ROME - British expatriates who receive UK pensions and benefits within the EU may soon have their payments disrupted due to new EU legislation.

 

Beginning on Jan. 31, new EU regulations will be implemented making payment processing faster and more secure. The regulations will require Eurozone banks to have customers' International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN) and Bank Idenficiation Codes (BIC or SWIFT) in order to accept direct payments.

 

While the UK Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) already has this information for most customers, there are still many customers who have not supplied this information. 

 

Those who have not yet submitted the information should soon receive a letter from the DWP. This form should be completed and returned as soon as possible, DWP officials say. Failure to respond to the letter may cause payments to be disrupted.

 

The new regulations do not affect those who have already provided the information to the DWP, nor to those whose benefits are made into a UK account.

 

More information can be found on the European Commission's website. 

 

For more information on this subject, to arrange a full financial review of your circumstances, or to discuss financial queries, please contact Lisa Howard at the Black Tower Financial Management Group and she will arrange to put you in contact with a qualified consultant in Italy. She can be reached by email at:  Lisa.Howard@blacktowerfm.com or by phone at:  +39 06 42272227