A complicated move back to Ireland

Going thro a difficult spot, and would appreciate any views on my situation.

I'm a 35yo man and I've been living and working in the UK since I was 20.
However my health has started to deteriorate, and I'm thinking about returning to Ireland where I would have the support of my family.

Coincidentally I've got the option to take voluntary redundancy in the next few months.That would add to reasonable savings that I've already got.
I'm not averse to spending my savings if I go back to Ireland (with health issues it'd probably be difficult for me to get a job). I don't want to end up broke however.

I'm supposing that my financial outlook would be a lot bleaker in Ireland... in terms of potential sickness benefits, pension, god knows what else... hell... I'm struggling to think what else I should be thinking about.

I'd really appreciate a few intelligent comments, anything that'd help me to figure out what sort of things I should be thinking about.

rgds
P

pj9999 said:

I'm supposing that my financial outlook would be a lot bleaker in Ireland... in terms of potential sickness benefits, pension, god knows what else... hell... I'm struggling to think what else I should be thinking about.

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Your National Insurance contributions in the UK would be reconable for benefit in this country, see here http://www.welfare.ie/schemes/employer/ec.html
You should get the forms it mentions from the equivalent UK office before you leave.

This might be of some relevance.

I'm supposing that my financial outlook would be a lot bleaker in Ireland... in terms of potential sickness benefits, pension, god knows what else... hell... I'm struggling to think what else I should be thinking about.

Not necessarily bleaker! You are not voluntarily stopping work and making yourself unemployed so you have full entitlement for social services support in RoI as you would in the UK. I understood EU citizens are entitled to all benefits in any member state? Perhaps someone on the Irish side can confirm. For example had I managed to relocate from UK to Ireland to nurse my mother in her last years I would have been immediately entitled to carers' allowance from the State. If your health requires you to have a carer your carer who might be a family member would be entitled to that. Use the 'Search' button on the menu at top of page to find earlier threads on social benefits.

One thing that would ease the transition and make everything less stressful for you would be to discuss with your GP or specialist in the UK providing a full report on your health (and get her/him to give you a copy). I would (were I you) explore with your GP/specialist the doctors, centres and services you need in Ireland and possibly get the UK services to formally refer you. I work in the NHS in the UK and know from my experiences of referrals from outside that if these steps were taken in advance treatment would be smoother and safer. It will take some time and energy but will save both in the long run. All the best with it and look forward to hearing how you get on.

Sorry to hear about your situation pj9999. As the previous poster said moving back to Ireland might not necessarily be financially any worse off than staying in the UK. Plus, if you have the support of your firmly here then that might be of more benefit to you than any financial benefits of staying in the UK.

Perhaps you should seek some independent financial advice to look into the ways you could put your savings (and any potential redundancy) to positive use with which you may be able to use to supplement any benefits you will also be entitled to.

Hope things work out for you.