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[quote user="Steve"]So if you have a pre-existing health condition and can't obtain medical insurance you can't live in France?  So what happens if you become ill with this pre-existing condition and don't have insurance, do they leave you to die in the gutter?  If this is the case then I hope it also applies to the French living in Britain and that they are denied treatment on the NHS. [/quote]You cannot legally live in France without health cover but if you were here without it, and there are those who are, of course they will treat you but they will also present you with a bill for it - all of it - and if that means you have to sell your house and go bankrupt to pay then so be it.

As far as the French living in UK, there is a fundamental difference between the two stystems with the NHS being based simply on residence so if you are entitled to live there then the NHS is free at the point of delivery.

Do remember though that the vast majority of French in UK will be working and paying NI, hence contributing to the system, whereas few, if any, early Brit retirees in France will have paid a cent into their system.

Which is the fairer ?

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[quote user="AnOther"][quote user="Steve"]So if you have a pre-existing health condition and can't obtain medical insurance you can't live in France?  So what happens if you become ill with this pre-existing condition and don't have insurance, do they leave you to die in the gutter?  If this is the case then I hope it also applies to the French living in Britain and that they are denied treatment on the NHS. [/quote]You cannot legally live in France without health cover but if you were here without it, and there are those who are, of course they will treat you but they will also present you with a bill for it - all of it - and if that means you have to sell your house and go bankrupt to pay then so be it.

As far as the French living in UK, there is a fundamental difference between the two stystems with the NHS being based simply on residence so if you are entitled to live there then the NHS is free at the point of delivery.

Do remember though that the vast majority of French in UK will be working and paying NI, hence contributing to the system, whereas few, if any, early Brit retirees in France will have paid a cent into their system.

Which is the fairer ?

[/quote]All early retirees pay a substantial amount to the French exchequer for health care (well I know I do!) if they were here before November 2007.   The systems are different but the users pay for both, one way or another.

I've always wondered what the system is for the French people who work in the UK and return to France to retire (which I reckon is many of them).  Do they automatically enter CMU or some other system?

(I guess I can now expect a flood of personal remarks and abuse from you know who.)

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My wife and I moved here last July and took out the top up insurance.My cover will last until Jan next year.I am 63 this year so will I be covered until I am 65 when I believe I shall be in the French system.

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[quote user="cooperlola"]

I've always wondered what the system is for the French people who work in the UK and return to France to retire (which I reckon is many of them).  Do they automatically enter CMU or some other system?

(I guess I can now expect a flood of personal remarks and abuse from you know who.)

[/quote]

If those French people have worked in the UK and paid NI contributions until UK state retirement age, then they will be entitled to a UK old age pension and an E121.  If they decide to retire early, then as French citizens, they will be able to apply for cover under means tested CMU.  

I can't see why you should expect any abuse, given that in both cases, their contributions towards their assurance maladie will far exceed what comes out of the average French pay packet......

 

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hi, maybe somedody could help me , my husband and I lived and worked in england for 7 years and then moved back to France, my question is when we get to retirement age are these years lost or do we have to claim for a pension in england ( or in france). Tried to find out before we left England but was met with a blank and unhelpfull face so I gave up. hope someboby can help
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[quote user="lisa"]hi, maybe somedody could help me , my husband and I lived and worked in england for 7 years and then moved back to France, my question is when we get to retirement age are these years lost or do we have to claim for a pension in england ( or in france). Tried to find out before we left England but was met with a blank and unhelpfull face so I gave up. hope someboby can help[/quote]You have to pay contributions for 30 years to get the UK pension - you can carry on paying voluntary contributions if you wish, even if you now live in France.  Whether you get a partial pension if you don't pay the full amount, I'm not sure, but you can get a pension estimate from the pension dept in the UK - not a quick process though and I don't think 7 years gets you anything much.

In France, I believe again you have to build up a number of years before qualifiying for anything at all and that the partial pensions don't amount to a lot (it's certainly something I hear people moan about who have only worked for 10 years or so in France!)

S/D It's the sentence before the one you quote which I was talking about![:)]

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If you worked in the UK for seven years and paid full NI contributions during that time, you qualify for 7/30 of the full basic UK State Pension, payable once you reach UK state retirement age.  You claim your UK pension through your French state pension provider.

As Cooperlola says, you can obtain a pension forecast from the UK Pension Service.

