Every elderly Italian person living in Peterborough has been ordered to send their national government a letter confirming they are still alive.
The unusual request has been made because the cash-strapped government is trying to make sure it does not send out pension money to migrants who have passed away.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti vowed to reform the pension system after taking power from Silvio Berlusconi in 2011.
He has now asked every citizen of pension age living abroad to send a letter back to Italy signed by their doctor or councillor to prove they are still alive.
The Italian-born leader of Peterborough City Council, Cllr Marco Cereste, has been helping people fill in their forms.
Cllr Cereste said: “I have had lots of Italian people who want me to sign their ‘I am alive’ certificates.
“They need to do that for the government. A lot of people have been asking me to do it.”
The yellow sheets of paper must be signed by the Italian citizen and an official who knows them within 30 days of being sent out.
Fletton and Woodston Cllr Lucia Serluca has also been helping to authenticate constituents’ pension responses.
Cllr Serluca said: “The government are tidying up the system. I have had a lot of people come to me and I sign it to say they are still alive.
“The letters will come once a year and people don’t mind, they understand what it is for.”
While the number of letters sent to Italian expatriates has not been revealed, many have come to Peterborough - where an estimated 10,000 people with Italian heritage live.
Italians can also get free advice from the Peterborough Italian Community Association, in The Fleet, off Fleet Way, at a regular advice session every Tuesday morning.
Carlo Ciccarello, from pressure group Associazioni Cristiane Lavoratori Italiani (ACLI), come to the site to help resolve issues people are having.
He said: “The letters go to anyone here that gets a pension from Italy. I am having to explain this to people and help them with their pension.
“If they are still alive, there is no issue, but this is just to make sure they have not died.
“These letters have gone out in the past but not at the level they are being sent now.
“That is probably because of the economic problems that Europe is facing. They don’t want to continue paying a pension if the person has died.
“There is a problem when they are paying relatives of a dead person their pension and if the government find out that has happened they will ask for the money back.”
Mr Ciccarello will be back at The Fleet next Tuesday between 9am and noon to give more free advice to people.
Centre manager Isabella Caruso said: “We have had loads coming down. These letters come down in batches and a whole load have come down in a panic.”
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