Abstract
Recent years have seen a growth in research on retirement/lifestyle migration to Spain, however this has tended to focus on the reasons for moving, as well as the lifestyles adopted as part of a healthy and active retirement. However, ageing in Spain can bring challenges as a person's resources for independent living diminish. This paper draws on narrative interviews with vulnerable older British people in Spain, focusing on those who have encountered a severe decline in health, are frail and in need of care. It looks at the formal and informal networks and agencies that support these individuals, in particular the resources and strategies they employ to access care. Drawing on a framework of care provision developed by Glucksmann and Lyons, four broad modes of provision for old age care used by older British people in Spain are identified: state/public, family/community, voluntary/not-for-profit and market/for-profit. The paper argues that there are language, cultural, spatial and financial barriers when accessing care in Spain as an older British citizen. It is concluded that there are some frail, vulnerable people that may fall through a support gap, whereby they are no longer the responsibility of UK welfare services, yet not fully recognised in their new country of residence, and asks if more should be done to support this population.
Highlights
Whilst migration to rural and coastal areas within the United Kingdom (UK) remains a common choice for older adults in retirement or pre-Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.Caring for frail elderly British citizens in Spain retirement (Lowe and Speakman ; Stockdale ), the past few decades have seen a considerable increase in the number of older British people moving abroad
Our findings suggest that older British people in Spain retain a strong dependence on the UK and this is the case when it comes to care
This paper has reported research on data collected from older British people in Spain and identifies the care strategies used by those who are vulnerable and in need of additional support
Summary
Whilst migration to rural and coastal areas within the United Kingdom (UK) remains a common choice for older adults in retirement or pre-Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.Caring for frail elderly British citizens in Spain retirement (Lowe and Speakman ; Stockdale ), the past few decades have seen a considerable increase in the number of older British people moving abroad. Retirement and flexible retirement options mean that the move into retirement is no longer the abrupt lifecourse stage undertaken at the state pension eligibility age that it once was (Stockdale ) People in their fifties and older form part of the North–South flow within Europe (Coldron and Ackers ; Gustafson , ; Innes ; King, Warnes and Williams ) and Spain has become a popular retirement destination for British people (Oliver ; O’Reilly ; Hardill et al ). Most studies have been framed within the context of the ‘third age’ (Laslett ), in particular around the notion of ‘active ageing’ focusing on those who are visible and active within Spanish and/or British community life in Spain This includes Caroline Oliver’s seminal research on retired migrants in Spain ( , , , ), which looked at issues around ageing and focused primarily on ‘positive ageing’ and retired migrant’s conceptions of place, community and identity. She does recognise the limits of old age for these migrants, including bodily decline, yet only briefly considers aspects of obtaining care in Spain
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