 

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[quote user="cooperlola"]

[quote user="lisa"][/quote]

You have to pay contributions for 30 years to get the UK pension - you can carry on paying voluntary contributions if you wish,

[/quote]

Would one get any extra benefit from paying cotisations over and above the 30 years?

I know those that carry on working past their retirement age get a higher pension after the postponement.

I suspect that the answer to my question is No! As why else would they have been so keen for people to catch up to the previous 40 years of cotisations before reducing the age to 30 years.

Another question why on earth did they drop the period to 30 years given the pensions deficit and the demographic crisis?

I must have been incommunicado when it happened but I was delighted, to my surprise I found that I now have 26/30ths of a future pittance rather than 26/40ths.

 I should have paid in more but for following the questionable advice of my accountant. Mind you I dont count on geting anything by the time I reach the ever increasing retirement age but I would really like to know for what reasons the 40 years was dropped to 30 and more importantly what/where is the catch, there has to be one surely?

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It has always seemed odd to me too.  My o/h was merrily paying a voluntary stamp when he suddenly got a letter to tell him he'd paid enough.  I expected to carry on paying for yonks but after just two years of voluntaries I was paid up also.  I've never resented paying the money and would have carried on until I was 64 (when my state pension is due.)  Bizarre.
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I seem to remember when the whole changes in health cover thing blew up there was a sugestion that you would be able to enter CMU if you were unable to get private insurance due to a pre-exisitng or chronic condition. I have no idea whether this came about as I was only reading it out of general interest - can't even remember the source I'm afraid.

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Freddy, this only applies if you didn't know about the condition before you arrived (the "accident de vie" provisions.)  If you were aware before you came, you have no such let out.

Certainly though, the reason why I (and others - but I know less about their motives than I do my own) campainged about the changes here was particularly because they discriminate against the sick. If it had been about money, I wouldn't have bothered so much.  We, for instance, would have had to go home not because we couldn't have afforded private health care (we could). but because we could not have got the legal level of private cover as my husband is asthmatic.  Thus our only choice would have been between living here illegally and risking having to pay out for any problems he had related to his condition, or to go back to the UK where we no longer have any interest, financial or otherwise.

Now anybody wishing to retire early here has to be both rich enough to afford full private health care, and not to have any health conditions (however minor they may seem) which prevents them from getting the full, legal level of cover.

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Your old UK GP/hospital notes will remain with your GP until you de-register- they will then go to the Health Authority where you were last registered where they will be kept. So in principle the French Health authority could check your records, I suppose. Do you know of any cases where this has happened Cooperlola, or others.

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It is not a matter of what is disclosed to the French health authorities, but what is disclosed to an insurer.  If you deny having a condition and it flares up, you're not covered.  You must declare when applying for insurance, any pre-existing conditions.  In normal circumstances, these conditions are then excluded from the cover.  Thus, ipso facto, your insurance cover is non-compliant with French law for non-French Europeans.  Catch 22.

And no, Swissie, I don't know of any cases where anybody has been denied entry into CMU after 5 years whose insurance excluded any pre-existing conditions, because nobody will be applying under these circumstances until November 2012 (5 years after the new rules came in.)

Sorry, Yvonne, if we appear to have drifted away from your original question a little but, IMO, it's critical to your decision to move, given your husband's health.

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Hi Folks

An interesting if slightly worrying discussion - we really need to make sure that we have health insurance sorted out before we make the move - another questions and yes I know its the sort of " how long is a piece of string' type of question but ..... I would appreciate your thoughts on the right area too -the most important thing for us is the climate - we want long hot  summers and short sharp winters we DON'T want endless 'triste' days of rain - thanks again for all your input

 

Yvonne

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[quote user="yvonne"]

Hi Folks

An interesting if slightly worrying discussion - we really need to make sure that we have health insurance sorted out before we make the move - another questions and yes I know its the sort of " how long is a piece of string' type of question but ..... I would appreciate your thoughts on the right area too -the most important thing for us is the climate - we want long hot  summers and short sharp winters we DON'T want endless 'triste' days of rain - thanks again for all your input

Yvonne

[/quote]

Go south, as far south as you can, certainly the southern side of the Pyrenees but then its going to cost. The further south you go the more houses cost (mind you food and petrol seem to be cheaper). Mind you there are some excellent bargains to be had in Spain what with all the Brits moving back to the UK.

