British expats who have retired to Spain are finding it hard to make ends meet as basic needs surge in price.
In October, the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages registered a rise of 15.4%. The rise was the highest in the entire history of the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) since records began in 1994.
Take sugar for instance, which now costs 42 .8% more than a year ago; legumes, vegetables, eggs, and milk, have shot up 25%. Oils and fats, together with cereals and their derivatives, have seen their price increase by more than 20%. These are the foods that have become more expensive in the last year.
Inflation has levelled out over the last three consecutive months in Spain. The inflation rate peaked at 10.8% in July of this year. It is now at its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine. Even so, the food group is the one that has continued to put pressure on households.
According to Equiniti Group plc, the majority of British expat pensioners are now living off an income that is worth at least 11% less than a decade ago. The group manages the payment of over 60,000 expat pensioners.
“Expat pensioners are always at the behest of the currency exchange rollercoaster, but after a period of the pound strengthening, the retirement income that they receive has dipped again for most.
Our advice to anyone thinking about retiring abroad is to understand the implications of currency exchange rate movements and also look at the numerous ways in which to receive international payments as the ‘headline’ exchange rate is not necessarily an indication of the total cost of the transaction,” said Andy Brown, managing director at Equiniti International Payments.
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