More than 650,000 pensions are paid in cash through the Czech Post office, roughly half paid in branches and the other half through home delivery. Those affected by the closure of three hundred branches from July, which could leave them up to a kilometer away, may prefer to apply for home delivery of their pensions. This would change their situation, and they may also be encouraged to open a bank account.
“During the payout month of March, we have a total of 651,668 pensions in the main record paid through the Czech Post office. That represents 23% of the total monthly pension payouts,” said Jitka Drmolova, a Czech Social Security Administration spokesperson.
According to Post Office spokesperson Ivo Vysoudil, anyone can request home delivery of their pensions at any Czech Post branch.
“Last year, the number of delivered pensions – those which the postman delivers to the recipient’s address – slightly exceeded the number of those that the recipients pick up at the post office. The numbers are not changing significantly year-on-year,” he clarified. The fee for both postal pension payment methods is the same – 29 crowns at home or a branch.
Most post office services can be handled even without a branch. Home delivery of pensions has only one disadvantage: a person must wait at home for the postman on the day of the payout. For elderly people, who typically do not have a bank account, please do not use the Internet or earn any extra income; it is not difficult to manage necessary errands and purchases at other times.
Time to open an account In some places, pension distribution works like a well-oiled machine, with recipients in small towns or villages familiar with their postman’s schedule. In other cases, however, people complained that the postman had thrown a note into their mailbox twice, even though they were at home and had to go to the branch.
It is possible to start now for older adults who were accustomed to receiving cash payments from their previous job and have not yet become accustomed to bank accounts, card payments, or ATMs. Some may not know they do not necessarily need a smartphone or the internet to manage their accounts.
“We enable clients to manage their accounts electronically through ATMs or branch counters. We offer one-time and regular payments and also consent to direct debits, i.e., standard payment transactions,” said Tereza Drbalova, a spokesperson for Česká spořitelna.