# Pension stuff.



## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Hope someone can help.

OH receives a small pension from Spain (we are in the UK) and we have just had a note that it has been suspended.

We can 'rehabilitate' it by sending...

"certificado de fe de vida original u otro documento original que acredite su viviencia fehaciente"

What are those?

And why have they suspended it - is it normal?

Many thanks in advance


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

It sems to be the same as the "proof of life" certificates which UK pension providers routinely ask those of us who are receiving pensions from the UK but not resident in the UK to send them. My husband gets one every single year from his local government pension authority, I've had one from the Civil Service pension administrators, I think even the DWP does it occasionally. It is normal for them to say that if the form isn't returned by a certain date, pension payments will be suspended. We normally get our bank to sign the form and put their official stamp on it. Would a bank statement or utility bill addressed to your wife at her home address be acceptable?

It sounds as if they sent a "certificada de fe de vida" form out which your wife didn't receive for some reason, and not having received the completed form back, they have now suspended payments. Can you contact them to ask for a new form to be sent?

PS It seems there is an official "fe de vida y estado" certificate in Spain which has to be obtained from the Registro Civil and used for proof that someone is still alive and entitled to continue receiving their Spanish pension. As far as I know there isn't direct equivalent in the UK, so the question would have to be asked as to what alternative documents would be acceptable for this purpose.









¿Dónde solicitar Certificado Fe de Vida y Estado? – MAPFRE


La fe de vida es una certificación que se solicita en el Registro Civil y acredita que una persona está viva. Te contamos cómo y dónde solicitarlo.




www.mapfre.es


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Thanks Lynn - more or less what I expected. I'm going to need to know what sort of alternative form would be acceptable.


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

jimenato said:


> Thanks Lynn - more or less what I expected. I'm going to need to know what sort of alternative form would be acceptable.


Anyone who knows you authorised to sign a passport. Doctor, lawyer, bank manager.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Thank you for your reply Melosine.

I have found out a bit more. 

Apparently you can get a Certificado de Fe de Vida by contacting your local Spanish Consulate - in our case London.

I will phone them tomorrow morning and find out what to do.

I'll post what I find out here as it may be of interest to other people in a similar position.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Phoning them was useless - just endless recorded messages.

The consulate website says that you can obtain a certificado de fe de vida from there but it's not obvious how. 

I don't think this is going to be easy.

Will keep trying.


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

jimenato said:


> Phoning them was useless - just endless recorded messages.
> 
> The consulate website says that you can obtain a certificado de fe de vida from there but it's not obvious how.
> 
> ...


For UK all we had to do was have our signature witnessed by someone acceptable to the company. 
As UK don't have notaries perhaps a lawyers letter would suffice


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Melosine said:


> For UK all we had to do was have our signature witnessed by someone acceptable to the company.
> As UK don't have notaries perhaps a lawyers letter would suffice


The UK actually sends a form out though.

Jimenato doesn't have a form to complete!


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

xabiaxica said:


> The UK actually sends a form out though.
> 
> Jimenato doesn't have a form to complete!


Precisely, which I why I mentioned a letter via a lawyer with explanation of proof of life and witnessing signature.
Worth a try if contacting embassy is a no go via telephone at the moment 
OR visit the embassy.
Whatever/ However his wife needs her pension reinstated asap.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Thanks for your replies. 

No - I haven't received any form but I have looked back through some documentation and have found (hidden very much in the small print) that a certificado de fe de vida is needed annually.

I will either have somehow to get a fe de vida form or, as Melosine says, get a letter written and signed by someone - I believe it will have to be a state employee such as a police officer though rather than a lawyer (maybe a doctor would do). The problem then is how to word the letter (would it have to be in Spanish?) and what if any supporting documentation would be required.

...to be continued...


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

jimenato said:


> Thanks for your replies.
> 
> No - I haven't received any form but I have looked back through some documentation and have found (hidden very much in the small print) that a certificado de fe de vida is needed annually.
> 
> ...


If you are unable to contact Spanish embassy there are several UK based Spanish Lawyers on www.
Good luck.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I have emailed the consulate - civil registry department. Let's see what happens.🤞


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I sent a brief email in Spanish and English asking what to do and I have received a reply !! 

They directed me to another department and I have sent the same email to them.

We will wait and see.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I have received an email - I'll paste the contents here...



> Buenos días.
> 
> Le informamos que la Fe de vida la puede tramitar entre el 1 de enero y el 31 de marzo de cada año. A continuación le indicamos las dos opciones de cómo puede acreditar la vivencia a efectos de continuar percibiendo la pensión en España:
> 
> ...


