E-Pension Portal Introduced to Facilitate Retired Government Employees
ISLAMABAD: The government has introduced a new E-Pension Portal to make the pension process easier and more convenient for retired government employees, particularly senior citizens.
The initiative, developed in collaboration with the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR), aims to digitise the pension system and reduce the lengthy procedures that often require pensioners to make repeated visits to government offices.
Under the new system, pension-related cases are expected to be processed within days instead of months, while pensioners will also be able to track their applications online from the comfort of their homes.
Online Pension Tracking
The E-Pension Portal will allow retired government employees to check the status of their pension cases online. Pensioners will be able to see whether their applications are under review, where their files are currently located and what stage of the process has been completed.
The digital tracking facility is expected to reduce uncertainty and eliminate the need for pensioners to repeatedly visit government departments to inquire about their cases.
Pension Payments to Bank Accounts
Another major feature of the new system is the direct transfer of pension payments into pensioners’ commercial bank accounts.
Previously, pensioners were generally required to receive their payments through designated branches of the National Bank. The new arrangement is intended to make pension disbursement faster and more convenient.
Biometric Verification
The government has also introduced biometric verification for pensioners. Under the previous system, pensioners were required to visit a bank twice a year to submit a life certificate confirming that they were alive.
Under the digital system, this requirement will be replaced with biometric verification. Pensioners will be able to verify their fingerprints every six months at a nearby bank branch or a biometric-enabled ATM.
Mobile-Based Verification
The government is also working on mobile applications that could eventually allow pensioners to complete the verification process from home.
According to the information provided, the proposed system may use a mobile phone camera to scan a pensioner’s face or fingerprints, further reducing the need for elderly citizens to visit banks or government offices.
What Happens if Verification Is Not Completed?
Pensioners will have to complete biometric verification within the stipulated period. Failure to complete the verification may result in the temporary blocking of a pension account.
However, the account can subsequently be restored once the required verification process has been completed.
How Employees Can Register
Government employees will need to have their information uploaded to the E-Pension Portal through their respective departments before retirement.
For registration, employees will require a CNIC, personal phone number and active mobile number. Once their information has been entered into the system, they will be issued a unique Pension ID, which will allow them to access and use the digital pension services.
The government expects the E-Pension Portal to improve transparency, reduce paperwork and make pension-related services more accessible, particularly for elderly retired employees who previously had to deal with lengthy administrative procedures.
