The Life Certificates that retired Britons in France need
Issues can arise with the current postal verification system
Certificates are sent out around once per year
chrisdorney / Shutterstock
Life certificates are used by the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as a way to confirm that pension recipients are still entitled to their pension.
The process is only used by the DWP for UK pension recipients living abroad, including in France, and is carried out using English-language forms and instructions.
They are sent by contractors for the DWP at intervals – generally around once per year – to confirm that a person is still alive and thus the pension must still be paid.
In some circumstances, other pension providers including UK local councils will send their own version, but the majority of cases flagged up to The Connexion involve those sent by the DWP to state pensioners.
Upon receiving a life certificate, a person needs to sign the document, have it counter-signed by an official witness then return it to the DWP.
This witness must be an official figure, such as your GP or local mayor. A full list is available here.
Readers report issues
The certificates must be signed and returned by a certain date, or pension payments will stop.
However, there have been many complaints by Connexion readers about the system.
Among these, documents not being received due to postal system issues are among the most common.
Several readers have said their pensions were stopped after the DWP claimed they did not return a life certificate, despite the pensioners reporting having done so.
In some cases pensions have been stopped without the person in question ever seeing a life certificate.
Others report having returned the document in good time but it failed to be accounted for, despite sendees using tracked delivery systems. Long processing times or other issues by the DWP have also been cited.
To deal with any life certificate issues you will need to contact the DWP. Advice for doing so can be found in our article here.
Are changes on the way?
A system of life certificates is used by many countries for pension systems, including France.
Many however use a digital version, which allows pension recipients to respond to requests through online mechanisms.
These generally consist of recipients connecting to an app or website and providing proof of life through photos of an ID document and a selfie of themselves.
Alternatives include uploading scans of signed and witnessed documents.
A switch to a digital system would prevent issues of letters being lost in the post (either outbound or return) as well as making it easier to respond to.
Some pension providers in the UK have adopted digital systems themselves, but the DWP is yet to do so.
A DWP spokesperson said: "DWP continues to keep the operation of the life certificate process under review, which includes exploring electronic solutions to modernise and improve the process.”
The DWP considers that life certificates are an important part of its strategy to ensure that all overseas state pensions are being paid correctly.
The DWP has been exploring these options for several years.
