After a long career in France, have you decided to emigrate? Whether to enjoy a sunnier setting or to join part of your family, or even both, it is possible to live abroad while receiving a French pension. However, it is important to remain attentive to the requests of the French administration and to maintain the link. Pension funds may ask you to complete documents or may, in some cases, wish to speak with you. In any case, what is certain and common to all retirees living abroad is that you must prove your existence by providing a life certificate.
What is the life certificate and how to complete it?
The life certificate is a document which must be sent to your pension funds once a year, if you live abroad and receive a French pension, whatever your nationality. “This is also the case if you live overseas in one of the following territories: Wallis and Futuna or New Caledonia“, specifies the official website of the French administration. To know when to transmit it, nothing could be simpler. You will receive an email notification informing you that the certificate to be completed has arrived in the personal space of your pension fund. Then you have to do it.”complete with the competent local authority in your country of residence” then send it to the pension funds. In case you do not have access to the internet, then this certificate can be sent to you by mail directly. Remember to complete it and send it within one month, because if this is not the case, your pension payment may be suspended.
How do I send my life certificate to my pension fund?
Once you have had your life certificate completed by the competent local authority in your country of residence, then it must be returned. If you opt for the dematerialized version, then you should scan the document and send it to your pension fund through your personal space, on the Retirement Info or retirement insurance website. It should be noted that a “a single certificate is enough for all your pension funds“. If you do not have access to the internet, then you must send it to the Overseas Retirement Processing Center. The address is:
Overseas Retirement Treatment Center
CS 13,999 Esvres
37,321 Cedex Towers 9
France