Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) have come together to facilitate free doorstep submission of pensioners’ digital life certificate (DLC).
Also referred to as Jeevan Pramaan, the DLC is a biometric-enabled digital service for retirees of the Central and state governments, which acts as a proof of their being alive. Without this proof they cannot receive pension. This
DLC can also be submitted via Aadhaar-based authentication (fingerprint/face) so that the beneficiaries keep receiving pension.
While other pensioners are required to submit this proof within a specific deadline/date every year, EPS members are allowed to submit this life certificate any time, as the DLC is valid for a year from the date it is submitted. Pensioners usually submit these certificates at the bank that disburses pension, or the Common Service Centre, IPPB, Indian Post Office, postman, Umang app, or even the nearest EPFO office. However, EPFO has been urging pensioners to use their smartphones to submit their DLCs via Face Authentication Technology (FAT).
With this new doorstep facility, elderly pensioners for whom it is not easy to access or operate smartphones or visit banks or EPFO branches, can submit their annual DLC from the convenience of their homes. The postmen or daksevaks will register their DLCs free of charge. The facility will also do away with the requirement of paper certificates.