Proof of life for AOW: how does it work?
A life certificate for AOW is an official document that shows the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) that you are still alive. This is especially important if you receive AOW and live abroad, such as in Thailand. The SVB needs this proof to check whether you are still entitled to your AOW benefit.
Why is a life certificate needed? Because you live outside the Netherlands, the SVB cannot automatically check whether you are still alive. The life certificate prevents AOW from being paid out wrongly to someone who has died.
How do you submit a proof of life?
You can easily prove from home that you are still alive via a special app. Are you using the app? Then you do not have to fill in the paper form. You can only use the app if you have received a letter from the SVB with a QR code. Scan the QR code to download the special app. Did you not receive a letter? Then you cannot use the app for your proof of life. In that case, do not download the app.
If the app doesn't work, fill in the form by hand, have it signed and send it back to the SVB.
Important to know: you do not receive a request for a life certificate every year. If you do not receive a letter, you do not need to do anything. A life certificate is also called “proof of being alive”, “declaration of being alive” or “attestation de vita”.
Send proof of life via the app
What Do You Need?
- A letter from the SVB with a QR code.
- A smartphone or tablet with an NFC reader and internet connection.
- A valid ID with an NFC chip (passport, ID card or Dutch driving license).
Tip: Don't have a smartphone yourself? Then you can use someone else's phone. After sending your proof of life, close the app. No data will be left on the phone.
What should you do?
You will receive a letter from the SVB with a QR code. Do you have a partner? Then there is also a QR code for your partner in the letter.
- Scan the QR code with your smartphone. You will be automatically redirected to the app store to download the Digidentity Wallet app.
- Open the app. You will see the SVB logo and a short explanation.
The app guides you step by step:
- Scan your passport, ID card or driver's license.
- Take a photo and short video of your face.
- Do you see a green check mark? Then everything went well.
- Does it say “Document successfully uploaded”? Then download the report immediately. After sending, you can no longer download it.
- Click “Continue” to finish.
What if the app doesn't work?
Are you unable to send the proof of life via the app? Then use the paper form.
- Complete the proof of life form.
- Have it signed by an official organization.
- Return the completed and signed form to the SVB.
Have the form signed
You must have the form signed in person by an official body. The form states where you can do this.
Possibilities are:
- The Dutch embassy or consulate general (only if you have Dutch nationality).
Send form to the SVB
Is the form officially signed? Then you can send it to the SVB in two ways:
- Upload the form via My SVB. For this you need a DigiD or a European recognized login tool.
- Send the form by post to:
SVB
P.O. Box 18002
3501 CA Utrecht
The Netherlands
Source: NetherlandsWorldwide: https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/
Today I received the paper mail from the SVB, but I had already received it two weeks ago via MyGovernment. This year for the first time I submitted the proof of life via the App.
Thanks to my new passport from last fall, I was able to use the App because it now has the NFC chip integrated. The process was completed in 5 minutes, but the last question to download the data for confirmation got stuck. I then asked via the SVB website whether everything had been received correctly. I received an answer the day before yesterday, that it had been received in good order.
In January I did the same procedure with a different app to indicate to the ABP that I was still alive.
I am personally happy with this development because it saves a lot of time and possible hassle at the counter…
Is it the normal ABP app or do they have a separate one for that?
The ABP app is called ReadID Ready
The SVB app is called Digidentity
The Dutch government has been warning for years not to provide the BSN in combination with the full name and date of birth to hotels, web shops and other companies.
However, with this App you give that data away to a commercial company, just take a look at their website
https://www.digidentity.eu/nl only does “identity solutions”. Via their Wallet you make a direct connection with e.g. the SVB. That’s it. Digidentity is not a webshop or something like that. You will increasingly encounter digitalization of the usual domestic and social traffic. Get used to it, otherwise you will continue to send your mail via carrier pigeon. That already replaced the stagecoach. Faxes no longer exist, and via WhatsApp and Line people already communicate more intensely than via SMS and mail. Nothing stands still!
Not only the Dutch Embassy or the Consulate General (which is located at the Dutch Embassy) can sign the proof of life certificate, the Honorary Consul in Phuket can do so as well.
If you are unable to have it signed by a Dutch diplomatic official due to distance issues, you can contact a THAI SSO, their verification/confirmation is also accepted by SVB and pension funds,
Specially important for Dutch people in Phuket because from July 2025 there will be no Honorary Consul. No replacement will take place because no applicant has yet reported for the function.
The installation period of a Consul runs over so many disks in the Netherlands that it can take 10 to 12 months.
You can also sign at any Thai SSO branch. This is the equivalent of our SVB
That is a bit of an exaggeration. The SVB has an agreement with the SSO that NL pensioners can process their life certificates there, but it does not go any further than that. The SVB is an implementing body for social benefits and regulations concerning all NL residents. The SSO provides social security for 24 million employees and self-employed persons in Thailand. So not the entire population. In principle, those employees in Thailand who are employed are compulsorily insured through the SSO. Self-employed persons can join voluntarily.
The SSO is currently under fire due to significant private expenditure from the pot of premiums. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2964958/excessive-spending-under-fire?tbref=hp The costs involved are for a web app: B850M; B450M for the purchase of promotional calendars; the costs for a hotline of B100M; and a business class trip to Japan for 10 people, including hefty hotel costs and some pocket money.
In Pattaya the Austrian/German consul also comes to the rescue
I do go to the SSO (Social Security Office) which can be found in every major city and they will sign your SVB life certificate for free with a smile