Retired in Tenerife, on the beach and in the sun!
Are you retired and want to move to Tenerife?
Whether it is for now or for a few years. When you have made the decision to move to Spain, you are probably faced with many practical questions. We have already answered some of them for you.
After you have already completed all the formalities (pension application) in Belgium, and you are already receiving a pension, the only thing you have to do, two months before your departure, is to report your new address and your departure date to the Federal Pensions Service. You must of course also complete all the usual formalities for a move abroad via the municipal administration of your city. After all, your data must be adjusted in the national register. Your biggest concern will of course be to be able to receive your pension in Tenerife.
Low Cost, High Quality of Life
This can be done in two ways: either you report the bank account number of your new bank abroad, or you simply keep your Belgian bank account. The latter is perhaps the easiest, since thanks to the SEPA (Single European Payment Area) there is (almost) no difference between a domestic and a foreign account of the zone. Of course, there is also the possibility to set up a standing order, so that a fixed amount is transferred to your foreign account every month.
There is no difference for old-age pensions, survivors' pensions and widows' annuities.
Attention: if you were a Belgian civil servant, there is a big chance that you can only have your pension paid out in Belgium. In this case, you can later transfer your pension from your Belgian account to your Spanish account as mentioned above.
If you are retiring in Tenerife, you have the right to healthcare under the legislation of the country in which you are residing. You must request the necessary documents from your Belgian health insurance fund to prove that you are covered by Belgian health insurance and then you can register with a local health insurance fund. Pensioners and people receiving disability benefits must apply for sickness benefits in the country of retirement on which they depend for reimbursement of medical expenses.
And what about health care?
Don't forget to send proof of life to the pension service every year.
Opgelet, er is een belangrijke voorwaarde, die misschien belachelijk kan klinken: je moet elk jaar bewijzen... dat je in leven bent. Een keer per jaar stuurt de pensioendienst een "levensbewijs" op. Je dient dan binnen de 30 dagen het levensbewijs ingevuld terug te sturen als bewijs dat je nog in leven bent. Wanneer je de aanvraag voor het levensbewijs ontvangen hebt (per post of via mail) vraag je afspraak bij de gemeente waar je in Tenerife verblijft. De afspraak bij de gemeente kan je via email aanvragen (cita previa).Je kan ook bij het Consulaat van België in Santa Cruz terecht.
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Natuurlijk zijn wij er altijd om je te helpen met deze administratieve verplichtingen.
Alsook beantwoorden wij alle vragen wat betreft huisvesting, overbrenging auto en persoonlijke spullen.
Wanneer u bij ons in zee gaat om een nieuwe leven onder de zon te starten, begeleiden we jullie, indien nodig, van A tot Z.