Payment of pensions to pensioners residing abroad on the basis of a life certificate – pension paid by the Czech Social Security Administration

Main information

If you live abroad, your pension will be paid by the Czech Social Security Administration into your personal account held at a bank abroad or in the Czech Republic or by bank cheque to your address abroad only if a ‘life certificate’ (a certificate proving that you are alive) is submitted.

This applies to you if

If you receive any type of pension from the Czech Social Security Administration and you do not habitually reside in the Czech Republic because you live abroad for at least 270 days per calendar year, your pension will only be paid on the basis of a life certificate which you need to submit/send to the Czech Social Security Administration. 

By signing the ‘life certificate’ form, you provide proof that you still meet the conditions for entitlement to the pension, i.e. that you are alive on the date you sign this form.

As a pension recipient, you must sign the life certificate in your own hand and have this signature officially verified by an authority or body authorised to do so under the law of your country of residence (e.g. local authority, social insurance carriers, the police, notary, etc.) or by the Czech embassy.

If a pensioner living abroad has limited legal capacity, the life certificate will need to be signed by the pensioner's legal guardian and submitted to the Czech Social Security Administration. The legal guardian will need to confirm that the conditions of the pensioner's entitlement to the payment of his/her pension continue to apply, i.e. that the pensioner is alive on the date of signature.

 The pension will always be paid in arrears on the basis of the life certificate. For pensioners residing abroad, the pension may be paid into their personal account at a bank abroad in a freely convertible currency or to their personal account or spouse's account at a bank in the Czech Republic in Czech crowns, or it may be paid by a bank cheque sent to their address of residence abroad.

When to use this service

How often you will need to send a life certificate form depends on how your pension is paid:

(a) If your pension is paid into your personal account held at a bank abroad, you will need to submit the ‘life certificate’ form to the Czech Social Security Administration on your own initiative and at the intervals you choose. How often you submit the form is not limited, and quarterly, bi-annual or other intervals are accepted. However, it is recommended that you send the form at least once a year. Please note, however, that pension payments will always be made in arrears from the last pension payment made to the end of the month in which the life certificate was submitted and your handwritten signature notarised.

b) If the pension is paid into your personal account or your spouse's account held at a bank in the Czech Republic in Czech crowns, you should submit the ‘life certificate’ form to the Czech Social Security Administration in the same way as for pension payments to a personal account at a bank abroad, and the same rules apply for payment of the pension (see text under a) above).

c) If your pension is paid by a bank cheque sent to your address of residence abroad, the conditions of eligibility for payment of the pension are verified once a year. In December of each calendar year, the Czech Social Security Administration will send the ‘life certificate’ form to your address of residence abroad. It is your responsibility to return the form, duly completed and with a certified handwritten signature, within 30 calendar days of receiving it.

• If you reside in Slovakia, your pension will be paid into your personal account at a bank in Slovakia denominated in EUR. Eligibility for pension payments is verified four times a year. In February, May, August and November of each calendar year, the Czech Social Security Administration will send the ‘life certificate’ form to your address of residence. It is your responsibility to return this form, duly completed and with your certified handwritten signature, within 30 calendar days of receiving it.
• If your pension is paid by international postal order to your address of residence in Poland, the Czech Social Security Administration will pay the pension to you every month in Polish currency via the Czech and Polish post offices. Monthly pension payments are always delivered in the first half of the calendar month for which the pension payment is due. No ‘life certificate’ is required as international postal orders are intended for the pensioner's own hands only.

Service settlement

What you need if you are using this service

The ‘life certificate’ form must be duly completed and signed with your own hand (or have the legal guardian sign it), and you must have the signature officially verified (it is particularly important to indicate the date of verification of your signature and include the stamp of the competent authority).

The life certificate form is available on the ePortal of the Czech Social Security Administration.

Where and how to solve this service

Step 1

You must send the duly completed and certified life certificate form directly by post to the following address: Česká správa sociálního zabezpečení, Křížová 25, 225 08 Praha 5, Czech Republic.

Step 2

If the life certificate is incomplete or incorrect for any reason and the Czech Social Security Administration will not accept it and pay you your pension, it will be returned to you with a request to correct or complete it. The corrected or completed life certificate must then be sent back to the Czech Social Security Administration for review.

Step 3

The Czech Social Security Administration will review whether the life certificate meets all requirements. If it meets the requirements, the Czech Social Security Administration will pay out your pension to you. If, on the basis of the life certificate submitted, a pension cannot be paid, you will receive a written notification from the Czech Social Security Administration stating the reasons why the pension could not be paid.

For persons with limited legal capacity, the written notification is sent to their legal guardian.

Additional information

What is the benefit of this service

On the basis of your duly completed life certificate form with your verified signature, the Czech Social Security Administration will pay your pension to you in arrears for a period determined in relation to how your pension has been paid (whether it is made by a wire transfer to your personal account at a bank abroad or to your personal account or your spouse's account at a bank in the Czech Republic or by a bank cheque sent to your address abroad). For more details, go to the ‘How much you will receive and how you will receive it’ section.

Appeal options

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