EPFO Makes Provision to EPS Pensioners to Submit Digital Life Certificate

Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) partnered with Common Service Centre (CSC) for facilitating the submission of Digital Jeevan Pramaan Patra. This step is taken by the EPFO due to the present COVID-19 situation, to ensure that the pensioners stay safe at home in the prevailing pandemic situation. 

The post offices have started the collection of Digital Jeevan Pramaan Patra. Now the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) pensioners have a choice and autonomy to select the service delivery agency as per their convenience. This choice to the EPS pensioners is possible due to the adoption of the multi-agency model by the EPFO.

The EPFO has made a significant key policy change for the convenience of the EPS pensioners. The changes made in the policy allows the EPS pensioners to submit their Digital Jeevan Pramaan Patra at any time of the year according to their convenience as against submitting only during November and December. 

The validity of the Digital Life Certificate/Digital Jeevan Pramaan Patra is for one year from the date of its submission. For example, suppose the submission of the Digital Life Certificate is in November or December 2019; in that case, the release of monthly pension will be up to one year, i.e. November or December 2020. This step taken by the EPFO provides hassle-free Social Security Cover to the EPS pensioners.

Due to the changes made in the submission of Digital Life Certificate, the EPS pensioners need not visit the provident fund offices. The EPS pensioners can now submit Aadhaar based Biometric Digital Life Certificate for Jeevan Pramaan Patra at their respective bank branches, common centre services or nearest post offices. 

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The EPS pensioners can obtain the Digital Life Certificate by contacting their nearest post offices or local postman. For availing this service, they need to provide details of their mobile number, pension payment order number, bank passbook and Aadhaar number. They also need to provide their biometrics, i.e. either iris or fingerprint at Indian Post Payments Bank (IPPB) access point or nearest post office. An acknowledgement SMS is sent to the EPS pensioners mobile number after the successful generation of the Jeevan Pramaan Patra which includes Jeevan Pramaan Certificate ID details. 

The Digital Life Certificate will be available to the EPS pensioners electronically once the above procedure is complete. Thus, they need not submit the Digital Life Certificate physically to the banks or post offices or Pension Disbursing Agency. The service charge for paperless issuance of Aadhaar based Biometric Digital Life Certificate is Rs.70 inclusive of taxes.

The facility of submitting the Digital Life Certificate by the EPFO will help the EPS pensioners to submit their Jeevan Pramaan Patra by staying at home in this present pandemic situation. They only need to visit their pension disbursing banks, nearest post offices or common service centres to avail this facility. Once, they provide the details they will receive their Digital Life Certificate or Jeevan Pramaan Patra electronically after which they need not travel to the pension department or banks. This move by the EPFO provides safety and convenience to the EPF pensioners during the COVID-19 situation in the country.

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at mayashree.acharya@cleartax.in