After serving government bodies for approx. 40 years, my mother was a little bit worried about how to get the pension status online. Is there a way for a respected pensioner to get a digital life certificate that can be produced during November of every year as a proof of life and continuing pension for the next financial year without visiting the Treasury or Pension Office of the state from which one retired?
Let me share an example: my mother retired from Varanasi, and every year we need to visit before November 15 and fill out the form and submit it to Treasury office personnel. The details need to be shared over the physical form, which includes the name of the pensioner, bank account details where pension is getting transferred on a month-to-month basis, department pensioner served, pension number, signature, and date of applying for pension renewal.
Honestly speaking, it's a tough job as pensioners are older than 60 and may have health-related concerns, and if anyone lives outside the city, then travelling for this purpose is challenging.
BUT thanks to 1991–92 globalisation and the good part of the Digit India Programme, the government is now putting its continued effort into making services smooth and pensioner-friendly via various online platforms like Jeevaan Praman and EPFINDIA.
How do I get a digital life certificate?
For a digital life certificate, a pensioner must have a PPO number, which stands for Pension Payment Order. A PPO number is given at the time of retirement to all government employees. One must have it generated if not received earlier, as without it, a digital life certificate cannot be generated.
The best way is to generate PPO number is via Employee Provident Fund India Website.
Step 1 - Login to Employee provident fund website as per the below snapshot:
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| EPFO Portal for getting access to Pensioner's Portal |
Step 2 - Click On Pensioner's Portal as highlighted above snapshot under Online Service Category.
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| Pensioner's Portal Access and Selection basis requirement |
Pensioner will be able to find 4 different category basis search an be performed which is totally based on requirements which includes:
Jeevan Pramaan Enquiry Page facilitate Pensioner's with Jeevan Pramaan ID status basis the above snapshot where pensioner will be able to validate transaction details. But for that one must have Jeevan Pramaan ID generated.
Know You PPO No page is basically for the pensions who is new to the portal and wants to know PPO number. Pension Payment Order (PPO) can be identified via Bank Account Search and also through Member ID search as per below snapshot:
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| PPO via Bank Details |
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| PPO Via Members / PF number |
- For getting PPO details via bank account number, a pensioner must have a correct saving bank account that was registered with the Treasury Office at the time of retirement or where salary was credited at the time of employment. Put in the bank details and search for the PPO details.
- Another option to get a PPO number is through Member ID Search, or, as we can say, with the help of a PF number. Which can be obtained from a salary slip. PF numbers consist of alphanumeric combinations like state of service and city of service, along with unique numbers.
The PPO Enquiry or Payment Enquiry Page provides details of pension amounts received on a time-to-time basis by inputting details like the issued office, PPO number, and the pensioner's correct date of birth. Below is a snapshot of the page for reference.
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PPO Enquiry / Payment Enquiry Page
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The Know Your Pension Status Page provides details of the life certificate validity along with pension credit details to the account after inputting the PPO number along with Issued Office details. Once correct details are entered, click on the Get Status option. The pensioner will get beneficiary details, and after clicking on the View Details option, a pop-up message will appear, which will provide the required details.
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| Know Your Pension Status along with Beneficiary Details |
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| Pensioner's Current Status |
What's next post PPO - Pension Payment Order generation ?
The most important part of this article is the generation of a digital life certificate. Once a digital life certificate is generated, pensioners can easily submit the same to designated banks and also send a copy to the respective Treasury or Pension office for renewal without visiting physically and standing in line waiting for their turn.
Step 4 - Go to Jeevan Pramaan an official website by Government of India for Digital Life Certificate generation via biometric authentication.
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| Jeevan Pramaan Login Page |
Step 5 - Click on the Get a Certificate page at the top of the website. Following that, retirees will be able to download authenticated applications to their PCs, mobile devices, or offices. One needs to first download the application and have the Aadhaar Biometric Authentication Platform aligned.
If pensioners don't have an Aadhaar biometric machine, they need to visit nearby registered canters, which provide services at a nominal cost and are less time-consuming too.
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| Basis requirement - application download page |
Once system details are selected for an example PC on the next window, the pensioner will get details about the application download requirement and need to provide an email ID before agreeing to download the application.
There is a download document available that helps guide pensions about client installation guidelines that one needs to follow at the time of installing the application for use.
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| Application Download Requirement Page |
Step 6 - In most of the scenarios, pensioners don't have the Aadhaar biometric authentication platform. So in this situation, it's best to reach out to the nearest designated centers for digital life certificate registration.
One can identify the location Centre either by searching through locations or by inputting PIN code details. After entering any credential, just click on Enter and you will get details of the available centers.
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| Location Centre Details |
One can locate the Centre and book an appointment. Get the Digital Life Certificate generated through registered personnel.
