An International Comparison of Health, Social Care and Welfare Legislation and its Effects on Older British Nationals' Mobility within the European Union: Final Report Prepared for Age Concern England and The Royal British Legion

Abstract: In May 2008, the European and International Unit for Age Concern England (ACE), supported by The Royal British Legion (TRBL) invited tenders for a mapped analysis of statutory health, social care and welfare provision in four Member States: Cyprus, France, Germany and Portugal. The research was to identify the rights of older British migrants in relation to the rights of nationals in these four countries and contribute to TRBL and ACE’s evidence-base through identifying where gaps in rights occur following retirement migration. The European Law and Policy Research Group (ELPRG) at the University of Liverpool successfully tendered for the work which started in June 2008. ACE and TRBL identified four key objectives that the research was to address: 1. To identify the rights to statutory health, social care and welfare provision that are lost on migrating from the UK. The health, social care and welfare services we are specifically concerned with are: all primary and secondary care health services, all social care appropriate to older people including community care and help with residential care and financial benefits that are available for older people; 2. To identify the statutory health, social care and welfare provision available for a retirement migrant in Cyprus, France, Germany and Portugal; 3. To identify if and where gaps exist between statutory provision in the UK and statutory provision in the host country and identify whether there is a disparity between the entitlements of a retirement migrant and the entitlements of a local national and, if so, the reasons for this disparity; 4. To provide some assertions as to whether retirement migrants are specifically disadvantaged or other migrants are equally disadvantaged.