Retired But Not Resigned: International Retirement Migrants’ Long-Term Care Strategies on the Spanish Mediterranean

This chapter analyses the strategies that retirement migrants living in Spain develop when they need long-term care. Over the last 25 years there has been a continuous flow of elderly Europeans settling in Spain. During the initial stage of their arrival, they develop a lifestyle focused on active leisure and contact with nature. As these migrants grow older, some gradually lose their personal autonomy, which in turn leads to a greater demand for care. The results obtained from the qualitative methodology show a scenario in which this group’s need for care is multifactorial and, therefore, quite complex. International retirement migrants (IRMs) are confronted with a fractured mosaic of resources including different care services provided by the market, families, informal networks (friends and neighbours), third sector organisations and different levels of public administration. IRMs, in particular, prioritise health care over social care. Their strategies are determined by their personal, family and social circumstances, as well as by the regulatory frameworks governing the social protection systems in their countries of origin. Thus, this group is heterogeneous both in terms of their origins and the solutions available to them in terms of meeting their needs for care.