Thanks Andy- good luck too!
When we applied to get into the system because I was of pensionable age my husband just got put onto the same system with me though he is 7 years younger. There was absolutely no problem at all with that. I think I spoke to the people in Newcastle and they sent me the appropriate forms though think this might have changed a little. anyway they were very helpful, and we went along like this for some years until my husband registered as an AE when of course it changed and he now has his own Carte Vitale.
I think you have to provide your own insurance until you reach age 65 or have lived here for 5 years, which ever comes first.
At age 65, you and your wife will receive new S1s from Newcastle based on your having reached UK retirement age and having the requisite years of contributions. Using our situation as an example, you will receive the S1s the month of your 65th birthday, you complete them and submit to CPAM who then takes, in our case, about 4 months to issue attestations (we have yet to receive our carte vitales).
We then took out a mutuelle or top up insurance. As an aside, we faffed around about doing this and in the meantime I was hospitalzed for 5 days and was billed 600+€, the difference between what CPAM paid and the total bill. Would have been 0 if we had taken out our top-up insurance (120€ per month) as soon as we were able.
I can’t think of any other avenue to coverage other than employment in France or setting up a business via the auto entrepeneur scheme. Worth of course talking to Newcastle.
Unless I'm totally mistaken, your wife qualifies by her age (presumably over 60) for her French medical costs, excluding the top-up funded part, to be charged back to UK Pensions and Healthcare. I don't think it makes a difference that she doesn't now receive a pension, as long as she has been previously in the UK National Health system.
You can then piggy-back on your wife's Carte Vitale entitlement as her "dependant" family member.
I was in a similar position for a couple of years after stopping work, but my wife had just started to receive her pension, and her entitlement covered me until recently - when I became a pensioner myself.
Obviously your case might not be exactly similar, so you should contact UK Pensions and Healthcare to get it sorted.
We are in the same situation Brian, cpam may help after you have been resident for 5 years but they have now added a clause that you must have needed to filed a tax return for all of those 5 years. We have not resolved the problem, cpam told us we will have to pay for private cover. I am going through the process of paying the tax on my private pension over here, I belive they will then start to take a payment for social charges, hopefully this may get us into the system sooner, but who knows?
I would be interested in advise too
The UK provides cover for its pensioners. The UK will provide for you if you live I. The UK, it if you have chosen to live here and are under retirement age, I may be wrong, but I think it is up to you to provide for yourself.
As for your wife, the advice to ask Newcastle, or look on their website is the best.
I have nothing but help from Newcastle.
I believe that you will have to write to the Newcastle Pensions and Healthcare Office. Good luck! I've written , e-mailed, telephoned umpteen times over two years and am still waiting for them to respond to my request for a new EHIC. My local French Department CPAM say that under retirement age it is the UK who must provide.