THE INPS CAMPAIGN TO ASSESS EXISTENCE IN LIFE FOR THE YEARS 2024 AND 2025
1. The campaign
INPS has communicated the timing and the methods to carry out the verification of the existence of pensioners who receive payments abroad, for the years 2024 and 2025.
Such verification is carried out by Citibank.
The verification that will concern pensioners resident in Africa will take place from September 2024 to January 2025.
Starting from 20 September 2024, an explanatory letter and the standard certificate of proof of life form will be sent to pensioners residing in this consular district, who will have to send the forms directly to Citibank by 18 January 2025.
In the event that the certificate is not presented, payment of the February 2025 instalment, where possible, will be made in cash at the Western Union agencies in the country of residence.
In case of failure to personally collect or present the certificate of existence by 19 February 2025, the payment of pensions will be suspended starting from the March 2025 instalment.
2. Methods of producing proof of existence in life
Normally, pensioners should send the certificate of existence form, correctly completed, dated, signed and accompanied by supporting documentation, to PO Box 4873, Worthing BN99 3BG, United Kingdom, within the deadline mentioned in the explanatory letter.
The form must be returned to Citibank N.A., countersigned by an “acceptable witness”. By “acceptable witness” we mean a representative of the Embassy. The Embassy will verify the physical presence of the pensioner: for this purpose the interested party must present himself at the office during the public reception hours, without the need for an appointment.
Please note that INPS and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation have shared a project which provides the possibility for pensioners to communicate with consular offices via a video call service. In summary, this agreement allows interested pensioners to complete the process of verifying their existence in the following ways:
- the pensioner who receives by regular mail from Citibank N.A. the standard form requesting certification of existence in life, containing among other things personal details, the INPS codes identifying the pension, the INPS number and the Citibank code assigned to the pensioner, will have to complete this form providing, in addition to handwritten signature and the date of signing, also telephone number and, if available, e-mail address;
- once the pensioner has forwarded a digital copy of the aforementioned form to the local consular authority (email address consolare.maputo@esteri.it), this office contacts the pensioner concerned using the email address, if present on the form , via a video call service, using popular video call applications, such as Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, or via the WhatsApp application, if only the telephone number is present on the model;
- using the methods above described, the consular office ascertains the existence of the pensioner and will check the identity of the person involved, verifying the data recorded in a valid personal identity document that the pensioner will be required to show during the video call;
- once the state of existence of the pensioner has been ascertained, in accordance to the methods described above, the consular official will certify, through the IT functions made available to the Bank, the completion of the verification process of existence in life, if accredited to the Citibank Agent Portal or, if not authorized to access this Portal, can validate the request form for certification of existence in life and return the original to the Bank using the mail (sending the original of the form to Citibank N.A., at PO Box 4873, Worthing BN99 3BG, United Kingdom).
3. Contacts for assistance
Please note that should the pensioner, for any reason not receive the form sent by Citibank N.A., he has the possibility of requesting Citi Support Service a new form, also by email. Furthermore, there is the possibility of requesting this form to authorized welfare bodies who can access the Citibank Agent Portal, as they can independently produce and print the package for proof of existence.
For further information, please refer to the INPS website (https://www.inps.it/it/it/dettaglio-approfondimento.schede-informative.49857.pagamento-della-pensione-all-estero.html) and to the website of Citibank (https://www.citibank.com/tts/sa/inps/index.html).
Citi Support Services can be contacted by retirees in the following ways:
- by visiting the www.inps.citi.com web page;
by sending an email to inps.pensionati@citi.com;
by calling one of the telephone numbers indicated in the explanatory letter.
The service is active from Monday to Friday, from 8:00 to 20:00 (Italian time), in Italian, English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.
Citibank’s Automatic Interactive Service is also available. By calling the telephone numbers indicated on the Bank’s website, it is possible to check the validation phase of one or more certificates of existence, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. We enphasise that, in order to use the automatic service, it is necessary to have the 12-digit number, shown at the top right of all Citibank N.A. communications, with which the Bank identifies each pensioner.
Please be advised that the automatic service allows you to receive information from the Bank regarding a variety of practices, with particular reference to the status of the certification and the release of the MTCN code (reference needed to collectipayments at Western Union branches). In any case, there is also the possibility to transfer the call to an operator.