The Retired expat

Maggie Inglis, 68, lives in Uccle. Last year, she and a group of fellow retirees published Retiring in Belgium, a guide for expats who are considering retirement here.

When did you move to Belgium, and why? 

I moved to Brussels in 1994. Like so many people, it was a job that brought us to the city – a three-year secondment to the European Commission’s space research programme for my husband. I thought I would enjoy being a ‘lady who lunches’ for a while, but in fact that soon palled and I became a volunteer with Focus Career Services and the Community Help Service.  That led, indirectly, to a hugely enjoyable full-time job as director of external relations for the International School of Brussels, where I worked for eight years.  Prior to the move I had spent all my life in the UK. I was born in London, and moved to Kent once we had children and needed to buy a house. London prices were beyond us, even then! 

What made you decide to stay and retire here?

The decision to retire came gradually. Neither I nor my husband felt ready to give up work entirely once we were in our 60s, although we both wanted more time to ourselves. Our solution was to become independents in the fields that we specialised in and for three further years we were pretty busy earning a living, while being able to travel more and take longer breaks. Full-time retirement followed and it was at that point we seriously reviewed where we wanted to live. 

At its simplest, we were very happy living in Brussels. We enjoyed its international character, we had friends from all over the world here, and we were a mere tram ride from the rich cultural life of the city. Eurostar meant that visits to our daughter and her family in Cheltenham were easy – and not too expensive. Our son and family live in the US, so we may as well fly there from Brussels as from the UK. On a more philosophical note, we are both committed Europeans (not a very fashionable thing to be these days) and positively like living in mainland Europe, with its network of inter-country connections. Finally, we have both had very good experiences with the health service here. Yes, it costs more than the NHS in the UK, but for us both the care has been excellent, as has the quick access to specialists.

What are the benefits of retirement here?

The benefits one finds really depend on individual likes and dislikes. I love living in a busy but very manageable city with a diverse cultural and social life. People often complain about the transitory nature of Brussels: you make friends and then you lose them. I rather enjoy the change. Yes, it is sad to say goodbye, but then you never know who is around the corner. We’ve also found that friends we’ve made here have stayed friends when they’ve moved, so our list of travel destinations has grown.

Belgians take food seriously – and so do we. We have many favourite restaurants and enjoy shopping in local markets and specialist shops (although many are disappearing fast, as the supermarkets make bigger and bigger inroads). Finally, Brussels is a great travel centre: you can spend the day in Paris, London or Amsterdam, or catch the train for a few days in the south of France, Berlin or Luxembourg.

How easy was it to find information about retiring in Belgium?

Actually getting my Belgian state pension was very straightforward. They contacted me a few months before the due date and after a bit of form filling my monthly cheque was duly paid into my bank account. I still enjoy the fact that I get ‘holiday pay’ too, every May/June. The question of official support is a bit more difficult. Certainly there are some very helpful websites at commune, regional and federal levels, as long as you can read French or Dutch (and if you are settled in the country you really should have a thorough knowledge of at least one of its languages). There were also courses on offer – from the Université des Ainés, for instance – had I wished to take them, but I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do so did not explore that area. 

Can you tell us a bit about your guide to retirement?

It all started with inheritance tax – a subject that strikes terror in the heart of many a Brit or American. The Napoleonic Code seems to us to strip away our freedom to do what we want with the money we leave and the property we have. This general concern seemed to be shared by one or two other people and so a group of us – eight to begin with, American and British – met over a bottle or two of wine to establish the facts. Once we’d found out about that subject, we talked about other concerns we had and regular meetings began, always featuring good food and wine, but with serious questions to answer too. Fairly early on, we found a name for ourselves – Brussels Retired Expats, otherwise known as the BRATS. Over five years or so we had gathered a real body of knowledge and decided to share it with other expats who might be facing similar issues. We found sponsors for the idea fairly quickly – Ernst & Young and Bank Degroof – and so our 100-page paperback book, Retiring in Belgium: A Guide for Expats, was born. It covers the practical, psychological and financial issues surrounding retirement and looks at, among other topics:

•Planning where to live, how to spend your time, how to use IT to its best advantage

•Pensions, investments, taxation

•Healthcare, accommodation as you grow older, end-of-life matters

The book is full of ideas on how to fill your time constructively and has a useful appendix which details what to do after the death of a spouse or partner. A second appendix is designed to help the decision-making process when it comes to deciding whether to stay on in Belgium. The book is not a definitive guide, but does give clear direction on where to look for help and what questions to ask. We stress the importance of seeking professional advice at every stage.

Retiring in Belgium costs €15 and is stocked by Waterstones, the Press Bookshop and Cook & Book.  It can also be ordered from the Community Help Service (CHS) on 02.647.67.80. All proceeds are divided between CHS (www.chsbelgium.org) and the British Charitable Fund (www.bcfund.be)