This (I believe) means that I can either go to the Consejería in person (which I can't) or I can take an enclosed form (which hopefully I have attached) to our local town hall together with a means of identification, get it signed and stamped, and send it either to the pension place in Cadiz or to London and they will send it on.

Hopefully someone on here will correct me if I've misunderstood that.

(This is probably a bit boring for some but once I've been successful some of it might be useful as a sticky)


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I'm glad you got such a prompt reply. The only question I'd have is will they accept the form for this year at this stage, as the information you've been sent says it must be sent to them every year between 1 January and 31 March? I certainly hope so, and that your local Town Hall will be co-operative in signing and stamping it for your wife - they may never have seen one before!


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I was amazed and very pleased with the response TBH. Just a shame that the very simple procedure and the form are so difficult to find.

I can go to the police or the town hall - they are in the same building - hopefully one of them will deal with it.

Here is a bit from the original notification...



> Para rehabilitar el pago de la pension, debera remitir a esta direcction provincial el certificado de fe de vida original u otro documento original que acredite su viviencia fehaciente. Los effectos economicos de la rehabilitacion de la pension se produciran con un retroctividad maxima de 90 dias desde la entrada en la direccion provincial de este instituto de la documentacion original que acredite la viviencia.


I think this means that they will pay up to 90 days of missed payments prior to the date of receipt of the certificate.

Should be OK as she has only missed one payment so far.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> ...I certainly hope so, and that your local Town Hall will be co-operative in signing and stamping it for your wife - they may never have seen one before!


Maybe surprisingly they know exactly what they are doing.

This from their website...



> *Foreign pension checking service*
> 
> We provide a pension confirmation service for British nationals who are drawing a pension from a foreign country.
> To get your form stamped and signed by us, please contact the registration team to book an appointment.


.... together with a phone number which we rang and we have an appointment for Thursday - passport, utility bill and form to be taken with us. 🤞


ETA - and £15 🥺


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

We set the completed paperwork to Cadiz two weeks ago - tracked.

It shows that it left the UK on 4th Sept. Then nothing.

Starting to wish we'd sent it to London.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Quick update; was delivered to Cadiz on 15th of last month - yet to hear anything.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Melosine said:


> For UK all we had to do was have our signature witnessed by someone acceptable to the company.
> As UK don't have notaries perhaps a lawyers letter would suffice


They certainly do have notaries in UK - I used them when giving PoA tome Spanish Lawyer.


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> They certainly do have notaries in UK - I used them when giving PoA tome Spanish Lawyer.


Yes, you are correct. However using solicitors is the norm for all business dealings within England and Wales.
But thanks for pointing this out.

Public Notaries are needed if you require someone to witness a signature, prepare copies of paperwork or authenticate documents that will need to be legally recognised in a FOREIGN country.


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

My wife and I both receive Spanish OAP's, and always each received a blank Life Certificate (in French, as we live in France) to complete towards the end of each year.
Our pensions didn't arrive for May 2017, and after contacting HSBC, who handle the payments for the Spanish Sec Soc., and 'phoning the INSS office in Girona, I found that they had not received Life Certificates.
We couldn't recall sending them, and decided we had not received them in 2016. A week or so later we received letters similar to that received by the OP.
It appears that they stopped sending them in 2016, but added a note near the bottom of the annual REVALORACIÓN letter, reminding foreign residents that they should send FE DE VIDA before June 30 every year .
I found that the Certificates they had been sending us were a photocopies of a French one, so found this on line, completed and sent them off, and our pensions were reinstated with no loss a few weeks later.
I now have a note in my diary to send the Certificates in good time each year


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

OK!!

Just received a cheque - fully backdated. 😁

So - what needs to be done is all in this thread but I'd be happy to clarify if anyone needs it.


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## Sunshine384 (9 mo ago)

jimenato said:


> OK!!
> 
> Just received a cheque - fully backdated. 😁
> 
> So - what needs to be done is all in this thread but I'd be happy to clarify if anyone needs it.


Hi, I am trying to sort out a Fe de Vida for my mother in law who now lives in the uk, is it correct that if I print off the form and get it signed and stamped at my local town hall, then send it back to Spain that should be acceptable?


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Sunshine384 said:


> Hi, I am trying to sort out a Fe de Vida for my mother in law who now lives in the uk, is it correct that if I print off the form and get it signed and stamped at my local town hall, then send it back to Spain that should be acceptable?


Really sorry - missed this one.

Answer is yes - hope you got it sorted.


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