Last Date To Submit Life Certificate Is November 30: Here's What Pensioners Should Know

All central government pensioners must submit their annual life certificate by November 30 to continue receiving their pension. This certificate is an important document which serves as proof that a pensioner is alive. It makes them eligible to receive his/her pension payment.

As the last date to submit Jeevan Pramaan Patra nears, let’s break down everything you should know, step by step, so you can ensure your pension keeps flowing seamlessly.

Earlier, retirees had to make physical visits to their Pension Disbursing Officers (PDOs), a process that was often cumbersome and exhausting for the elderly.

However, the process has now been made far more convenient with digital intervention. The life certificate is valid for one year from the date of submission, meaning you need to repeat this process annually to keep your pension on track.

The submission timeline for Jeevan Pramaan Patra varies for pensioners according to their age groups. For instance, pensioners aged 80 or older get an early start as they can submit their life certificates from October 1, 2024. For everyone else, the submission window opens on November 1, 2024, and the last date is November 30 - so mark your calendar!

Missing this deadline can lead to your pension being stopped. But don’t worry, payments resume once you submit your certificate, though delays could cause unnecessary hassle.

Here’s How You Can Submit This Certificate:

The pensioners have three options to submit this certificate, starting with in-person submissions where they need to visit their Pension Disbursing Bank, Post Office or designated government office.

The Jeevan Pramaan can also be submitted online. This Aadhar-based Digital Life certificate requires no physical visits and is done digitally including biometrics and verification.

Apart from these, some banks and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) also offer doorstep collection of life certificates, particularly for senior citizens with mobility challenges.

Documents You Need:

To submit your Jeevan Praman, whether in person or digitally, you should keep these documents handy:

- Your Pension Payment Order (PPO) number.

- Aaadhar-linked mobile number

- Bank account details where your pension is deposited

In case you are opting for online submission, your Aadhar number must be already linked to your pension bank account.

Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaign 3.0

If you haven’t already heard about this, certificate pension submission for this year has been made even simpler. Union Minister Jitendra Singh has launched DLC campaign 3.0 under which the government is running 1,900 camps across 800 cities and towns to assist pensioners in submitting their digital life certificates quickly and conveniently. The campaign started on November 1 and will run till November 30, 2024.

With the service of Face Authentication, introduced in 2021, pensioners can submit their certificates without requiring any physical hardware beyond a smartphone.

What happens if you miss the deadline?

In case you miss out on the November 30 deadline your pension payment will not stop. However, the good news is that once you submit the certificate, even after the deadline, your pension will be reinstated.

Any arrears for up to three years can be processed directly by your PDB after managerial approvals. But for delays beyond three years, the process will be more complex involving the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) will come into play.