Pensions abroad, the new squeeze begins. More than 300 thousand Italians, who moved out of the Bel Paese after leaving their jobs to pay less taxes and enjoy a better quality of life at lower costs, they will no longer be able to receive their pension through check starting from July. Here’s all the news.
The Institute’s decision
The INPS recently announced a decision aimed at combating the undue disbursements and to resolve the frequent postal disruptions that have often caused checks to be lost during transportation. Citibank is the operator of the overseas social security check payment service. Until now, pensions for Italians residing abroad have been paid by crediting the pensioner’s current account, in cash at one door by a Citibank direct correspondent, usually Western Union, or by issuing and mailing a non-transferable deposit check. However, INPS is gradually eliminating the latter terms of payment.
The operating instructions
INPS has given operational instructions to abolish payment via check for Italian pensioners living in Austria, Belgium, Tunisia and Australia. Pensioners residing in Europe have received a form from Citibank in recent weeks, to provide the necessary banking details for future credits. The form had to be completed and returned by June 15th, together with a copy of a valid identity document and a document issued by the foreign bank showing the pensioner’s bank details, i.e. Bic and Iban or Sort Code and account number for UK residents. Those who have not yet submitted the form and documentation will collect the payment of the July installment in cash and will have to collect the sum at a Western Union counter in the country in which they are located.
The collection method
The INPS has also specified that, starting from July 1st of this year, for new pensions or for transfers of pensions from Italy, payment will be made in cash at Western Union branches, in the event that they are not provide the bank details necessary for crediting via bank transfer. The INPS clarified: “This collection method will also remain active for subsequent payments, until the interested parties request a change in payment methods.“.
The painting
According to the latest data for 2022, there are 317,000 Italian pensioners residing abroad, spread from Portugal to the United States.
Every month, Italy spends over 1.4 billion euros on these pensions, which represent 2.4% of all disbursements. INPS payments reach 165 countries, including Spain, Belgium, France, the United States, Portugal and Australia, which have the largest number of Italian pensioners.
