PoLC verifications for pensioners: Govt shifts entire process to NADRA’s digital system

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to simplify pension disbursement and curb unnecessary visits to bank branches, the federal government has abolished the role of commercial banks in biometric and Proof of Life Certificate (PoLC) verifications for pensioners, shifting the entire process to NADRA’s digital system.

According to a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Digital Proof of Life and Pension Disbursement issued by the Finance Division on Friday, pensioners will now complete digital verification through NADRA’s Pak-ID mobile application or authorised NADRA channels.

Under the revised mechanism, the NADRA will transmit a pensioner’s Digital Life Signal directly to the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) and Military Accountant General (MAG) through secure API-based connectivity, bypassing commercial banking channels.

The Finance Division said commercial banks would henceforth perform only the role of Pension Disbursement Agencies and would have no statutory or administrative responsibility for verification, collection, retention or validation of Proof of Life or biometric data under ordinary circumstances.

Banks have also been barred from compelling pensioners to visit branches for biometric verification for pension purposes. Where pensioners approach banks with paper documentation, they will be directed to the NADRA Pak-ID application or designated NADRA registration centres.

The revised SOP has also abolished the fixed March and September biometric verification schedule. Pensioners will now be required to complete biometric verification at least once every six months, but may do so at any time during the applicable six-month period.

A key change is that pension accounts will no longer be declared dormant merely because a pensioner has failed to complete biometric verification or submit Proof of Life to a bank.

Instead, if no valid Digital Life Signal is received for six consecutive months, the pension account will automatically move to “suspense status” in the centralised digital ledger. Pension payments will be temporarily suspended, but the account will not be classified as dormant.

Once a valid biometric verification signal is received, the system will automatically restore the account to active status and release accrued pension arrears without requiring approval from the bank.

The government has also formally abolished the physical “Disburser’s Half”, with dynamic digital registers maintained through API connectivity to serve as the sole official record for pension disbursement. Federal government pensions will be disbursed exclusively through the Direct Credit System (DCS).

The revised SOP provides a fallback mechanism for pensioners who are unable to complete digital verification because of lack of digital access, extreme old age, or debilitating medical conditions.

Such pensioners can approach designated District Accounts Offices or pension facilitation centres to submit manual Form-10, Form-11 or Form-12, depending on their circumstances. However, commercial banks have been prohibited from directly accepting or processing these forms.

The SOP further directs banks to maintain pension accounts free of service charges. Joint pension accounts have also been prohibited except where specifically permitted under the Federal Government Receipt and Payment Rules, 2025.

Meanwhile, pension accounts that had already been marked dormant before August 22, 2026 will be reactivated either through biometric verification/PoLC generation through NADRA or upon receipt of pension credit from CGA/MAG from September 2026 onwards.

The revised SOP supersedes all previous procedures issued on the subject, including those issued on September 7, 2026, January 6, 2021, January 5, 2016, September 29, 2014 and May 6, 2011.

The new framework has been developed in consultation with the State Bank of Pakistan, CGA/Accountant General offices, MAG, NADRA and the Finance Division. It applies to federal government pensioners covered under the Defined Benefits Pension Scheme, including eligible pensioners residing abroad who receive their pensions in Pakistan.

The revised system also envisages automatic integration of biometric/licence verification, death registration and family-pension status updates, including information concerning death, remarriage and eligibility of family pensioners.

Pension rolls are to be generated by the 24th and verified by the 26th of each month for execution through RAAST/micropayment channels, with quarterly audits and reconciliation of NADRA logs to be conducted.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026