Jeevan Praman Patra (Life Certificate): If you are a pensioner, this news could be critical for you. The month of October is significant for pensioners. To ensure uninterrupted receipt of their pension, pensioners must submit a ‘Life Certificate’ every year. Every government pensioner must submit this certificate once a year. Recipients of both central and state government pensions can complete this process digitally. With today being October 1st, the question arises: has the facility to submit the Life Certificate commenced from this date?
It is worth noting that last year, individuals aged 80 and above were granted the facility to submit their life certificates starting October 1st to avoid the rush typically seen in November. However, the department has not yet issued an official date for the commencement of this facility for the current year.
Why must the life certificate be submitted?
Government pensioners are required to submit a life certificate to verify that they are alive, which ensures the continued disbursement of their pension. This certificate serves to confirm their existence and can be generated from the comfort of one’s home using Aadhaar-linked identity verification along with facial recognition or fingerprint scanning.
An Aadhaar Card is essential.
To generate the life certificate, the pensioner must provide their Aadhaar number or Aadhaar-linked identification number. Additionally, the Aadhaar details must be recorded with the pension-disbursing bank, post office, or relevant agency.
How to generate the life certificate at home?
Pensioners can generate their life certificate from home using a mobile phone and an internet connection. This requires installing the relevant application—specifically one that supports facial recognition via Aadhaar—on the mobile device. The phone must have internet access and a front-facing camera.
The user must complete the identity verification process and then enter the pensioner’s details. A photograph of the face is also captured using the mobile camera. Once the identity is approved, the life certificate is generated, and details regarding its download are sent to the mobile phone.
Is the life certificate valid indefinitely?
A life certificate does not remain valid forever; its validity period is determined by the rules of the pension-disbursing department. Once the validity period expires, the pensioner must obtain a new life certificate. Pensioners aged 80 years or older should pay attention to official announcements about the October 1st deadline. Other pensioners must also submit their life certificates on time, in accordance with the regulations of their bank, post office, or pension-disbursing agency, to ensure there are no issues with receiving their pension.
How to obtain a life certificate from the comfort of your home
To do so, use an Android mobile phone equipped with an internet connection and a front-facing camera of at least 5 megapixels.
Keep your Aadhaar number ready. Ensure that your Aadhaar number is registered in the records of the pension-disbursing entity (such as a bank, post office, or organisation).
Download the ‘Aadhaar Face ID’ and ‘Life Certificate Face App’ from the Google Play Store to your mobile phone.
Complete the identity verification process within the app by capturing a photo of your face. The pensioner can also act as the operator for this process.
Enter the required details of the pensioner in the app.
Capture a photo of the face using the mobile’s front camera and submit it. Once the process is complete, a message containing a link to download the life certificate will be sent to the mobile number.
Does the life certificate remain valid forever?
As per the information available, a life certificate is not valid indefinitely. Its validity period is determined by the rules of the pension-disbursing department. Once the prescribed validity period expires, the pensioner is required to submit a new life certificate.