The end of the existence certificate

Retirees living in Abroad and receiving a French pension must complete an annual certificate of existence. If they fail to do so, payments will stop.

All the residents outside France but who are entitled to a French pension. They must complete a certificate of existence. As the name suggests, this certificate enables pensioners to prove that they are still alive. This system helps to limit fraud by avoiding the situation where, for lack of information, a pension is still being paid even though the beneficiary is deceased.

While it's easy to understand why this administrative procedure is necessary, its complexity is less easy to justify. The first problem is that the same person may also have to provide several certificates of existence. That's as many as the number of pension funds to which he or she is affiliated. Once completed, the certificate must be sent by post. In some countries, however, the postal service may be delayed. This can have serious consequences.

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Towards paperless procedures

The process should be simplified. There will now be just a single certificate to send in," announces Stéphane Bonnet, Director of Union Retraite, a public interest grouping (GIP). It should also be possible to download this document and return it via a secure personal space. This will ensure that no one forgets to send it, and that no pension is ever paid out.

The procedure will be virtually dematerialized - it is, of course, essential to prove one's existence. This process will be simplified with the single certificate of existence. It will no longer be necessary for people affiliated to several schemes to go to the office several times a year.