October 29, 2006

Thousands of British retirees who have moved abroad in search of the good life in the sun are instead ending up in poverty, ill and alone, according to a stark warning from the Foreign Office.

Officials say the problem is growing fast as the first big wave of expat retirees, who went overseas in the Eighties, reach old age. Many of them fail to understand the welfare and support systems of foreign countries and end up isolated after the deaths of partners and friends.

'It is astonishing how many retirees make no plans or provisions for their future health and wellbeing when they retire abroad,' said Steve Jewitt-Fleet of the Foreign Office. 'The majority of British nationals do not register with local authorities and often the FCO only hears about these people when they get into serious difficulties.'

Examples include the case of a 73-year-old woman who moved to Andalucia with her husband. After many happy years, her husband died and she was left alone. Unable to handle her finances, living on a small pension, and with no idea how to claim benefits, she became impoverished. She fell ill and became house bound, and eventually the FCO found her 'having not eaten for weeks, and in need of urgent medical care.'

The situation is likely to get worse: the popularity of foreign retirement grew still further in the 1990s, fuelled by idyllic accounts of the simple life abroad, such as Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence and A Good Year, released as a film last week. An estimated one million over-50s have now retired abroad. 'Sadly, we now spend much of our time dealing with elderly British nationals who cannot manage alone,' said Bruce McIntyre, British Consul in Malaga. 'Sometimes people have made bad property investments or have not budgeted their pensions sufficiently and are living in extreme poverty.'

Selling up and moving back home might not be easy either since house prices in many parts of Europe have not kept pace with the British boom. 

· See www.fco.gov.uk/travel

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