Payment of the benefit abroad
One of the fundamental principles of social security coordination in the EU is the principle ofof the exportability of benefits. In respect of migrating people, this principle ensures that social security benefits are paid to persons entitled even outside the territory of a member state, in which they are entitled to them, to the state of their residence or stay.
Note:
CSSA places the payment of the benefit abroad with to the Czech National Bank in the Czech currency (CZK) and in the amount at which the benefit was awarded – in accordance with international and national legislation.
The amount of the actually paid benefit will depend on the fees charged by the correspondent bank of the Czech National Bank, the current exchange rate, etc. This is beyond the CSSA’s control.
Payments of pension benefits
Any and all pension payments are made through the Czech National Bank in Prague (hereinafter the “CNB”) and its contractual partners – correspondent banks abroad.
CSSA places orders for pensions payments with CNB (in line with the Czech legislation) in Czech crowns. The payment transactions for pension payments are allowed only in the following currencies between CNB and the beneficiary’s bank: AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, NOK, SEK, USD.
CSSA always places orders for pension payments with the CNB in the amount awarded to the pension beneficiaries. The amount actually paid may vary depending on the exchange rate and the fees of local banks.
The pension shall be paid:
Payment of the pension directly to the account of the beneficiary kept with the financial institution (bank) abroad
The payment of the pension to an account kept with a financial institution (bank) abroad is made via a cashless payment, through the CNB and its contractual partners - correspondent and local banks abroad.
To make the payment to the account, the Request of a person living outside the territory of the Czech Republic for the payment of the Czech pension to the account must be duly completed, signed and sent to CSSA.
The conditions for the entitlement to the pension payment shall be verified by the Certificate of Living form. The pension shall be paid to the account of the beneficiary retrospectively and only by the end of the month in which the Certificate of Living was issued.
The pension beneficiary shall send the Certificate of Living at his/her own instigation and at intervals that he/she sees fit. It can be quarterly, semi-annually or at any other interval, we recommend to do so at least once per year. This means that if a beneficiary sends the Certificate of Living quarterly, the pension will also be paid to the beneficiary on a quarterly basis, always for the preceding quarter.
Payment of the pension to the pension beneficiary's account (account of the spouse) in the Czech Republic
To make the payment, the Request of a person living outside the territory of the Czech Republic for the payment of the Czech pension to the account must be duly completed, signed and sent to CSSA.
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The payment of the pension to an account kept with the financial institution (bank) is made in the Czech currency (CZK) always under the provided “Certificate of Living“. The manner of how the payments made and the “Certificate of Living” is provided is identical to the pension payments made to the account kept with the financial institution abroad.
Payment of the pension via a postal money order to the beneficiary’s address in Poland
The pension payments are made monthly via an international postal order through the Czech and Polish Post in the Polish currency (zloty). The monthly pension payments shall be delivered in the first half of the calendar month for which the payment of the pension is due.
If this pension payment method is used, the "Certificate of Living” shall not submitted, as the pension is paid into the pensioner's own hands.
Payment of pension to the bank account of a recipient of pension living in the Slovak Republic
The payment of pension to the clients with a place of residence in the Slovak Republic to their bank account is carried out on a regularly basis once a month and is transferred to the ČNB and between the 22th and 26th day of the month and is credited to the clients’ accounts within five working days.
Conditions for the entitlement to the payment of pensions are verified once a year through the form of the “Certificate of Living” which is sent by the CSSA to the address of a pension beneficiary in February.
The form properly completed and signed by a beneficiary must be returned within 30 calendar days from its obtaining. If the form is not returned during the given period, the pension payment is suspended until this form is delivered.
Pension payment by a bank cheque to the address of the pension beneficiary abroad
(except for the Slovak Republic, Australia, Finland, Norway, Macedonia, Denmark, India, Syria, Sweden, Ukraine and Canada)
The payment of the pension by a bank cheque to the address of the beneficiary abroad shall be made 4 times a year, in March, June, September and December of each calendar year. The pension shall always be paid retrospectively for the preceding quarter.
The conditions for entitlement to the pension payment shall be verified once a year by means of the “Certificate of Living” form sent to CSSA in December of each calendar year to the address of the pension beneficiary abroad.
The completed forms signed by handwritten signatures must be returned within 30 calendar days from the delivery date. If the form is not returned within the prescribed period, the pension payments are suspended until such time when the form is received.
With regard to the pension payments to Bulgaria, we recommend to make the payment directly to the bank account of the pension beneficiary, as the pension beneficiaries pay high fees to the Bulgarian banks, in many cases exceeding the pension amount.
Payment of sickness benefits abroad
The district social security administrations pay sickness insurance benefits abroad upon the request of the insured person, only to the account of the insured person kept with the bank abroad. The cost of this payment shall be borne by the recipient of the sickness insurance benefit. In this case, the IBAN account number, name of the beneficiary’s account, name, address and state of the foreign bank, the ID bank code and the ID type of the bank (e.g. BIC SWIFT code) must be given. The costs of the benefit payment into another EU state currently stand at CZK 60, for payments to another state the costs are individual and may range from CZK 150 to CZK 800. The intermediary banks may also charge their own expenses.
Last update: 21. 3. 2024