PENSIONS

 Pensioners living in Spain even though receiving UK pensions are entitled to free

 health care under the European Union reciprocal healthcare policy but need to be

 registered to obtain this. It will give them free prescriptions and access to both

 urgent and non urgent health care. Application must be made at the local INSALUD

 office to which you need to take the original and a copy of your passport and

 something that shows the address where you are living. You will then be issued with

 a provisional social security number.

 Proposed changes to the law for pensioners

 It is becoming increasingly common for British State pensioners to divide their time

 between the UK and some other EU country.

 Under European law, the health care costs of such an individual remain the

 responsibility of the member state paying the pension (unless the pensioner receives

 a pension from both countries in which case the country of residence is

 responsible). In many EU countries, the pensioner may choose to register as resident

 in that member state, in which case they can receive treatment in that country and

 the UK government pays an agreed sum annually to the member state to fulfil its

 obligation to fund that treatment. While they are in the UK, they are entitled only

 to treatment that arose during their stay. Registration as resident is not

 compulsory, and indeed in some EU countries is not an option.

 However, many pensioners who could register as resident choose not to do so, because

 they do not consider themselves as resident in the other member state, but as UK

 residents merely on an extended visit to the other member state. Consequently, they

 have to pay for any treatment they receive abroad and many choose instead to return

 to the UK for regular treatment. The problem here is that these unregistered

 pensioners often fall foul of the charging rules because of the way the twelve-month

 residency exemption is calculated. The Regulations stipulate that only absences of

 up to three months can be disregarded when calculating whether someone has been

 living in the UK for more than twelve months prior to the treatment commencing. As a

 result pensioners who have been living in another EU member state for more than

 three months find that they return 'home' for treatment only to be told that they

 have to pay because they are not ordinarily resident and do not meet any of the

 exemption criteria. This is clearly unfair when, under EU rules, the UK should be

 funding treatment. In the light of this the British government is proposing to

 introduce a new regulation that provides specific exemption from charges for NHS

 hospital treatment to anyone who: IS IN RECEIPT OF A SPECIFIED UK STATE
 PENSION AND IS LIVING IN THE UK NOT LESS THAN 6  MONTHS AND IN
 ANOHER EU MEMBER STATE FOR NOT MORE THAN 6 MONTHS PER YEAR
 AND IS NOT REGISTERED AS A RESIDENT IN ANOTHER EU MEMBER
 STATE.

 E106 - MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR 2 YEARS

 THE PENSION SERVICE

 TYNEVIEW PARK

 MEDICAL BENEFITS

 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

 NE98 1BA

 TEL: 0191-2187547 / FAX 0191-2187376

 EMAIL: TVP-CUSTOMER-CARE@DWP.GSI.GOV.UK

 WEBSITE: WWW.THEPENSIONSERVICE.GOV.UK

 DRIVING IN SPAIN

 To drive a non-Spanish registered car in Spain, you must ensure you have the

 following with you whilst driving:

 Passport

 Driving Licence

 Valid Insurance Document (A Green card is no longer required, but you should notify

 your insurance company prior to your departure)

 Vehicle Registration Document

 Red warning triangles, spare bulbs, first aid kit, fire extinguisher and a

 sticker/plate indicating the national identity (e.g. GB) of the car.

 Should you be stopped by the police, you will be asked to produce some or all of the

 above.

 Owning/Driving a Vehicle in Spain

 Although Spain is part of the EU, there are certain points to be noted regarding the

 rules governing ownership and use of Spanish and British vehicles in Spain.

 Non-Residents

 If you are non-resident, you may drive your British vehicle all year without

 changing the number plates. If the car needs an ITV (Spanish equivalent of MOT),

 this can be carried out in Spain but will only be valid whilst the car is being

 driven in Spain. You may obtain insurance for your British vehicle but will not be

 able to tax the vehicle here - you must apply to the relevant British authorities to

 obtain car tax.

 Residents

 If you are a resident, you will be granted a period of 6 months after obtaining your

 Residencia to legally "import" your vehicle. In order to do so, you must have a

 Matriculation and ITV inspection, pay the relevant tax at the appropriate Hacienda

 and apply for a Spanish matriculation at your provinces's Trafico office. This

 procedure is complicated and we recommend you contact a car dealer or Gestor who

 deals with importations