The agreement on the mutual recognition of pension contributions between Albania and Italy is expected to enter into force and will start to be implemented in June. Over 500 thousand Albanians and a large number of Italian citizens are expected to benefit from this agreement.

In an interview for ATA, Tresjana Elmazi, representative of UIM Albania, said that the agreement benefits all those people who have social security contributions in both Albania and Italy.

She added that “the agreement is expected to enter into force one month after the exchange of ratification acts between the two countries in June.”

According to her, “For the Italian pension, we have direct access to the Italian Social Security Institute (IMS) which can issue and verify the contributions that the person has paid in Italy.”

“For the Albanian part, we can log in to e-Albania and do the verification. That is, we can follow both processes,” Elmazi emphasized.

According to her, there have been many people who have shown interest in the UIM Albania offices to learn how this agreement works.

Elmazi said that initially two pensions would be received. “As for the Italian part, two pensions will be received initially, IMS will bring its share, while the Albanian Social Insurance Institute (ISSH) will bring its share. Italy will do this through a transfer to the person’s bank account. If the person lives in Albania, if he has already retired in Albania, he can also request the Italian one and it will come to his bank account as a separate transfer.”

The UIM Albania representative emphasized in the interview that the Italian pension will not be attached to the pension in Albania, but will be separate.