Nadra makes Proof of Life certificate free for pensioners, expands access points

ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has made the Proof of Life Certificate (PoLC) free for pensioners and expanded access to the document through multiple channels across the country, including the PakID mobile app, registration centres, union councils and e-Sahulat franchises. The initiative, launched on Friday, was taken on the special directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, Controller General of Accounts (CGA) and Military Accountant General (MAG). A PoLC is an official document that verifies that a pensioner is alive. According to Nadra, the easiest option is the PakID mobile application, through which eligible pensioners can obtain the certificate digitally from home. An immediate family member can also obtain the certificate on a pensioner's behalf through their own PakID account, subject to the prescribed identity verification process. For those preferring assisted services, the certificate is available free of charge at more than 5,000 e-Sahulat franchises. It is also available at more than 988 Nadra Registration Centres and 500 Union Councils, where pensioners are given preferential service without having to wait in the regular queue. For pensioners unable to reach a service point, Nadra said the facility is also available through mobile registration vans, biker services and ManPack registration services, which cater to citizens with limited mobility or access. The PoLC service is part of a wider reform under which Nadra has established a National Pensioners Register. In Phase I, pensioners administered by CGA and MAG have been brought onto the register to provide an authenticated digital reference for identity and life-status verification. Nadra said it would now provide daily digital intimation to the concerned pension controllers in case of the death of a primary or secondary pensioner reported through the Death Notification Tool by a health facility or registered through the Civil Registration Management System (CRMS). Similarly, changes affecting the entitlement of secondary or family pensioners, including their age and marital status, will be communicated daily to pension controllers where such changes are reflected in Nadra's records. Decisions regarding the continuation, alteration or cessation of a pension will remain with the competent pension authority under the applicable rules. A separate verification service has also been made available to banks, allowing authorised banks to check a pensioner's proof-of-life status directly through the National Pensioners Register. Nadra said this would provide a digital channel for pension disbursement and reduce reliance on repeated physical or paper-based verification. Nadra said the register was planned to be expanded in the next phase to include pensioners from other federal and provincial government organisations, public-sector bodies and private institutions after agreements and institutional arrangements were concluded. The authority said the integrated system was intended to ease proof-of-life requirements for pensioners while enabling pension controllers and banks to work with more up-to-date and verified information.