A number of UK-based financial advisers have revealed that the number of British pensioners currently looking to move to the EU is soaring.
A report in Scottish newspaper The Daily Record states that relocation enquiries from British pensioners is increasing as they attempt to make their move before the current freedom of movement agreement is ended.
Companies who help with moves to the continent told the newspaper that many Brits are rushing to set up home in Spain, Portugal and France.
One company said the number of monthly inquiries to their website had doubled in a year, with actual business up by 25 per cent.
Without freedom of movement, it is unlikely that as many British pensioners will be given the chance to retire abroad once Brexit is finalised. Migration expert John Springford, of the Centre for European Reform, warned the “golden age of British retirees heading to the Costas is probably over. There is no way Spain would allow lots of Brits to retire there and use their health system unless young Spanish people could come and work in the UK.
“If we don’t have free movement, it is very unlikely we would have retirement rights,” he added.
Jason Porter, of financial management firm Blevins Franks, also said that his company has seen a surge in emigration interest from British pensioners. “The feeling we are getting from our clients is that it is better to be in the country before Brexit than looking to do this after,” he said.
Moreover, Roger Boaden, a founder member of Expat Citizen Rights in the EU has said he had seen “a number of additional Brits on the scene buying property in France.”
There are currently around 900,000 Brits officially living in EU nations, although the actual number is probably much higher as not every Brit registers with their local authority.
Article published 15th August 2017