroad? Current UK expats in France who paid state contributions all their working lives receive just the basic pension, no benefits and no top-ups. And France? They're stopping the only top-up benefit available to expats (ASPA) who become ill or hit hard times. What then is the EU for? Every country can't cop out of paying. Someone must pay the tab - the buck stops here.
Showing posts with label ASPA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASPA. Show all posts
15th November 2009
There's an expat website called TotalFrance. They asked me whether I knew anyone who had gone back to the UK and what resources we had called upon to cope with the ongoing problem.
And my answer? Like everyone else today, we have to make a choice. Nowhere's perfect. Is it better for me and 'him indoors' to return to the land of grey skies, chewing-gum-encrusted pavements and general air of self-deprecating depression? Or should we stay here and benefit from the 'free' sunshine, clean air and joie de vivre of the French?
But, I hear you say, what about money? Well, yes. We can't escape that, but would we be any better off back home? Probably not, and we no longer have a home back there. Keep checking your bank balance on the web - it's no good burying your head in the sand - and follow tips on how to survive financially as an expat senior citizen in France:
1. In the winter, collect free firewood wherever you see it - along the river banks, woods etc.
2. On your annual French tax return, claim for any eco-work you've had done on the house. Last year, amazingly, I received a cheque from the French Centre des Impots for 2,000 euros!
3. If disaster strikes and your spouse passes away, you can claim 1 year's bereavement allowance from the UK.
4. If you're over 65 and your income is less than 1,100 euros p.m. for a couple, claim means-tested ASPA from French social security - look it up on the web.
5. Buy the return leg of trips back home from a UK website in pounds.
6. Go to big supermarkets like Intermarche on days when they offer discounts and get a store card. On average, I receive c.5 euros off my bill every trip.
Above all, keep weighing up the balances and wait for next year's sunshine - something you can definitely rely on here!
And my answer? Like everyone else today, we have to make a choice. Nowhere's perfect. Is it better for me and 'him indoors' to return to the land of grey skies, chewing-gum-encrusted pavements and general air of self-deprecating depression? Or should we stay here and benefit from the 'free' sunshine, clean air and joie de vivre of the French?
But, I hear you say, what about money? Well, yes. We can't escape that, but would we be any better off back home? Probably not, and we no longer have a home back there. Keep checking your bank balance on the web - it's no good burying your head in the sand - and follow tips on how to survive financially as an expat senior citizen in France:
1. In the winter, collect free firewood wherever you see it - along the river banks, woods etc.
2. On your annual French tax return, claim for any eco-work you've had done on the house. Last year, amazingly, I received a cheque from the French Centre des Impots for 2,000 euros!
3. If disaster strikes and your spouse passes away, you can claim 1 year's bereavement allowance from the UK.
4. If you're over 65 and your income is less than 1,100 euros p.m. for a couple, claim means-tested ASPA from French social security - look it up on the web.
5. Buy the return leg of trips back home from a UK website in pounds.
6. Go to big supermarkets like Intermarche on days when they offer discounts and get a store card. On average, I receive c.5 euros off my bill every trip.
Above all, keep weighing up the balances and wait for next year's sunshine - something you can definitely rely on here!
27th December 2008
Talking about the poor yesterday - and I should know! - it came as a surprise to read that help is now at hand. It looks as though UK pensioners in France may now be eligible for benefits as the low pound puts them under the poverty line. A report in the January edition of the Connexion newspaper, hot off the presses, reports that UK expats now qualify for French state financial aid of up to 467 euros p.m. for a couple. They may also be exempt from income tax, taxe d'habitation and TV licence (audio-visuelle) - a potential saving of thousands. For those who have reached the doddery age of 75(!) you are also exempt from taxe fonciere.
If you receive 100% of the current UK state pension (which I don't because of the years I took off work to have children), it's currently about £394 or 418 euros p.m. This makes many UK pensioners eligible for the allocation de solidarite aux personnes agees (aspa) - similar to the UK's pension credit scheme (to which expats are not eligible). If successful, aspa tops your income up to 648 euros p.m. for a single person, or 1,135 euros p.m. for a couple.
But, just as I was about to get out the French dictionnaire to try and work out the right phrases to make a claim, I spotted a clause: you must be 65. Here's a website anyway for further info: www.saspa.fr, before you make your application directly to your local mairie.
Oh well, I'll just have to struggle on for another few years yet. The carrot looks tempting though.
If you receive 100% of the current UK state pension (which I don't because of the years I took off work to have children), it's currently about £394 or 418 euros p.m. This makes many UK pensioners eligible for the allocation de solidarite aux personnes agees (aspa) - similar to the UK's pension credit scheme (to which expats are not eligible). If successful, aspa tops your income up to 648 euros p.m. for a single person, or 1,135 euros p.m. for a couple.
But, just as I was about to get out the French dictionnaire to try and work out the right phrases to make a claim, I spotted a clause: you must be 65. Here's a website anyway for further info: www.saspa.fr, before you make your application directly to your local mairie.
Oh well, I'll just have to struggle on for another few years yet. The carrot looks tempting though.
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