Care precarity among older British migrants in Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID11201043
AuthorsKelly Hall (0000-0003-3642-422X, University of Birmingham, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume43
Issue8
Pages1915-1933
Publication date2023-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x21001392
OpenAlexW3210494812
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited38

Northern European international retirement migrants are often viewed as affluent and use migration as a route to a better quality of life. However, as these migrants transition into the ‘fourth age’, the onset of age-related illnesses, frailty and care needs can lead to increased levels of risk and insecurity. Through 34 qualitative interviews with older British migrants in Spain, the paper explores how these migrants access and experience care as they age. It draws on a lens of precarity that allows an understanding not only of individual care needs, but of the political, economic and social context in which they are situated, including social protections and public safety nets. The findings suggest that distant family relationships and limited access to formal social protection can both create and exacerbate precarity. These older migrants therefore develop different strategies to access care that include drawing on informal relationships and voluntary organisations within the British community in Spain. The paper contributes to understanding how international retirement migrants manage their care needs, and theoretically extends our understanding of how the intersection of old age, migration and care can create new forms of precarity

Context (archaeology) · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Geography · Intersectionality · Political science · Precarity · Sociology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies

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