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We also chose to buy in the south. We knew the area already, had visited at all times of the year, and loved the clear blue skies and sunshine on even bitterly cold days - and it really does get very cold for long periods in winter. We do also catch the edge of the Mistral where we are, but not too badly, and we get occasional glorious storms. However, we don't normally get the grey damp that sits there glowering at you, and which I find depressing here in the Thames Valley.

However, this winter has been unusual, as many will tell you. We've had some damp, grey days, and Gardian and others speak about the weather recently on another thread.

We have sat out for many lunches already this year, but we do face south. We return to UK each summer as planned because of the heat. Locals born and bred there complained last summer. As Quillan mentioned, prices can be high, although there are places available that don't cost the earth.  [:)]

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We're Lot Et Garonne - moved here from the Limousin because of the better weather. The Limousin is beautiful and cheaper but, my goodness, it can rain for days on end while the Meteo shows sunshine further south. It is warmer here, hotter summers, generally shorter winters but can be very cold in Jan/Feb ... but the last few years aren't really representative of the general weather. That's the case all over Europe, people keep saying that the weather is changing. I know in the Lot-et-Garonne there's generally better weather than in the Lot - in fact we know of people moving from there to here because the climate is marginally better.

But to prices - there's plenty of people selling up here and moving back. Usually because of money worries or family commitments - I'm finding that people who've become grandparents for the first time find a longing to return to the UK to spend time with their extended family. So there are bargains to be had compared to how prices were a few years ago.

Yvonne - I think your income - 18K - is sufficient and will give you a good standard of living. There's many couples on half of that. Of course you cut your coat according to your cloth, but 18K will still give you enough to pay bills, have meals out, enjoy life and afford luxuries. Having a bolthole in the UK for rental purposes is a good idea and keeps your capital nicely secure and pasy you more in rent than you might make in interest.

I can't comment on the health care cover but if you can sort that out then I think you will be fine here in France.
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yvonne: If one thing is still cheap in France it's rural land, they have rather a lot of it and the financial situation has kept prices down too so I'm certain that if you look hard enough and are prepared to be realistic in your expectations you will be able to find what you need at a price you can afford.

gardengirl: We initially looked at the Drome, principally because we have friends in Germany and relations in Austria so obviously being on that side it would have made it easier for visiting, but although we looked at some nice and affordable properties what put us off was the poor transport links and the winter weather. I needed, and still need, to travel for work and getting snowed in might be fun for retirees but would prove disasterous for me.

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AnOther, yes, transport links in the Drome, unless you buy close to somewhere like Montelimar with good access to autoroutes, is poor. We loved the place we found in the Drome and the villages and people, but are so glad we lost it. We're well-situated where we are in the Gard for access to many airports, trains and autoroutes. We've had to return to UK urgently because of family illness a couple of times, and it's been easy. Although withall these ash clouds around it wouldn't have been so simple a couple of weeks ago!  [:)]

 

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Hi again

 

Does anyone know what the area round  Beaulieu Sur Dordogne is like ? - we thought we might spend a week there this Summer - what are property prices like ? - any estate agent links ?

thanks

Yvonne

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[quote user="yvonne"]

Hi again

 

Does anyone know what the area round  Beaulieu Sur Dordogne is like ? - we thought we might spend a week there this Summer - what are property prices like ? - any estate agent links ?

thanks

Yvonne

[/quote]

1. Yes I know what it's like though I live just across the border in the Lot

2. If you google (or similar) "Beaulieu sur Dordogne property for sale" you will find some answers for 2 and 3

John

 

 

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My impression is that that area is surprisingly expensive.  Surprising, that is to me, because I did think it would be relatively cheap.

Bearing in mind that I have been investigating into buying in Corrèze, my impression is that Corrèze does seem to be more expensive than the other 2 departements in the Limousin (Haute Vienne and Creuse).

Creuse seems to be the cheapest departement of the three.  But, don't take my word as gospel:  what I think expensive might seem like pin money to you.  I have quite a restricted budget and I am by nature very cautious with money![:D]

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La Creuse is the French departement the least populated (after Le Larzac !!!). Fine if you like being on your own but consider that doctors/hospitals etc are miles away from each other.

Tarn et Garonne is lovely too !
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Yes, Eric, Tarn et Garonne is really lovely.  Some of the driving can be a bit hard if you are going a long distance; you know, upsy downsy and quite twisty.

Didn't much like the road between Marmande and Villeneuve sur Lot:  just miles and miles of light industry without much to relieve the tedium of the drive.

The Garonne itself is magnifigue (as you French might say!)[:D]

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