Pakistan is moving to digitise the verification of pension eligibility for approximately 1.7 million government pensioners through a new framework built on biometric authentication and facial recognition technology developed by National Database and Registration Authority. The new framework will digitally verify around 1.7 million pensioners using biometric and facial recognition technology, with pension eligibility confirmed through NADRA’s Proof of Life Certificate and Family Registration Certificate systems before disbursement of funds, and banks across the country required to connect their branches with NADRA’s API system Nishan Pakistan and the e-Sahulat application to enable digital verification of pensioners before payment processing. The initiative is being implemented in line with earlier policy decisions issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, and several components of the system have already been put into operation while banking integration remains under way.
The general public will use the Pak ID app to update their proof of life status, while banks will verify and access details through NADRA’s e-Sahulat app, with the State Bank of Pakistan having been asked to issue strict instructions to all commercial banks for integration with NADRA systems. Fingerprints and facial recognition will be used for pensioner verification, while an app-based proof of life facility is also being planned, with work underway to introduce a mobile app system for pensioners to complete the verification process digitally. The shift to app and biometric-based verification directly addresses a longstanding pain point for Pakistan’s retired government workforce, many of whom have historically been required to make repeated visits to bank branches or NADRA offices to manually prove their living status, a process that has been particularly burdensome for elderly and mobility-impaired individuals.
NADRA is also launching an online proof of life feature through the Pak Identity mobile application that addresses challenges faced by elderly pensioners who often experience difficulties with fingerprint verification, allowing them to confirm their living status without visiting physical offices. For those elderly pensioners unable to manage the process independently, arrangements are being made to allow close family members such as a son or daughter to assist in completing the digital verification. Approval has also been sought from the Finance Division for a revised financial model under which NADRA will waive certain charges related to the Proof of Life system by integrating the Proof of Life Certificate and Family Registration Certificate services under a cost-optimised framework, which will improve transparency, reduce manual verification, and modernise the pension disbursement system across Pakistan.
The introduction of a digitally verified pension disbursement system carries significant implications for public sector financial governance. Under the previous manual arrangement, the system was vulnerable to duplicate or fraudulent payments made in the name of deceased pensioners, a problem that has been documented across government pension programmes globally. By requiring biometric confirmation of living status before funds are released and linking that confirmation directly to NADRA’s national database through the Nishan Pakistan API, the new framework closes a structural gap that has carried both financial and administrative costs. Once fully integrated across all commercial banks, the system will enable real-time confirmation of pensioner eligibility before each payment cycle, replacing a paper-based process that could take weeks with a digital verification that takes seconds.
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