If you live outside the Netherlands and receive an AOW pension, the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) may ask you for a life certificate to prove that you are still alive. Under normal circumstances, you provide this proof by completing an SVB life certificate form, having it signed and certified by a competent authority or individual and returning it to the SVB.

Voluntary insurance of AOW / ANW

If you live and work outside the Netherlands, you are no longer compulsorily covered by AOW. In that case, you do not build up AOW. Instead of AOW, you may build up pension in the country where you live and work. In some cases you can live outside the Netherlands and still be insured under the AOW. For example, if you work outside the Netherlands and have a Dutch secondment statement, or if you are temporarily staying outside the Netherlands and do not work there. Did you move from the Netherlands less than a year ago? Then you may still be able to take out voluntary insurance for the AOW.