Do I need a life certificate for a pension paid abroad?

In many systems, yes. Our Cross-Border Pension Deadline Register holds 49 proof of life rows across 29 of the 41 countries we research, each one a rule under which a pension paid abroad continues only while the pensioner proves that they are alive. Sweden, for example: A person who lives outside Sweden and receives a pension from the Swedish Pensions Agency must send in a life certificate (levnadsintyg) every single year for the payment to continue (Source: pensionsmyndigheten.se, read 1 September 2026). The deadline, the form and who may sign it differ from one country to the next, and one country waives the certificate where it matches death data itself.

How long do I have to return it?

• Belgium. A Belgian pensioner living in a country with no electronic data-exchange agreement is sent a life certificate and must complete and return it within 30 days of receiving it (Source: sfpd.fgov.be, read 1 September 2026).
• France. A French state pensioner living abroad must return the certificat de vie within 2 months of being asked, every year, or the pension payment is suspended (Source: lassuranceretraite.fr, read 1 September 2026).
• Norway. A person who lives abroad and receives a pension from Nav must return the life certificate Nav posts to them within 2 months of the date on Nav's letter, signed by them and attested either by two adult witnesses or by a public authority where they live, and sent by ordinary letter post (Nav states there is no digital solution and it cannot accept registered post, courier or email) (Source: nav.no, read 1 September 2026).
• United States. A Social Security beneficiary living outside the United States who is sent form SSA-7162 must complete and return it to the Wilkes-Barre address within 60 days of receiving it (Source: ssa.gov, read 1 September 2026).
• Philippines. An SSS retirement pensioner living outside the Philippines must comply with the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (ACOP) programme each year, or the monthly pension is automatically suspended one month after the pensioner's birth month (Source: sss.gov.ph, read 1 September 2026).
• Brazil. An INSS beneficiary living outside Brazil must complete proof of life once a year, in their birthday month, or payment is blocked and the benefit suspended (Source: gov.br, read 1 September 2026).

Who can sign it?

• Austria. The annual life certificate is only valid if it is personally signed and officially certified - for example by the competent Austrian consulate, by an official body or authority in the country of residence, or by a notary (Source: pv.at, read 1 September 2026).
• Luxembourg. A pensioner living abroad must return the life certificate as the original document, fully completed, signed by the pensioner and countersigned by the mayor of their place of residence - copies, faxes and e-mails are refused (Source: cnap.public.lu, read 1 September 2026).

Is it needed in every country I live in?

Not always. Germany. DRV states that pensioners resident abroad must in principle provide a proof of life once a year; for countries where Germany matches death data automatically (examples given: Australia, Italy, Spain, Austria) no proof is needed, and only pensioners in countries without such data matching must prove each summer that they are alive (Source: deutsche-rentenversicherung.de, read 1 September 2026).

Where do I see the dates for one country?

On that country's deadline page, linked from the register, and on our free map, which shows the dated deadlines for the countries and years you choose. The country hubs for the examples above: Sweden, Belgium, France, Norway, United States, Philippines, Brazil, Austria, Luxembourg and Germany.

Our free pension checker and our free map start from your own work history. Our pension questions pages answer single country questions, our authority answers publish what national pension institutions told us in writing, and our monthly data release publishes our agreement routes and deadline rows as CSV, each with its source and read date.

Frequently asked questions

Is a life certificate the same in every country? No. The form, the deadline and who may sign it differ, as the rows above show.

What happens if it arrives late? The rows above name suspension or a stop to payment. Each row says what its source states, and where the source is silent the register says so.

Does PensionHunter send the certificate? No. We identify and research. We give no financial advice and take no percentage of anyone's pension.

Sources

• Deadline register row de-12, citing deutsche-rentenversicherung.de, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row be-7, citing sfpd.fgov.be, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row fr-11, citing lassuranceretraite.fr, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row se-7, citing pensionsmyndigheten.se, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row no-18, citing nav.no, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row lu-13, citing cnap.public.lu, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row us-4, citing ssa.gov, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row ph-5, citing sss.gov.ph, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row at-9, citing pv.at, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row br-13, citing gov.br, read 1 September 2026.