Epilogue: Welfare Policies, Care and Elderly Migration

The chapter authored by Rafael Durán addresses international retirement migration as part of the broader phenomenon of gerontomigration. The essay has been conceived as an epilogue to the book. While summarizing its key contents, it takes a public policy approach and focuses on dependency issues to enhance understanding of lifestyle gerontomigrants, but also reunified gerontomigrants, retirees living on Spanish pensions, and those who have been naturalized as Spanish citizens, whether before or after retirement. Additionally, although their numbers are small, the chapter also considers Spanish emigrants who return after retirement, as well as nationalized or re-nationalized returnees. These population dynamics interact with the provision of social services and benefits, highlighting the role of institutions in either exacerbating or alleviating the vulnerabilities of older foreign nationals.