ISLAMABAD: The federal government has abolished the role of commercial banks in verifying pensioners’ proof of life, shifting the entire process to a digital system linking NADRA directly with the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) and Military Accountant General (MAG).
Under a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Finance Division, pensioners will no longer need to visit banks for routine biometric verification or submit physical Proof of Life Certificates (POLCs).
The new mechanism, introduced in pursuance of the Prime Minister’s directives, provides for transmission of a “Digital Life Signal” directly from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to CGA/MAG through a secure application programming interface (API), bypassing commercial banking channels.
The Finance Division said commercial banks would now function solely as pension disbursement agencies and would have no statutory or administrative role in collecting, retaining or validating proof-of-life or biometric data.
Banks have also been barred from making pension accounts dormant to process or disburse pensions.
The revised SOP has abolished the traditional physical “Disburser’s Half” process, with digital ledgers maintained by CGA/MAG replacing paper records as the official record of pension verification.
Under the new system, pensioners are required to complete proof-of-life verification at least once every six months, or 180 days. The previous fixed March and September verification requirement has been abolished, allowing pensioners to complete verification at any time during the six months.
Verification can be undertaken through the NADRA Pak-ID mobile application, NADRA Registration Centres, Mobile Units, e-Sahulat franchises, or bank branches operating strictly as authorised NADRA POLC centres.
Importantly, banks have been instructed not to compel pensioners to visit branches for biometric verification in their normal banking capacity. Pensioners submitting physical documents at banks are to be directed to the Pak-ID application or designated NADRA facilities.
The SOP also introduces a “Suspense Status” mechanism. If CGA/MAG does not receive a valid Digital Life Signal for six consecutive months, the pension account will be placed in suspense and pension payments will be temporarily held.
However, the account will not be declared dormant. Once a valid life signal is received, the account will automatically return to active status and accrued pension arrears will be released without requiring bank approval.
The government has also ordered that pension accounts remain free of service charges. Banks are required to maintain accounts in the sole name of pensioners or eligible family pensioners, with joint accounts prohibited except where specifically permitted under the Federal Government Receipt and Payment Rules, 2025.
For elderly pensioners, persons without digital access, or those unable to use the Pak-ID application because of advanced age or debilitating medical conditions, a fallback mechanism has been retained.
Such pensioners may approach designated District Accounts Offices or Pension Facilitation Centres to submit manual Life Certificates (Form-10) or relevant family pension declarations (Form-12). Commercial banks, however, will be strictly prohibited from accepting or processing these forms.
The Finance Division has further directed CGA/MAG to generate pension rolls by the 24th and verify them by the 26th of every month for execution through RAAST or micropayment channels.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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